Starting January 1, 2019, the Illinois maintenance guidelines are undergoing changes that may impact your pending divorce. Under both the current and new maintenance guidelines, the law sets out certain calculations to be used in determining the amount of maintenance. These calculations apply when the gross annual income of both parties is less than $500,000.00 and the person who will be paying the maintenance is not under an obligation from a prior relationship to pay child support, maintenance, or both.[1] In cases where a party is already obligated to pay child support or maintenance from a previous relationship, or when the gross annual income of the parties is more than $500,000.00, the court will determine the amount of maintenance, if any, by looking at things such as the parties’ age, health, work history, length of marriage, and other factors.
Under the current 2018 guidelines, maintenance is calculated by taking 30% of the payor’s grossannual income minus 20% of the payee’s gross annual income. Regardless of the calculation, the final maintenance amount is not to exceed 40% of the combined gross income of the parties.
However, this calculation will change after December 31, 2018. The calculations to be used when the parties’ combined gross annual income is under $500,000 have undergone some significant changes. Starting January 1, 2019, maintenance will now be calculated by taking 33 and 1/3% of the payor’s netannual income minus 25% of the payee’s netannual income.[2]
Another major change for maintenance payments beginning in 2019 is that maintenance payments will no longer be deductible for the payor and the payee will no longer claim such payments as income tax. Keep in mind, however, that if your maintenance order was entered prior to January 1, 2019, the old tax rules will apply. This means that the payor will still be entitled to deduct those payments and the payee will be required to claim the payments as income, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise.
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[1]750 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/504 Effective until January 1, 2019
[2]750 ILCS 5/504 Effective January 1, 2019
