New Hampshire Alimony Laws: The 23% Formula, Duration, and Types

New Hampshire alimony laws cap spousal support at 23 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes and limit the duration to half the length of the marriage. Those numbers are starting points. Courts can adjust either one when circumstances call for it, and the whole framework lives in two statutes: RSA 458:19-a for term and reimbursement alimony, and RSA 458:19-aa for modification and termination.

Who Qualifies for Alimony

Not every divorce produces an alimony award. When the issue is contested, the spouse asking for support has to prove two things: that they don’t have enough income or property to cover their reasonable needs, and that the other spouse can meet those needs while still covering their own expenses.¹ Both sides get measured against the marital lifestyle, with an acknowledgment that running two households costs more than one.

The court weighs current income, property received in the divorce, earning capacity, and the overall financial picture. Someone who stepped away from a career to raise children and now faces a thin job market has a stronger claim than a spouse with steady work who simply earns less.

Property division ties directly into eligibility. New Hampshire divides marital property equitably rather than 50/50,² and the alimony statute requires the court to consider what each spouse received under that division when deciding whether the requesting spouse actually lacks sufficient resources. Walking away with the house and substantial retirement accounts can reduce or eliminate an alimony award. Walking away with little strengthens the claim.

One deadline traps people who don’t know about it. A request for alimony must be filed either before the final decree takes effect or within five years of that effective date.¹ Miss it and the right is gone. This matters most for spouses who initially declined support and later realized they needed it.

How Much Alimony Costs — the 23 Percent Formula

New Hampshire uses a formula rather than leaving judges to guess. The maximum alimony amount is the lesser of two figures: the requesting spouse’s reasonable need, or 23 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes at the time the order is entered.¹ The 23 percent figure was calibrated to the current federal tax rules, under which alimony is neither deductible by the payor nor taxable to the recipient.

Gross income gets adjusted before the math. The payor’s gross income is reduced by amounts actually paid for child support or other alimony obligations, along with health insurance costs covering the other party. The payee’s gross income is increased by any child support ordered for the couple’s joint children. These adjustments prevent double-counting and reflect each spouse’s real financial position.

When the Court Deviates From the Formula

The formula is a ceiling on the presumptive amount, not an unbreakable rule. Courts can go higher or lower when the parties agree or when the judge finds that justice requires it. The spouse asking for the deviation carries the burden. Circumstances that can support an adjustment include:

Disability, chronic illness, or other unusual health circumstances affecting either spouse
Vocational skills, current employment, employment benefits, and each spouse’s present and future earning ability
Custody of a child whose condition makes it inappropriate for the caregiving parent to work outside the home
Marital conduct, including domestic abuse or fault grounds recognized under the property division statute

Misconduct like adultery or abandonment does not automatically raise or lower alimony, but it can weigh in a deviation analysis when the conduct connects to the financial picture — hidden assets, dissipation through gambling, that kind of thing.¹

How Long Alimony Lasts

The default cap on duration is 50 percent of the length of the marriage.¹ A 10-year marriage yields at most five years of alimony. A 20-year marriage tops out at 10. The court can measure the marriage from a different start or end date when justice calls for it, such as counting from the point of a long separation rather than the formal divorce filing.

The same special circumstances that support a deviation on amount can also stretch or shorten the duration. A spouse whose serious health condition prevents employment might receive alimony beyond the 50 percent cap. But extensions are the exception. The spouse asking for more time has to prove why the standard duration falls short.

For shorter marriages, alimony often functions as a bridge, covering the time a lower-earning spouse needs to gain skills, finish a degree, or complete a certification. The duration in those cases tends to track the length of the retraining rather than the full 50 percent cap.

The Three Types of Alimony

Which category applies changes how the formula and duration cap work.

Term Alimony

Term alimony is the standard form and the one the 23 percent formula and 50 percent duration cap were written for. It provides periodic payments meant to help both spouses maintain a reasonable standard of living after the divorce.¹ Either spouse can request it, and the court can order it without an agreement.

Reimbursement Alimony

Reimbursement alimony compensates a spouse who funded the other’s education, training, or career advancement during the marriage. Think of putting a partner through medical school or paying for a professional certification while your own career stalled. The amount is based on what was actually contributed, and this form operates separately from the term alimony formula.¹

Temporary Alimony

Temporary alimony covers the period between filing and final decree. It runs from the time a motion is filed until the divorce, legal separation, or annulment becomes final. Time spent on temporary alimony does not count against the term alimony duration cap unless the court finds the temporary period ran unusually long.³ A drawn-out proceeding won’t eat into support that would otherwise start after the decree.

When Alimony Ends

Several events can shut down alimony, some automatically and some through a court petition.

Remarriage

Term alimony ends when the recipient remarries, unless the original order rests on an agreement that specifically preserves it through remarriage.¹ Absent that kind of clause, the obligation stops on the date of the new marriage.

Cohabitation

If the recipient starts living with a new partner in a relationship that resembles marriage, the payor can petition to end or reduce alimony. Courts look at whether the couple lives together continuously, whether they share expenses, the degree of economic interdependence, joint ownership of property or accounts, whether the relationship is intimate, and whether they present themselves publicly as a couple.⁴ Occasional overnights don’t qualify. The payor carries the burden.

There’s an unusual wrinkle here. If alimony ends because of cohabitation and the cohabitation later breaks up, the recipient can ask the court to reinstate the original order, provided the request comes within five years of the termination.⁴ Reinstatement doesn’t push back the original end date, though. An order set to expire in 2030 still expires in 2030.

Retirement

Alimony ends automatically when the payor reaches full retirement age under Social Security or actually retires, whichever comes later.⁴ The mere ability to keep working past retirement age is not a reason to extend it. The payor does have to give reasonable advance notice before retiring, and 60 days is presumed to be enough.

In narrow situations, the court can extend alimony past retirement, but only up to an amount that equalizes the parties’ Social Security benefits. This exception is a separate equalization tool and doesn’t require the usual showing of changed circumstances.⁴

Death

Alimony ends when the recipient dies. If the payor dies first, the obligation becomes a charge against the payor’s estate, meaning the recipient can collect from the estate unless the obligation is otherwise secured. Courts can require the payor to keep a life insurance policy or other security in place for exactly this reason.⁴ If you’re on the receiving end of alimony and no such requirement appears in the order, it’s worth raising with your attorney.

Modifying an Existing Order

Alimony orders can change, but the bar is high. To modify amount or duration, the requesting party must prove by clear and convincing evidence that circumstances have changed in a way that is both substantial and unforeseeable when the order was entered.⁴ Clear and convincing evidence is a tougher standard than the “more likely than not” test that governs most civil disputes.

Job loss, a serious medical diagnosis, or a dramatic jump in either spouse’s income can qualify. A voluntary career change or a modest earnings dip generally will not. The change also has to be genuinely unforeseeable at the time the order was signed. If the payor’s industry was already contracting during the divorce, a layoff the following year may not clear the bar.

Modifications work both directions. A payor who loses a job may get the amount cut. A recipient whose career takes off may see support reduced. Either party can file.

Tax Treatment

For any divorce or separation agreement finalized on or after January 1, 2019, alimony is not deductible by the payor and is not taxable income to the recipient.⁵ The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the older treatment, and New Hampshire’s 23 percent formula reflects that change: the percentage is lower because the payor no longer receives a federal tax break.

Agreements predating 2019 still follow the old rules. The payor deducts payments; the recipient reports them as income. That treatment survives most later modifications unless the modification specifically states that the new tax rules apply to the changed terms.⁶ Anyone modifying a pre-2019 order should flag the language to their attorney before signing.

On the state side, New Hampshire imposes no income tax on wages, and the former Interest and Dividends Tax was repealed for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025.⁷ Alimony recipients in New Hampshire owe no state tax on their payments, and payors get no state deduction. If the receiving spouse lives in another state, that state’s rules govern the recipient’s tax exposure.

Enforcing an Order

A court-ordered alimony obligation is legally binding, and enforcement runs through the family division of the circuit court. The main tool is a petition for contempt.⁸ If the court finds the payor willfully failed to comply, penalties can include fines, wage garnishment, and in extreme cases incarceration. Courts can also order income withholding directly from wages, place liens on property, or intercept tax refunds. When the payor lives out of state, enforcement moves through the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, codified in RSA Chapter 546-B.⁹

1
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 458:19-a – Term and Reimbursement Alimony
2
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 458:16-a – Property Settlement
3
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 458:19 – Alimony
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 458:19-aa – Alimony Modification or Termination
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance
6
Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes
7
New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. NH Department of Revenue Administration Shares 2025 Tax Updates and Filing Guidance
8
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. How to Enforce a Court Order
9
Justia. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title LV, Chapter 546-B – Uniform Interstate Family Support Act