North Dakota Alimony Calculator 2026

North Dakota Alimony Formula & Factors

North Dakota has no formula for the amount of spousal support, but it limits how long support can last and does not allow permanent support. Under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1 the court may order support for a limited period only on finding that the recipient lacks sufficient property or income for reasonable needs, considering the marital standard of living, and that the payor can pay without undue economic hardship.

The court considers the age and earning ability of the spouses, the length of the marriage, their conduct during it, their station in life, circumstances and necessities, their health, and their financial circumstances as shown by the property they own. Support may be rehabilitative, general term or a lump sum.

What the Illustrative Estimate Is

Because North Dakota law gives no figure to calculate, the dollar amount on this page is an illustration only. It uses the reference method recommended by a commission of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and adopted by its Board of Governors in March 2007: 30% of the payor's gross income minus 20% of the recipient's gross income, limited so that the recipient ends up with no more than 40% of the couple's combined gross income. The method is set out in Mary Kay Kisthardt's article in the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (vol. 21, 2008) and summarised by Maryland's highest court in Boemio v. Boemio (2010).

The AAML method is not North Dakota law and North Dakota courts are not bound by it. It lists its own reasons to depart from the result, such as a spouse caring for a young or disabled child, age or health, or a career given up for the other spouse. It was written when alimony was still tax-deductible for the payer, and it does not apply when combined gross income is above $1,000,000 a year. Treat the figure as a starting point for a conversation with a lawyer, not as a prediction.

North Dakota Alimony Rules at a Glance

Worked Example: North Dakota Alimony Calculator

Take gross incomes of $8,000 and $3,000 a month. Under the AAML reference method, 30% of $8,000 is $2,400 and 20% of $3,000 is $600, a difference of $1,800. The limit is 40% of the combined $11,000, which is $4,400, less the recipient's own $3,000: $1,400. The illustrative amount is the lower figure, $1,400 a month ($16,800 a year). This is an illustration, not an amount set by North Dakota law.

For a 12-year marriage, the North Dakota rule on length gives up to 8 years 5 months.

These are the figures the calculator shows when the page first loads. A real order depends on evidence a calculator cannot see.

North Dakota Alimony Duration Rules

Unless the court makes written findings that a deviation is necessary, support ends within a share of the months of marriage, counted from the wedding to service of the summons: up to 50% for a marriage of less than 5 years, 60% for 5 to 10 years, 70% for 10 to 15 years and 80% for 15 to 20 years. For 20 years or more the length is whatever the spouses agree or a limited time set by the court.

Unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing, support ends when the recipient remarries or dies.

Is Alimony Taxable in North Dakota?

For federal income tax, alimony or separate maintenance paid under a divorce or separation agreement executed after 2018 is not deductible by the payer and is not included in the recipient's income. Payments under an agreement executed before 2019 are generally still deductible by the payer and taxable to the recipient, unless the agreement was later modified and the modification expressly adopts the new rule (IRS Topic No. 452). Child support is never deductible and is not income.

This page does not cover North Dakota state income tax. State rules are set separately and can differ from the federal rule, so check with the state tax agency or a tax adviser.

Modifying North Dakota Alimony

Whether an order can be changed depends on its wording and on the type of support. In most cases either spouse can ask the court to modify periodic payments after a substantial change in circumstances, unless the decree or the spouses' agreement makes the support non-modifiable.

Read the order itself and N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1 before relying on a general rule, and get advice from a family lawyer licensed in North Dakota about your own case. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

Last updated: October 2026. Sources: N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1 (North Dakota Century Code, ch. 14-05); AAML Commission recommendations (Kisthardt, 21 J. Am. Acad. Matrim. Law. 61); IRS Topic No. 452.