As 2019 begins, the big news in divorce is implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Trump Tax”) and its key provision that changes the way alimony has been taxed for decades.

Under old federal tax laws, which continue to govern agreements made before the end of 2018, alimony payments were 100 percent tax deductible by the payor and 100 percent taxable to the recipient. The new rules reverse this. For alimony agreements put in place after January 1 of this year, the tax burden for alimony falls squarely on the shoulders of the paying spouse who must now claim this money as part of taxable income.