Florida Spousal Support Calculator: How Alimony Is Calculated in 2026

Why There Is No Official Florida Alimony Calculator

Florida does not publish an alimony calculator the way it publishes child support guidelines. There is no worksheet you plug numbers into and get a court-ordered amount. Instead, judges follow a two-step framework under the 2023 reform (SB 1416): first, determine whether the requesting spouse has an actual need and the other spouse has the ability to pay, then apply hard statutory caps to set the amount and duration.

That means calculating Florida spousal support requires running the numbers yourself — or having your attorney do it — using the formula the statute prescribes.

The 35% Income-Gap Cap

For a durational alimony award under Florida Statute § 61.08, the amount cannot exceed the lesser of two figures:

• The requesting spouse's reasonable need (documented monthly expenses minus their own income)
• 35% of the difference between the spouses' net incomes

The formula works like this:

Net income difference = Higher-earning spouse's net income − Lower-earning spouse's net income

Maximum alimony = 0.35 × Net income difference

So if one spouse nets $9,000 per month and the other nets $3,500, the income gap is $5,500. The statutory cap is $1,925 per month (35% of $5,500). If the lower-earning spouse can document $2,200 in reasonable monthly need above their income, the award is still limited to $1,925 because the cap is the binding constraint.

For this calculation, net income is calculated in conformity with Florida Statute § 61.30(2) and (3), excluding spousal support paid pursuant to a court order in the action; it is not simply take-home pay after voluntary deductions.

Duration Caps Based on Marriage Length

The 2023 reform ties the maximum duration of durational alimony to how long the marriage lasted. Duration is measured from the wedding date to the date the dissolution petition is filed.

A 12-year marriage falls in the moderate-term category, capping durational alimony at 7.2 years. A 25-year marriage caps at 18.75 years.

Bridge-the-gap alimony (for immediate transitional needs like a lease deposit) is capped at 2 years regardless of marriage length. Rehabilitative alimony (funding a specific retraining plan) is capped at 5 years.

Running Your Own Calculation: A Worked Example

Take a couple married 15 years. Spouse A earns $120,000 gross ($7,800/month net after taxes and mandatory deductions). Spouse B earns $42,000 gross ($3,100/month net).

Step 1 — Income gap: $7,800 − $3,100 = $4,700

Step 2 — Statutory cap: $4,700 × 0.35 = $1,645/month

Step 3 — Reasonable need: Spouse B documents $5,200 in monthly living expenses. After subtracting their $3,100 net income, their need is $2,100/month. But the statutory cap ($1,645) is lower, so the cap controls.

Step 4 — Duration: 15-year marriage = moderate-term. Maximum duration = 15 × 0.60 = 9 years.

The maximum possible award: $1,645/month for up to 9 years.

Judges can award less than the cap — the cap is a ceiling, not a floor. Courts weigh the standard of living during the marriage, each spouse's earning capacity, age, health, and contributions (including homemaking and child-rearing) when setting the actual amount.

Factors That Push the Number Up or Down

The statute lists specific considerations that give a judge discretion within the caps:

• Standard of living established during the marriage — a long marriage with a high standard pulls the amount toward the cap
• Career sacrifice — a spouse who left the workforce to raise children has a stronger need claim
• Earning capacity — education, work experience, employability, and time needed to acquire sufficient training
• Age and health — chronic health conditions that limit employment can justify longer or higher awards
• Adultery — the court can consider either spouse's adultery, though it is one factor among many, not an automatic penalty
• Tax consequences — under current federal law (post-2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), alimony is neither deductible by the payer nor taxable to the recipient for federal purposes

Retirement and Alimony Termination

The paying spouse may petition for a reduction or termination of durational alimony upon reaching normal retirement age as defined by the Social Security Administration — currently 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Retirement does not terminate the award automatically: the payer must show demonstrable and measurable efforts or actual retirement and that retirement reduces or will reduce the ability to pay.

The receiving spouse's remarriage also terminates alimony automatically. Cohabitation in a "supportive relationship" (as defined by the statute — sharing expenses, holding themselves out as a couple, pooling resources) gives the paying spouse grounds to petition for reduction or termination, though it is not automatic.

What This Means for Your Settlement Negotiation

Most Florida divorces settle before trial, which means the alimony number in your marital settlement agreement is negotiated, not judge-imposed. Knowing the statutory caps gives you a concrete reference point for that negotiation: the cap limits a court-ordered durational award, and the formula can anchor your position.

The Florida Divorce Financial Split Guide includes an alimony calculator worksheet that walks through this formula with your actual income figures, plus a tax-adjusted comparison showing the real after-tax impact of different settlement scenarios.

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