Alimony · PA
Pennsylvania alimony and spousal support calculator
Pennsylvania has a formula for support between separation and divorce, and none for alimony after the decree.
Rules read on official Pennsylvania pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Income counted
- Net income
- $8,000 vs $3,000 a month
- $1,440
- a month under the rule
- 12-year marriage
- Judge decides
- Rules read on
- October 8, 2026
Pennsylvania computes spousal support, and alimony pendente lite (APL) while a divorce is pending, with Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4. For orders entered since January 1, 2019, the guideline is 33% of the obligor's monthly net income minus 40% of the obligee's when there are no dependent children, and 25% minus 30% when there are; a negative result means zero. Spousal support is calculated before child support, which is then computed on the obligor's income reduced by it. A spouse netting $5,200 a month married to one netting $1,800 would owe $996 a month without children and $760 with children, before any child support. Above $30,000 of combined monthly net income the result is only a starting point. Alimony after the divorce decree is a separate claim under 23 Pa.C.S. § 3701, set from statutory factors with no formula, and it is not computed here.
Estimated spousal support in Pennsylvania, per month
$1,440
Duration: set by the judge
| 33% of the payer’s monthly net income | $2,640 |
| 40% of the payee’s monthly net income | $1,200 |
| Monthly spousal support or APL (difference, not below zero) | $1,440 |
This is the guideline for spousal support or alimony pendente lite while the spouses are separated or the divorce is pending; alimony after the divorce has no formula.
Without dependent children the higher percentages apply.
The guideline amount is presumed correct unless the court finds it unjust or inappropriate under the deviation factors.
Estimate under the Pennsylvania formula as published; eligibility, the judge's findings and an agreement between spouses decide the real order. How this is calculated.
Three names for money between spouses
Pennsylvania separates what other states fold together. Spousal support can be claimed from the moment the spouses separate, even without a divorce filing, usually through the county Domestic Relations Section. Alimony pendente lite is the same calculation inside a pending divorce, meant to let the dependent spouse litigate on an equal footing. The rules forbid both from running at once (Rule 1910.16-1(c)). Alimony proper only comes with the decree, and the guideline does not reach it. The calculator on this page covers the first two.
The 2019 percentages
When federal law stopped letting payers deduct alimony for agreements signed after 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rewrote the spousal part of the guideline. The older method took 40% of the difference between the two net incomes, or 30% of the difference left after child support. It survives in Part IV of the rule, but only to modify orders entered before 2019. New orders weigh each income separately. On $5,200 and $1,800 without children, the current rule gives $996; the old one would have given $1,360. The drop reflects that the payer now carries the tax on that money.
Children change the order of the steps
With dependent children, the percentages fall to 25% and 30%, and the spousal amount comes first: it is subtracted from the obligor's income and added to the obligee's before the child support schedule is read. In our example that leaves $760 of spousal support, and child support is then figured on $4,440 against $2,560. If the spouse who has the children is the one owing spousal support, Rule 1910.16-4(e) offsets the two obligations in a five-step calculation. Combined net income above $30,000 a month sends the case to Rule 1910.16-3.1, where the formula result is reviewed against deviation factors and expense statements. The guideline figure is presumed correct, and a judge who departs from it must say why.
The Pennsylvania rule this calculator applies
Scope. Guideline spousal support and alimony pendente lite (APL) under Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4 (support while separated / while the divorce is pending). Post-divorce alimony (23 Pa.C.S. § 3701) has no formula and is discretionary.
Amount. Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4(a)(1) Part B (orders entered on or after Jan. 1, 2019): without dependent children, 33% of the obligor's monthly net income (after support owed to others) minus 40% of the obligee's monthly net income; with dependent children, 25% of the obligor's monthly net income minus 30% of the obligee's monthly net income; a negative result is zero. Spousal support/APL is computed before child support, and the obligor's income for child support is reduced by it (Part C line 18). Part IV of (a)(2) (modifications of pre-2019 orders that include spousal support/APL) keeps the older formula: 40% of (obligor net - obligor's other support - obligee net) without children, and 30% of that difference after also deducting the obligor's child support with children. Combined monthly net income above $30,000: the same formula is a preliminary analysis, then deviation factors, expenses and expense statements are considered (Rule 1910.16-3.1(b)).
Duration. No guideline duration. Spousal support and APL orders may not be in effect simultaneously, and in setting their duration the court considers the length of the marriage from the date of marriage to the date of final separation (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1(c)).
Eligibility. If the trier of fact finds a duty to pay, the guideline amount is rebuttably presumed correct; the presumption is rebutted by a written finding or a statement on the record that it is unjust or inappropriate, considering the deviation factors of Rule 1910.16-5 (Rule 1910.16-1(d)). Final alimony after divorce is governed by 23 Pa.C.S. § 3701 (factor-based, no formula).
Worth knowing in Pennsylvania
- Spousal support and alimony pendente lite cannot both be in effect at the same time (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1(c)(1)). source
- Pennsylvania's support guidelines must be reviewed at least every four years (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1(e)). source
- When the spouse who has the children owes spousal support, the court offsets that spousal support against the other parent's child support in a five-step calculation (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4(e)). source
- Rule 1910.16-4 was last amended August 11, 2025, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 5978), after an amendment effective January 1, 2022 (51 Pa.B. 5539). source