How Do Courts Calculate Maintenance?

May 5th, 2025 by Tiffany Hughes

What is Maintenance?

When spouses divorce in Illinois, also known as a dissolution of marriage proceeding or other legal separation, a court may grant a maintenance award, formerly known as alimony or spousal support, for one spouse to be paid from the other spouse. It is important to have a family law attorney that is well versed in the law and exceptionally capable at making sure you receive all that you are entitled to.

What are the Factors to Calculate Maintenance?

In determining whether or not a maintenance award is appropriate for a divorce in Illinois, the Court considers a number of relevant factors. According to Section 504 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the Court should consider the following:

1. The income and property of each party;
2. The needs of the party;
3. The realistic present and future earning capacity of each party;
4. Any impairment of the present and future earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to domestic duties or having forgone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;
5. Any impairment of the realistic present or future earning capacity of the party against whom maintenance is sought;
6. The time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and whether that party is able to support himself or herself through appropriate employment;
7. The effect of any parental responsibility arrangements and its effect on a party’s ability to seek or maintain employment;
8. The standard of living established during the marriage;
9. The duration of the marriage;
10. The age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, and the needs of each of the parties;
11. All sources of public and private income including, without limitation, disability and retirement income;
12. The tax consequences to each party;
13. Contributions and services by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse;
14. Any valid agreement of the parties; and
15. Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable. 750 ILCS 5/504(a).

How is the Amount of Maintenance calculated?

After the court determines that a maintenance award is necessary, a calculation must be done in order to determine the amount of maintenance that will be paid by the payor spouse to the payee spouse. In most situations, the Court follows the guidelines of Section 504 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to determine the amount of maintenance a party is going to receive unless the combined gross income of the parties exceeds $500,000 per year.

So, how much maintenance can I get in my divorce or how much maintenance do I have to pay based on my income?  Guideline maintenance is calculated by taking 33 1/3% of the payor’s net annual income minus 25% of the payee’s net annual income. This number, when added to the net income of the payee, shall not result in the payee receiving more than 40% of the combined net income of the parties. 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)(1)(A). For modification of maintenance orders entered prior to January 1, 2019, guideline maintenance is calculated by taking 30% of the payor’s gross annual income minus 20% of the payee’s gross annual income. This number, when added to the gross income of the payee, again may not result in the payee receiving and amount that is in excess of 40% of the combined gross income of the parties. 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)(1)(A-1).

How is the Duration of Maintenance Calculated? 

Next, the Court determines the duration of the maintenance award. The duration of the maintenance is calculated by multiplying a statutory percentage by the length of the marriage.  Said percentages are as follows:

• Less than 5 years = .20
• 5 years or more but less than 6 years = .24
• 6 years or more but less than 7 years = .28
• 7 years or more but less than 8 years = .32
• 8 years or more but less than 9 years = .36
• 9 years or more but less than 10 years = .40
• 10 years or more but less than 11 years = .44
• 11 years or more but less than 12 years = .48
• 12 years or more but less than 13 years = .52
• 13 years or more but less than 14 years = .56
• 14 years or more but less than 15 years = .60
• 15 years or more but less than 16 years = .64
• 16 years or more but less than 17 years = .68
• 17 years or more but less than 18 years = .72
• 18 years or more but less than 19 years = .76
• 19 years or more but less than 20 years = .80
• 20 years or more = the court, in its discretion, shall order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage or for an indefinite term. 750 ILCS 5/504(B).

What Are the Types of Maintenance?

Maintenance to a spouse can be reviewable, which means that maintenance is paid for a specific period of time, but the court reserves jurisdiction to determine whether the maintenance should continue given the circumstances. Maintenance can also be awarded in gross, which means that instead of monthly installments, maintenance is paid in a lump sum from the payor spouse to the payee spouse. One last option for payment of maintenance is the designation of unallocated maintenance, which means that the maintenance payment is coupled with child support payments and is presented as one “unallocated payment.” Unallocated maintenance is typically used for tax benefit reasons, however, a judge is unable to order unallocated payments, so the parties must be in agreement to employ this structure.

No matter the type of maintenance determined to be appropriate by the court, it is important to remember that almost all maintenance is subject to termination upon the happening of a statutory termination event. These events include the death of either spouse, the remarriage of the receiving spouse, or if the receiving spouse cohabitates with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis. The payor spouse is entitled to reimbursement for all maintenance paid from the date that the receiving spouse remarries or the date that the court found that cohabitation began.

Need More Information or Representation?

If you are filing for a divorce or want to learn more about maintenance (otherwise known as alimony or spousal support) and how much you can get or may have to pay based on your income, give The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. a call today at 773-893-0228 for a confidential, complimentary 30-minute phone consultation or email Tiffany Hughes directly at Tiffanyhughes@thugheslaw.com. Our entire practice is solely dedicated to the area of family law. We are highly experienced in providing legal representation to anyone who is filing for a divorce in Illinois, wanting to know what maintenance is, calculating alimony or spousal support, the factors to calculate maintenance, types of maintenance, termination of maintenance, assisting those seeking maintenance or spousal support in divorce, or wanting to know how much they can get or will have to pay based on their income.

About Tiffany M. Hughes, Divorce Attorney, Principal, Managing Partner, The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C.:

Tiffany M. Hughes is a divorce attorney and Managing Partner of The Law office of Tiffany M. Hughes. Recognized as a Top 100 Lawyer in Lawyers Magazine in 2018 and 2019, Super Lawyer from 2016 to date, and in addition to numerous other accolades, Ms. Hughes represents individuals in all aspects of family and matrimonial law proceedings, including litigation, mediation, allocation of parental responsibility (formerly known as custody), parentage, divorce and other child-related matters.

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This blog is made available by The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of Illinois law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. The website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in Illinois.  The law changes constantly and we do not go back in time to edit old posts that may be affected by these changes.  If you have any questions about Illinois law, which is the only State this blog and website discusses, please call The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. for a complimentary phone consultation and do not draw any legal conclusions without speaking to a competent attorney in Illinois first.