What does unallocated child support mean?
James Craig
Published Mar 20, 2026
Unallocated support is an arrangement whereby child support and maintenance are blended into one payment. The award amount is fully tax deductible by the payor and is fully included in the income of the recipient’s spouse.
What is retroactive alimony?
A retroactive spousal support order typically goes back to the date that the support recipient gave the payor effective notice of the claim. The separation date; The date that support was first demanded; or. The date a court application was filed.
Does paying the mortgage count as child maintenance?
If you are paying child support for your child under a child maintenance service assessment but you are also paying the mortgage on the family home that you used to live in with your ex-partner then provided that your ex and the child are still living at the family home you can ask the child maintenance service to …
What does retroactive support mean?
child support
“Retroactive support” refers to child support for a period of time before the child support action/petition was filed. In some cases, a judge may order that a non-custodial parent pay retroactive support. the non-custodial parent’s “fair share” of the actual money spent for the child’s care during that period of time.
An unallocated support payment combines child support and spousal support. This allows their entire payment to be tax-deductible because spousal support, not child support is tax deductible. In addition, the IRS requires the spouse receiving unallocated support to pay income taxes on the entire amount they receive.
When did alimony rules change?
However, starting January 1, 2019, a whole new tax regime applies to alimony. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the massive new tax law enacted by Congress in 2017, permanently eliminates the deduction for alimony payments made for people who get divorced in 2019 and later.
When to use unallocated alimony and child support?
Unallocated family support is a technique sometimes used in domestic relations cases to encourage sensible cash-flow planning between separated spouses.
What does it mean to pay unallocated child support?
Unallocated support (sometimes called “family support”) allows you to mush child support and alimony together so that the entire payment of both becomes a tax deduction to the payer and the recipient must pay taxes on the support.
Is the award of unallocated alimony all taxable?
An award of, or an agreement for, unallocated alimony and child support, sometimes referred to as “family support,”10 can be all taxable/deductible; but only if all the requirements of I.R.C. §71 are met. Kean v. Commissioner,
Do you have to pay taxes on alimony and child support?
So while alimony has always been treated this way, child support is usually not tax deductible. Unallocated support (sometimes called “family support”) allows you to mush child support and alimony together so that the entire payment of both becomes a tax deduction to the payer and the recipient must pay taxes on the support.