Filing Taxes When You Receive Both Alimony and SSDI

How Alimony and SSDI Affect Your Tax Filing Requirement

You must file a tax return if your alimony income alone exceeds the standard deduction for your filing status, regardless of whether you also receive SSDI. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) itself is not taxable income and does not count toward the threshold that triggers a filing requirement. However, alimony received is always taxable income to you, and the IRS requires you to report it.

The key distinction is this: SSDI payments do not push you over the filing threshold, but alimony does. If you received $15,000 in alimony during the tax year and your filing status is single (standard deduction $14,600 for 2023), you would owe a return even if you also received $20,000 in SSDI. The SSDI amount is irrelevant to the calculation; only the alimony counts.

If your alimony is below the standard deduction for your filing status, you are not required to file. However, you may still want to file if taxes were withheld from your alimony payments, because you could receive a refund. You would also file if you have other income—wages, self-employment income, or investment income—that pushes your total above the threshold.

Key Takeaways

Alimony is taxable income to you and must be reported on your tax return; SSDI is not taxable and does not count toward your filing requirement.
You must file if your alimony income exceeds the standard deduction for your filing status, even if you receive SSDI.
If alimony is below the standard deduction but taxes were withheld from it, you should file to claim a refund.
Alimony received is reported on line 2a of Form 1040; SSDI does not appear on your tax return at all.
If your alimony payments stopped or changed during the year, you still report only what you actually received.

Where Alimony Goes on Your Tax Return

Alimony is reported on Form 1040, line 2a (Alimony received). You must also include the name and Social Security number of the person who paid it. This is straightforward reporting—you list the total amount you received during the tax year, regardless of when payments arrived or how frequently they came.

SSDI does not appear anywhere on your Form 1040. The IRS does not require you to list it, and it does not reduce your taxable income or create any tax consequence. If you are filing because of alimony income, SSDI is straightforward absent from the form.

If you received alimony and also have other income—such as wages from part-time work or interest from a savings account—you report those on their respective lines. Your total income is the sum of all taxable sources, and that total determines whether you owe tax or are due a refund.

Tax Withholding on Alimony Payments

Alimony payments are not subject to mandatory tax withholding the way wages are. However, the person paying alimony may voluntarily request that taxes be withheld from the payments. If that happens, you will receive a Form 1099-MISC or similar document showing the amount withheld.

If taxes were withheld from your alimony, you should file a return even if your alimony income is below the standard deduction. The withholding is a credit against your tax liability, and if no tax is owed (because your income is low), you are may have access to to a refund of the amount withheld. This refund is often the only reason someone with low alimony income files.

Keep any documentation the payer sends you showing the amount withheld. You will need it to reconcile your return with what was already paid to the IRS on your behalf.

SSDI and Alimony: No Interaction for Tax Purposes

SSDI and alimony operate independently in the tax system. SSDI does not reduce the amount of alimony you owe tax on, and alimony does not affect whether SSDI is taxable (it never is). The two income streams do not interact on your tax return.

However, they may interact in other ways outside of taxes. For example, if you are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—a different program from SSDI—alimony counts as income and can reduce your SSI payment. SSDI and SSI are separate programs with different rules. If you receive SSI in addition to SSDI, you should report alimony to your local Social Security office, because it affects your SSI benefit amount. This is a Social Security may be able to access issue, not a tax issue.

For tax purposes only, the rule is straightforward: report alimony on line 2a of Form 1040, do not report SSDI anywhere, and file if your alimony exceeds the standard deduction or if taxes were withheld.

Changes in Alimony During the Tax Year

If alimony payments stopped, decreased, or increased during the year, you report only what you actually received in that calendar year. If you received alimony for six months and then payments ended, you report six months' worth of income. If payments increased mid-year, you report the total of all payments received at both rates.

The person paying alimony should send you a Form 1099-MISC or written statement showing the total paid during the year. If the amount on that form does not match what you received, contact the payer to clarify before filing. Discrepancies can trigger IRS correspondence, and it is easier to resolve them before you file.

If a court order changed the alimony amount or ended payments, keep a copy of the order. You do not file it with your tax return, but it documents why the amount changed if the IRS ever questions it.

Filing Status and Standard Deduction When You Have Alimony and SSDI

Your filing status (single, married filing jointly, head of household, etc.) determines your standard deduction, which in turn determines whether you must file. The standard deduction varies by age and filing status. For 2023, the standard deduction for a single person under 65 is $13,850; for a single person 65 or older, it is $17,550. If you are married filing jointly and neither spouse is 65, it is $27,700.

Your SSDI status does not affect your filing status. If you are married, you can still file jointly or separately; SSDI does not restrict that choice. If you are single, your filing status is single regardless of SSDI. Choose the filing status that applies to your personal situation, then use the corresponding standard deduction to determine whether you must file based on your alimony income.

If you are unsure of your filing status, the IRS publication "Publication 17: Your Federal Income Tax" contains a worksheet to help you determine it. Your filing status and standard deduction are independent of SSDI.

What Happens If You Do Not File When You Should

If you are required to file because your alimony exceeds the standard deduction and you do not file, the IRS may eventually contact you. The consequences depend on whether you owe tax or are due a refund. If you owe tax and do not pay, penalties and interest accrue. If you are due a refund, the IRS will not pursue you, but you lose the refund after three years.

If taxes were withheld from your alimony and you do not file, you forfeit the refund of that withholding. This is a direct financial loss. Filing is in your interest if withholding occurred, even if you would otherwise have no filing requirement.

SSDI itself creates no filing requirement and no penalty for not filing. The requirement comes entirely from the alimony income. If alimony is your only income and it is below the standard deduction, and no taxes were withheld, you have no filing requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SSDI count as income when I calculate whether I have to file taxes?

No. SSDI is never counted toward your filing requirement. Only taxable income—such as alimony, wages, self-employment income, and investment income—counts. If alimony is your only income and it is below the standard deduction, you do not have to file, even if you also receive SSDI.

Can I claim SSDI as a deduction on my tax return?

No. SSDI is not taxable income, so there is nothing to deduct. It does not appear on your return at all. You only report alimony and any other taxable income you received.

If I receive alimony and SSDI, do I report both to the IRS?

You report only the alimony. SSDI is not reported to the IRS on your tax return. The IRS already knows you receive SSDI because Social Security reports it to them, but you do not include it in your taxable income calculation.

What if my alimony payments are irregular—some months I get money, some months I don't?

You report the total amount you received during the entire tax year, regardless of the pattern. Add up all alimony payments from January through December and report that total on line 2a. Irregular timing does not change the reporting requirement.

Do I have to report alimony to Social Security if I receive SSDI?

For tax purposes, no. But if you also receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must report alimony to your local Social Security office because it counts as income and reduces your SSI benefit. SSDI and SSI are different programs. Check which one you receive; if it is SSDI only, alimony does not affect your benefit and you do not need to report it to Social Security.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.