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Document The Work History
Past jobs, past earnings, degrees, and licenses. Capacity arguments start with what the record already shows.
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Spousal Support / Imputed Income
Spousal Support · Virginia
Support based on what you could earn.
When a spouse earns less than they could on purpose, Virginia courts do not have to take the smaller paycheck at face value. The court can impute income, setting support on earning capacity instead. Here is how it works, in both directions.
First call is a conversation, not a commitment. · By Corrie Sirkin, Esq.
The Short Answer
Imputed income means the court assigns a spouse an income based on what they could reasonably earn, not what they currently do, when their unemployment or under-employment is voluntary. It can apply to either spouse, the one paying or the one asking. The party asking the court to impute income carries the burden of proving the capacity is real.
What It Actually Means
Earning capacity, not just the paycheck.
Spousal support runs on the incomes of two people. That creates a temptation: earn less, on paper, and the number moves your way. A payor who downshifts careers pays less. A recipient who stays out of work receives more. Imputation is the court's answer to that temptation. When a spouse is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed, the court can set support using the income they are capable of earning.
When courts impute income
The key word is voluntary. A spouse who quits a good job during the case, refuses suitable work, or takes a role far below their qualifications without a good reason can have income imputed. A spouse who lost a job in a layoff, who cannot work for documented health reasons, or who stays home because a child's needs genuinely require it is in a different position. The court looks at why the income is what it is.
Who carries the burden
The spouse asking the court to impute income has to prove it. That means showing the other spouse's work history, qualifications, and the jobs realistically available to them. It is not enough to say they could earn more. You have to show what, where, and how much, with evidence.
How earning capacity is proven
Work history and past earnings are the starting point. In contested cases, a vocational expert can evaluate a spouse's skills and the local job market and testify to a concrete earning capacity. The stronger and more specific the evidence, the more likely the court is to use the imputed number.
Who it applies toEither spouse. The payor trying to shrink the number, or the recipient trying to grow it.
The triggerVoluntary unemployment or under-employment. Involuntary losses are treated differently.
The burdenThe spouse asking for imputation must prove the other's real earning capacity.
The evidenceWork history, qualifications, the local job market, and often a vocational expert.
Why Capacity Counts
Earning capacity is written into the statute. Virginia Code § 20-107.1(E) requires the court to weigh each party's earning capacity, skills, education, and job opportunities, and Virginia case law allows income to be imputed to a spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed.
Source: Virginia Code § 20-107.1(E); Virginia case law
Corrie Sirkin, Esq.Family Law Attorney
Attorney Insight
A few honest words from Corrie.
"If you stepped back from work for good reasons, you deserve to have those reasons heard, not assumed away. And if your former spouse is hiding behind a smaller paycheck, the law sees that too. Either way, I will make sure the court looks at the truth of it."
Imputation runs in both directions, so run your own numbers honestly before you point at theirs. I see this from both sides. Clients who want income imputed to a spouse are sometimes earning below their own capacity, and the argument comes back at them. Before we raise it, we look hard at your work history too. And if you are the one who stepped back from a career for real reasons, children, health, a family decision made together, we put those reasons into evidence rather than letting the other side define them.
Questions Clients Ask
Plain answers about imputed income.
These are the questions we hear most about this part of spousal support. If yours is not here, we are glad to answer it on a first call.
Have a specific question?
Call 571.260.0999 or send us a message.
What is imputed income?
It is income the court assigns to a spouse based on earning capacity rather than actual earnings, used when the spouse is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed. Support is then calculated using the imputed figure.
Can income be imputed to either spouse?
Yes. A payor who voluntarily earns less to shrink support, and a recipient who stays out of suitable work to inflate it, can both have income imputed. The doctrine protects against manipulation on both sides.
Who has to prove it?
The spouse asking for imputation. You must show the other spouse's qualifications, work history, and realistic job opportunities, often with vocational expert testimony. A bare claim that they could earn more is not enough.
What counts as a good reason to earn less?
An involuntary layoff, documented health limits, or genuinely staying home for a child's needs generally do not trigger imputation. A voluntary quit, refusing suitable work, or downshifting without cause generally can.
When You Are Ready
Is a paycheck telling the whole truth?
Whether you suspect your spouse is earning below capacity or you are being accused of it, bring us the work history and we will tell you honestly where the case stands. Three offices across Northern Virginia, one phone number.