Updates to the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Calculator

Arizona has updated its Spousal Maintenance (alimony) Guidelines and calculator. These changes affect eligibility, income calculations, duration ranges, and how courts use the calculator in divorce and modification cases. Whether you are a spouse going through the divorce process or a professional working in family law, these updates are important for understanding what support outcomes may look like moving forward.

Eligibility Comes First

Before the calculator can be used, the court must first determine that the spouse requesting maintenance is eligible under Arizona law. The person must satisfy at least one of the criteria in A.R.S. § 25-319(A). Examples include lacking sufficient property, needing education or training to become self-sufficient, contributing to the other spouse’s career, or having care responsibilities that limit employment.

The new guidelines emphasize that the calculator cannot create eligibility on its own. Parties may still agree to a support amount outside the guideline range, but they must acknowledge reviewing the guideline results and confirm that their agreement is voluntary and meets all statutory requirements.

Updates to Income and Asset Calculations

Several financial inputs used in the calculator have been revised. These changes can significantly affect the guideline amount.

Overtime income that was earned regularly during the marriage will now be averaged over the three years before the petition was served. This prevents one particularly high or low year from skewing results.

For investment and income producing assets, the previous automatic four percent rate of return assumption has been removed. Courts may attribute investment income only when it is equitable to do so. The earlier rule that excluded the first one hundred thousand dollars of income producing property from consideration has been eliminated.

Retirement asset rules have also been refined. Income from retirement accounts that would incur an early withdrawal penalty will not be attributed. Interest income may be considered once a spouse reaches age fifty nine and a half. Principal distributions and Social Security retirement benefits may be considered only once a spouse reaches full retirement age.

Family size is determined based on who is in the household at the time the petition is served.

Monthly mortgage principal payments are no longer included in the spousal maintenance (alimony) formula. This tends to reduce the guideline result in cases where one spouse is responsible for a large mortgage payment on the family home.

Employment and Temporary Orders

The new guidelines give courts more flexibility when attributing income. A spouse does not need to have been employed full time for twenty four months for the court to consider current income. This allows for more accurate reflection of actual earning ability in temporary and final orders.

Courts may also allocate or reallocate community expenses during temporary orders and at the final hearing. This update supports clearer analysis of financial need and ability to pay.

Changes to Duration of Support

One of the most significant updates applies to longer marriages. For marriages of sixteen years or longer that do not qualify under the Rule of 65, the maximum duration of support has increased. Previously, the guideline capped duration at eight years. Under the 2025 revision, the maximum duration may be up to twelve years or fifty percent of the length of the marriage whichever is greater. This change recognizes the financial interdependence that often exists in long term marriages.

High Income Adjustments

The calculator adjustments for high household income have been revised. Under the prior version, adjustments began once intact family income exceeded one hundred thousand dollars per year and the maximum adjustment reached eighty percent. Under the 2025 guidelines, the income threshold has increased to one hundred seventy five thousand dollars before any adjustment applies and the maximum adjustment has been reduced to seventy percent. These updates generally lower spousal maintenance (alimony) amounts in higher income cases.