IRS Missing Out on Tax Revenue From Alimony Payments: Report

Discrepancies in reporting alimony income for tax purposes increased 38% between 2010 and 2016, the IRS’s watchdog found.

The IRS said it will begin requiring taxpayers to include the date of their divorce agreement, to determine whether they should continue reporting alimony income, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report released Aug. 13. An alimony reporting discrepancy occurs when individuals either claim deductions for the payments that they didn’t make, or individuals don’t report alimony income that they received.

TIGTA estimates that the discrepancies led to a $900 million increase in taxes owed ...