How to Complete Form 1099 for Alimony

If a divorce court ordered you to pay alimony to your ex-spouse, the Internal Revenue Service allows you to claim the alimony as a tax deduction. However, your former spouse may not realize that she must claim the alimony as income when she files her taxes. To ensure that your ex claims your alimony payments, you can request a Form 1099 from the IRS, complete the form and send it to your her. Form 1099 notifies her that you have claimed your alimony payments as a deduction and that she must report the income to the IRS.

Calculate the amount you can deduct and that your former spouse must claim as income by adding up all of the alimony payments you made throughout the year. Subtract any child support payments you may have included along with your alimony. Child support is not tax-deductible.

Illinois State Tax Extension

Visit the IRS website to download and print a Form 1099 (see References).

Enter your name, street address, city, state, ZIP code and telephone number under the “Payer” section.

Enter your Social Security number in the box labeled “Payer’s Federal Identification Number” and your ex-spouse’s Social Security number in the box labeled “Recipient’s Federal Identification Number.”

Enter your ex-spouse's name under “Recipient’s Name.“ The boxes below request basic information about the recipient, such as his street address, city, state and ZIP code. Fill these boxes in with the corresponding information.

Indiana State Tax Extension

Enter the full amount of alimony you paid for the year in box 3, “Other income.” Leave the remainder of the boxes empty, as these apply to business, rather than personal, transactions.

Send a copy of the Form 1099 to the IRS and a copy to your former spouse.