Husband and wife got divorced, will the alimony received from the partner also be taxed, know what the rules say

New Delhi. After months of speculation about troubles in Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic’s relationship, the celebrity couple finally broke their silence and announced their separation. Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic shared their separate ways on July 18 via a post on their social media handles. Natasa made the revelation a day after she left for Serbia (her parents’ home) with her son Agastya Pandya.

Some reports are claiming that in this decision taken with mutual consent, Hardik is going to give 70 percent of his property to Natasha as alimony. Although these reports have not been officially confirmed yet, but such cases of divorce also become a matter of income tax. Today we are going to tell you what the tax laws of India say about the amount received in divorce i.e. alimony…

What is alimony?
Before proceeding further, know what is alimony. If a husband and wife get divorced, the wife gets an allowance from the husband for her living, which is called alimony or maintenance allowance. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, the court can make the wife entitled to permanent alimony for living after divorce. In most cases, the wife gets the allowance and the husband pays it. In some cases, the court can also give a decision to the contrary and can ask the wife to pay alimony for the husband’s living after divorce. If the wife’s financial condition is good and she has a permanent job or business, then the court can also give a decision not to pay alimony.

How is the alimony amount decided?
There is no fixed formula for determining the alimony of a wife for maintenance. The court decides in each case how much alimony should be given according to the circumstances of both the parties. The amount of alimony is decided after considering many factors like the income of both, their movable and immovable properties, children (with whom will they live) etc. Alimony is paid in two ways – either a lump sum payment has to be made i.e. the entire amount has to be paid in one go, or it has to be paid in installments on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis.

No tax on lump sum payment
There is no separate provision for alimony in the Indian Income Tax Act. In such a situation, the application of tax rules on alimony depends on the manner in which it is being paid. A lump sum payment is considered a capital receipt. The Income Tax Act does not consider capital receipt as income. This means that there is no tax liability on receiving a lump sum alimony.

Liability arises on such payment
If the alimony is being paid in installments on a monthly or quarterly basis, then income tax liability arises. Such payment is considered as a revenue receipt, which is income according to the Income Tax Act of India. If it is considered as income, income tax liability will also arise. In such cases, tax is calculated according to the slab of the alimony recipient.

Tags: Business news, Hardik Pandya, Husband Wife Divorce Application