Source: ABA Family Law Quarterly — Divorce and Alimony/Maintenance Statutes in 2024. Classifications reflect what the statute authorizes — not average court outcomes. Since Jan. 1, 2019, alimony is no longer deductible for the payer under federal tax law (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), increasing real burden in all states.
What This Means
Permanent Alimony Possible (dark red — 45 states + DC): Courts can award indefinite or permanent alimony with no statutory end date. This remains the law in the vast majority of states. Verified directly against ABA 2024 statutory survey. This includes Ohio, Illinois, and Oregon — which secondary sources sometimes misclassify as reformed.
Reformed / Durational Caps (orange — 2 states): Florida (2023 reform, Fla. Stat. § 61.08) eliminated permanent alimony entirely — the most significant alimony reform in US history. Awards are now capped at 50% of marriage length for short marriages, 60% for moderate, 75% for long marriages. Massachusetts (Alimony Reform Act 2011, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208 § 49) caps "general term alimony" at 50–80% of marriage length for marriages under 20 years. Marriages of 20+ years may still receive indefinite alimony (ending at retirement age), so Massachusetts is a partial reform — not a full abolition like Florida.
Strict Restrictions (green — 5 states): Alimony requires a minimum marriage duration and/or is hard-capped. Texas: requires 10+ year marriage; capped at $5,000/month or 20% of gross income; 5-year max for most. Mississippi & Tennessee: strong fault considerations; difficult to obtain without long marriage. Indiana: spousal maintenance limited to 3 years maximum except for physical/mental incapacity. North Carolina: dependent spouse who committed adultery faces rebuttable presumption against alimony.
Tax note: Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act effective Jan. 1, 2019, alimony payments are no longer deductible for the payer or taxable income for the recipient (for divorces finalized after Dec. 31, 2018). This effectively increased the real cost of alimony by 20–37% for payers in higher tax brackets.
45 states + DC still allow permanent/indefinite alimony. Only Florida (2023) and Massachusetts have abolished it outright. Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, and North Carolina impose the toughest eligibility restrictions. Source: ABA Family Law Quarterly Statutes 2024, verified against state statutes.