How the new tax changes may affect your divorce New changes in the federal tax law may have significant consequences for divorcing couples with regard to alimony or spousal maintenance. Under current tax law, when one person pays alimony to the other person under a court order or by an agreement that was approved by the court, the paying party (the payor)  can write off the alimony payments, which reduces the payor’s taxable income. The receiving party (the payee) must pay income taxes on the alimony payments as if it were income. This is called “income shifting.” As the payee Continue Reading