Mortgage With Alimony Income in Florida: History, Continuance and the Tax Rule That Changed

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A mortgage with alimony income Florida recipients qualify for counts the alimony when a decree orders it, receipts show it, and it will continue for three years.

Whether lenders gross it up depends on the divorce date, because the tax treatment changed in 2019. Our guide to divorce and your mortgage in Florida covers the rest.

The three tests

A final decree or a signed marital settlement agreement.

Six to twelve months of receipt.

Three years of continuance from the application.

The Fannie Mae guidance on alimony applies.

The same tests as child support.

The 2019 tax change

For divorces finalised after 2018, alimony is not taxable to the recipient and not deductible by the payer.

For earlier divorces, the reverse.

See our guide to tax transcripts and your mortgage in Florida.

Post-2018 alimony can be grossed up like child support.

Pre-2019 alimony appears on the return and is counted as taxable income.

Florida's alimony reform

Florida ended permanent alimony for new cases in 2023 and set duration limits by marriage length.

The Florida Statutes section 61.08 sets the rules.

Durational alimony has an end date, which matters for continuance.

Older decrees with permanent alimony still exist.

The decree's terms control.

Continuance

Durational alimony ending within three years does not count.

Rehabilitative alimony often ends sooner.

Modifiable alimony may be questioned if a modification is pending.

Bring the decree and any pending motions.

Lenders read the end date.

Receipt history

Bank deposits matching the decree amount.

See our guide to how many months of bank statements a mortgage needs in Florida.

Direct payments, not cash.

Lump-sum alimony is an asset, not income.

Irregular receipt weakens the file.

Alimony paid

A monthly debt in the ratio for the payer.

See our guide to refinancing after divorce in Florida.

Some lenders deduct it from income rather than adding it to debt, which helps the ratio.

Ask which method the lender uses.

The difference can change the approval.

Combining with other income

Salary plus alimony is a normal file.

See our guide to mortgages with child support income in Florida.

Each source documented separately.

Gross-up only where applicable.

A recipient re-entering the workforce has a new-job question too.

Programme differences

All major programmes accept alimony income with the tests met.

See our guide to VA loans and divorce in Florida.

FHA leans toward a twelve-month history.

VA counts it in residual income.

USDA includes it in household income for the limit.

The marital home

A recipient keeping the home refinances to remove the ex-spouse.

See our guide to refinancing to remove a co-borrower in Florida.

Alimony can be the qualifying income for that refinance.

The decree's buyout terms and the alimony terms interact.

Bring the whole decree.

Buying a new home

Alimony plus a down payment from the settlement.

See our guide to large deposits and source of funds in Florida.

Settlement proceeds are documented by the decree and the closing statement.

Homestead on the new home.

Portability if the marital home was homesteaded and the decree allows.

Modifications and enforcement

A pending modification motion can suspend counting the income.

Enforcement actions show unreliability.

See our guide to letters of explanation in Florida.

A stable record for a year restores it.

Apply when the record is clean.

Privacy

Provide the alimony provisions and the payment records.

Redact what the lender does not need if permitted.

See our guide to mortgage application checklists in Florida.

The underwriter reads amounts and dates.

Nothing else.

Remarriage

Alimony usually ends on remarriage under Florida decrees.

A planned remarriage inside three years affects continuance.

Lenders do not ask about plans; the decree's terms govern.

A new spouse's income can replace it on the loan.

See our guide to adding a spouse to the mortgage in Florida.

A worked example

A post-2019 decree with durational alimony for eight years and twelve months of deposits.

The alimony is grossed up and added to part-time salary.

Continuance clears with five years remaining.

The combined income qualifies for a modest home with a Florida Housing second.

See our guide to Florida Housing down payment assistance.

Lump-sum alimony

A one-time payment is an asset for down payment or reserves, not monthly income.

See our guide to large deposits and source of funds in Florida.

The decree and the deposit document it.

It can fund a large down payment on a home the monthly income alone would not carry.

Structure the purchase around it.

Timing after the decree

Six months of receipts is the earliest most lenders will count alimony.

Twelve months opens every programme.

Rent during the gap if you must.

A pre-approval on other income can bridge.

Apply when the record is clean and long enough.

Where to start

Find the decree date, the alimony type and the end date.

Pull twelve months of deposits.

Then get a pre-approval with the alimony counted correctly for its tax treatment.