NEW YORK (AP) – Divorce can be simple or messy. For some, it’s become a little more urgent.
The $1.5-trillion tax overhaul includes the end of a 75-year-old deduction on alimony payments. The change kicks in at the close of this year. Recipients will also no longer have to claim such payments as income.
Some divorce attorneys say spouses who would lose the deduction are hurrying to complete divorces by Dec. 31, putting pressure on spouses to settle. Others don’t accept the explanation that the alimony deduction amounted to a “subsidy” for the mere act of getting divorced.
The Joint Committee on Taxation, which advises Congress, estimates the change will increase federal revenue by nearly $7 billion over the course of a decade.
