Virginia Alimony Calculator (2026)

Pendente lite support while the case is pending

Section 16.1-278.17:1 gives juvenile and domestic relations district courts a formula for temporary spousal support, and circuit courts commonly apply it in divorce cases. When the spouses have no minor children in common, the presumptive amount is 27% of the payor's monthly gross income minus 50% of the payee's. When they have minor children in common, it is 26% of the payor's income minus 58% of the payee's. The formula is presumptively correct only when the parties' combined monthly gross income is $10,000 or less; above that, the court weighs the factors, though it may still use the formula as a reference.

Final spousal support after the divorce

Section 20-107.1 governs spousal support in the final decree. The court considers the obligations, needs and financial resources of the parties, the standard of living during the marriage, the duration of the marriage, the parties' ages and health, contributions to the family and to each other's careers, the property interests, the earning capacity of each party and the time needed to acquire skills, and decisions made during the marriage about employment. Awards can be for a defined duration, an undefined duration, a lump sum, or a combination, and the court must state its findings.

Virginia treats fault seriously. A spouse who has committed adultery generally cannot receive spousal support unless denying it would be a manifest injustice based on the parties' degrees of fault and their economic disparities.

Termination and modification

Spousal support ends on the death of either party or the remarriage of the recipient, and it terminates when the recipient has cohabited with another person in a relationship analogous to marriage for a year or more, unless the parties' agreement says otherwise. Either party can seek a modification on a material change in circumstances, and section 20-109 allows the payor to seek a change on reaching full retirement age.

Gross income and taxes

The pendente lite formula uses gross income as defined for child support in section 20-108.2: all income from all sources before deductions. Because it runs on gross rather than net income, the percentages are lower than in net-income states. For divorces finalized after 2018, spousal support is not deductible by the payor or taxable to the recipient for federal purposes.