Under the new tax law (TCJA) the reporting of alimony paid as a deduction from income on the 1040 has been eliminated.
In conjunction payments for alimony or separate payments received are no longer required for inclusion of income on the recipient’s income tax return.
This is in place for divorce or separation instruments are executed after December 31, 2018.
This allows the IRS to no longer do the appropriate matching and reconciliation to ensure that what is deducted by the paying party, to the recipient’s tax return.
I have to admit, I am not surprised by this event. The reconciliation process had to have been difficult to accomplish and the Service does not want to be the referee.