Arizona Alimony / Spousal Support Estimator

Arizona uses an official Spousal Maintenance Calculator adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court in 2023 under A.R.S. § 25-319. The calculator determines both amount and duration based on each spouse's income, earning capacity, marriage length, family size, and monthly expenses. Courts must apply the guideline result unless written findings justify a deviation as inappropriate or unjust.

Arizona recognizes three types of spousal maintenance under A.R.S. § 25-319: rehabilitative (the most common, supporting a spouse's path to self-sufficiency), compensatory (reimbursing significant contributions to the other spouse's education or career), and indefinite (reserved for permanent disability or cases meeting the Rule of 65). Rehabilitative maintenance accounts for the majority of Arizona spousal support awards.

Arizona's guideline duration depends on marriage length: 3–12 months for marriages under 2 years, 6–36 months for 2–5 years, 6–48 months for 5–10 years, 12–60 months for 10–16 years, and 12–96 months for marriages over 16 years. The Rule of 65 — where a spouse's age plus marriage length equals 65 or more — allows courts to extend awards beyond 96 months in appropriate cases.

Under A.R.S. § 25-319(B), Arizona courts evaluate the standard of living during the marriage, duration of the marriage, each spouse's age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional health. Courts also consider each spouse's financial resources, contributions to the other's career, and the paying spouse's ability to meet their own needs while paying maintenance. Notably, marital misconduct is not a statutory factor.

Arizona courts retain jurisdiction to modify spousal maintenance throughout the award's term under A.R.S. § 25-319(D) if a substantial and continuing change in circumstances occurs, such as job loss or significant income change. However, parties may stipulate that the award is non-modifiable as to amount, duration, or both under A.R.S. § 25-319(C). Maintenance automatically terminates upon remarriage or death of either party.

Adultery does not affect spousal maintenance eligibility or amount in Arizona. Arizona is a no-fault divorce state, and A.R.S. § 25-319 does not include marital misconduct among the statutory factors courts consider when determining maintenance awards. The court focuses exclusively on financial factors such as income disparity, marriage duration, and each spouse's ability to achieve self-sufficiency.

Spousal maintenance payments in Arizona are no longer taxable for the recipient or tax-deductible for the payer under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, effective for all divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018. This federal change applies to Arizona maintenance orders and means the full payment amount transfers without tax consequences. Agreements finalized before January 1, 2019 may still follow the prior tax treatment unless modified.

Arizona law permits spouses to waive spousal maintenance rights in a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement under A.R.S. § 25-202. The agreement must be in writing, signed voluntarily by both parties, and include fair financial disclosure. Courts may still review whether enforcing a maintenance waiver would leave one spouse unable to support themselves, potentially rendering the waiver unconscionable at the time of divorce.