Updated for 2026 guidelines
New York Maintenance Calculator 2026
New York law says maintenance, not alimony, and it computes the amount with two formulas and takes the lower answer. This page runs both, with the 2026 cap.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Estimate New York maintenance
Estimated monthly maintenance: $2,000.00
The court sets the actual award; this is the statutory formula amount, not a guarantee.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calculation 1: 30 percent of payor income minus 20 percent of payee income (annual)DRL 236 (maintenance formulas; cap indexing) (NY Senate) | $28,000.00 |
| Calculation 2: 40 percent of combined income minus payee income (annual)DRL 236 (maintenance formulas; cap indexing) (NY Senate) | $24,000.00 |
| Guideline maintenance (lower calculation, floor zero), monthlyDRL 236 (maintenance formulas; cap indexing) (NY Senate) | $2,000.00 |
Duration limits
- Marriage up to 15 years: Advisory duration: 15 to 30 percent of the length of the marriage.
- Marriage over 15 and up to 20 years: Advisory duration: 30 to 40 percent of the length of the marriage.
- Marriage over 20 years: Advisory duration: 35 to 50 percent of the length of the marriage.
DRL 236(B)(6) advisory duration schedule (post-divorce maintenance)
Assumptions
- Payor income applied up to the $241000 annual cap (effective 2026-03-01); income above the cap is discretionary under the DRL 236 factors.
- The 20/25 variant applies where the maintenance payor also pays child support as the noncustodial parent; otherwise 30/20.
Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.
New York alimony under DRL 236(B)(5-a) (temporary maintenance); DRL 236(B)(6) (post-divorce), effective 2026-03-01.
How the maintenance guideline works
New York replaced open-ended alimony fights with a guideline formula in Domestic Relations Law § 236. Temporary maintenance while the divorce is pending comes from part B(5-a); maintenance after the divorce comes from part B(6). Both use the same arithmetic.
The formula runs two calculations on the spouses’ incomes. Which pair of percentages applies depends on child support: when the maintenance payor will also pay child support as the noncustodial parent, calculation one is 20 percent of the payor’s income minus 25 percent of the payee’s income. When not, it is 30 percent of the payor’s income minus 20 percent of the payee’s.
Calculation two is the same in both settings: 40 percent of the combined income, minus the payee’s income.
The guideline amount is the lower of the two results. If that lower number is zero or negative, the guideline amount is zero.
The payor’s income enters the formula only up to a cap, set at $241,000 a year effective March 1, 2026. Income above the cap is not ignored, but any award on it rests on the statutory factors rather than the formula.
Duration has its own advisory schedule for post-divorce maintenance. For a marriage of up to 15 years, the suggested term is 15 to 30 percent of the marriage length. Over 15 and up to 20 years, it is 30 to 40 percent. Over 20 years, 35 to 50 percent. Judges may depart with explanation.
- Statutory term
- Maintenance (the New York term for alimony or spousal support)source
- Statute
- DRL § 236(B)(5-a) temporary; § 236(B)(6) post-divorcesource
- Formula
- Two calculations; the lower result is the guideline amountsource
- Payor income cap
- $241,000 per year, effective March 1, 2026source
- With child support
- 20% of payor income minus 25% of payee incomesource
- Without child support
- 30% of payor income minus 20% of payee incomesource
- Duration bands
- 15-30% / 30-40% / 35-50% of the marriage length, advisorysource
Worked example: $120,000 and $40,000, no child support
- Take a paying spouse with $120,000 in annual income and a receiving spouse with $40,000, with no child support in the case. The payor is under the $241,000 cap, so all of the income counts.
- Calculation one uses the 30/20 pair: 30 percent of $120,000 is $36,000, and 20 percent of $40,000 is $8,000. Subtracting gives $28,000.
- Calculation two: combined income is $160,000, and 40 percent of that is $64,000. Minus the payee’s $40,000 leaves $24,000.
- The guideline takes the lower of $28,000 and $24,000, so the annual maintenance guideline is $24,000.
- Spread over 12 months, that is $2,000.00 a month. If this payor were also paying child support as the noncustodial parent, the 20/25 pair would apply instead and the guideline would come out lower.
The steps above follow the calculation method described on our methodology page.
How to use this estimate
Enter each spouse’s annual income, using the same income definition as child support: gross income minus FICA and the other CSSA deductions. Then say whether the paying spouse will also pay child support as the noncustodial parent, because that switches the formula percentages.
The result is the guideline amount on capped income. Judges can deviate from it based on the statutory factors, and spouses can agree to different terms. Where the payor earns above $241,000, anything awarded on the excess is factor-based and outside this math.
Order of operations matters in a case with both awards: maintenance is calculated first, and the incomes are then adjusted before running the child support formula. Our New York child support page picks up that second step.
What this estimate includes
- Both DRL § 236 formula variants, chosen by the child support answer
- The 40 percent combined-income check that often controls
- The $241,000 payor income cap from the March 2026 adjustment
- The advisory duration schedule by length of marriage
What it leaves out
- Awards on payor income above the $241,000 cap
- Deviations under the DRL § 236 factor lists
- Tax treatment of maintenance payments
- Modification or termination of an existing award
New York maintenance FAQs
Is alimony called maintenance in New York?
Yes. The Domestic Relations Law uses maintenance for what most states call alimony or spousal support. Courts, forms, and lawyers in New York all say maintenance, so this page does too.
How does New York calculate maintenance in 2026?
With two formulas from DRL § 236, taking the lower result. One formula compares percentages of each spouse’s income: 20/25 when the payor also pays child support, 30/20 when not. The other takes 40 percent of combined income and subtracts the payee’s income. The payor’s income counts only up to $241,000 a year.
What is the maintenance income cap, and when does it change?
The formula applies to payor income up to $241,000 a year as of March 1, 2026. The cap is indexed to inflation every 2 years, so the next adjustment lands March 1, 2028. The prior cap was $228,000.
How long does maintenance last?
The statute gives an advisory range tied to the length of the marriage: 15 to 30 percent of the marriage length for marriages up to 15 years, 30 to 40 percent over 15 and up to 20 years, and 35 to 50 percent past 20 years. The ranges guide rather than bind, and judges explain departures.
Does maintenance change the child support numbers?
Yes, and the order matters. Maintenance is worked out first. The payment is then subtracted from the payor’s income and added to the payee’s before the CSSA child support formula runs. That is also why the maintenance formula switches to the 20/25 percentages when the payor is the noncustodial parent.
Is temporary maintenance different from post-divorce maintenance?
The math is the same; the timing differs. Temporary maintenance under § 236(B)(5-a) covers the period while the divorce is pending. Post-divorce maintenance under § 236(B)(6) is the award in the judgment, and only it carries the advisory duration schedule.
Can spouses agree to skip the formula?
They can settle on their own terms in a written agreement, but New York expects the agreement to acknowledge what the guideline amount would have been. That keeps the waiver informed rather than accidental.
Good to know in New York
- The court system publishes official maintenance worksheets and calculators on its Maintenance and Child Support Tools page, linked in the sources. This page follows the same statute and shows the arithmetic in the open.
- The $241,000 cap and the $193,000 child support cap move together on the same 2-year cycle, both adjusted each even year on March 1.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- DRL 236 (maintenance formulas; cap indexing)
NY Senate Last checked
- NY Courts maintenance and child support tools page (worksheets, maintenance calculators)
NYS Unified Court System Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the DRL 236 formulas and the $241,000 payor cap. Material changes are dated in the update log.