By Michael T. Mackhanlall, Mack Law P.A. · Updated July 12, 2026
Since Florida's 2023 reform, alimony is calculated in four sequential steps: entitlement, type, duration, amount. There is still no formula for the first step — but the last two now have hard statutory caps, which means you can model your realistic exposure (or entitlement) with actual arithmetic. Here is the current framework, with numbers.
Step 1 — Entitlement: need and ability to pay
Nobody reaches the calculators without passing two threshold findings under § 61.08, Florida Statutes: the requesting spouse has an actual need, and the other spouse has the ability to pay. "Need" is measured against the standard of living the marriage actually maintained — proven with spending records, not adjectives. "Ability to pay" is measured by real net income — including income a court should impute to a spouse who is voluntarily earning less than their capacity. Both findings are evidence fights, and they are where alimony cases are actually won or lost.
Step 2 — Type: what kind of alimony fits
Permanent alimony is gone for new cases. The court chooses among: temporary (during the case only), bridge-the-gap (transition needs, maximum 2 years, non-modifiable), rehabilitative (funds a specific written plan to rebuild earning capacity, maximum 5 years), and durational (the workhorse — a set term of support after marriages of 3+ years). The type determines which caps apply, so classification is strategy, not paperwork. Full detail on our alimony practice page.
Step 3 — Duration: the length caps
Marriage length is measured from wedding date to filing date, in three categories: short-term (under 10 years), moderate-term (10–20), long-term (20+). Durational alimony may not exceed 50% of the marriage's length (short), 60% (moderate), or 75% (long). Examples: a 6-year marriage caps at 3 years of alimony; a 15-year marriage at 9 years; a 24-year marriage at 18 years. No durational alimony exists for marriages under 3 years, and exceeding a cap requires exceptional circumstances proven by clear and convincing evidence — a high bar reserved for genuine incapacity and similar facts.
Step 4 — Amount: the 35% ceiling
Durational alimony's amount is the lesser of the recipient's reasonable need or 35% of the difference between the parties' net incomes. Worked example: Spouse A nets $14,000/month, Spouse B nets $4,000. The difference is $10,000; 35% of it is $3,500. If B's proven need is $3,000, the award is $3,000 (need is lower). If B's proven need is $5,000, the ceiling holds the award at $3,500. Now notice what the formula makes valuable: every input is litigable. A's "net income" — bonuses, distributions, perks, or income imputed after a convenient career downshift — moves the ceiling $350 for every $1,000. B's "need" — inflated or minimized — sets the other bound. This is why forensic accountants and vocational experts now decide alimony cases more often than oratory does.
What the judge weighs inside those limits
Within the caps, the § 61.08 factors shape the number: the marital standard of living and each party's post-divorce needs; the length of the marriage; age and health; each party's resources, income, and earning capacity (including the ability to become self-supporting); contributions to the marriage — career-building, homemaking, child-rearing, supporting the other's education; responsibilities for the children going forward; and any other equitable factor. Adultery may be considered specifically for its economic impact — marital money spent on an affair shows up here and in the property division.
After the judgment: how awards change
Durational and rehabilitative awards can be modified on a substantial, material, involuntary change in circumstances; bridge-the-gap cannot. Alimony terminates at remarriage, and Florida law directs courts to reduce or terminate it when the recipient is in a supportive relationship — a rule the 2023 reform put teeth into. A payor's reasonable, good-faith retirement supports modification under the framework the reform codified (following Pimm v. Pimm). And remember the tax rule for post-2018 orders: alimony is paid with after-tax dollars and received tax-free, which should inform every settlement trade between alimony, assets, and retirement transfers.
Modeling your own case
Rough inputs you can assemble before any consultation: both parties' last three years of tax returns and pay records (the net-income base); a realistic monthly budget for the requesting spouse (the "need" case); the wedding and likely filing dates (the duration category); and honest answers about earning capacity on both sides — because the first thing a prepared lawyer will model is what happens to the numbers when income is imputed. Bring those, and a first meeting produces an actual range instead of a shrug.
Alimony calculation FAQs
Only for the ceiling. You can compute the maximum durational award — 35% of the net-income difference — and the maximum term from the marriage-length caps. Whether alimony is owed at all (need and ability to pay), and where the award lands below the caps, is decided on the statutory factors and the evidence. Any online calculator that spits out one number is guessing at the inputs that actually get litigated.
Real economic income after allowable deductions — not just base salary. Bonuses, commissions, distributions, recurring perks, and self-employment income all feed the number, and a spouse earning below capacity can have income imputed before the formula runs. For business owners and executives, establishing true net income is usually the single most consequential fight in the case.
Yes — the line between short-term (50% cap) and moderate-term (60% cap) is real money and real years, and length runs from wedding date to filing date. Near a category boundary, filing timing becomes a legitimate strategic variable for both sides. It is one of several places where the 2023 reform quietly rewards parties who plan before they file.
Yes — settlement agreements can set alimony by consent, including structures a court couldn't order after trial, and prenups can waive it in advance (except temporary support). The statutory caps constrain what a judge can impose, not what informed adults can negotiate. That flexibility is precisely why modeling the trial outcome first matters: you negotiate well when you know what the alternative computes to.
Want your numbers, not generalities?
Call (407) 749-1034 or request a confidential consultation — bring three years of returns and we'll model the realistic range.
This article describes Florida law in general terms as of its last update and is not legal advice about any specific situation. Statutes cited include §§ 61.08 and 61.14, Florida Statutes, as amended in 2023. Worked examples are illustrative only; outcomes always depend on specific facts.