Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1031J

Maintenance of civil partners living apart

Section 1031J sets out the tax treatment of maintenance payments made between civil partners under a legally enforceable maintenance arrangement.

• Maintenance payments to a former civil partner are made gross (without deduction of tax), are deductible from the payer's total income on claim, and are taxable as income of the recipient under Schedule D Case IV.
• A maintenance payment is deemed to be for the benefit of the recipient civil partner unless an ascertainable sum is specifically allocated for a child under the maintenance arrangement.
• Where a payment is allocated for the benefit of a child, it is not treated as the child's income; instead it is treated as income of the paying civil partner, who may claim the incapacitated child tax credit.
• The general income tax provisions governing personal allowances, reliefs, and deductions apply to the maintenance payment deduction from total income.