Use the Checkpoint database to locate relevant tax authority using the techniques covered in this course.

The taxpayer, Tom Bradshaw, provides you with the following information:

Tom and Katie divorced in 2014. Under the divorce decree, Tom is required to pay alimony of $3,000 per month and child support for their daughter, Suri, of $2,000 per month. In 2020, at age 17, Suri married the multibillionaire inventor of freeandclear.com, a website that allows individuals to cleanse their social media pages of any and all unacceptable content with a few simple clicks. As a result, Suri has substantial individual wealth of her own and no longer needs the child support. Suri and Tom discussed Suris new wealth and agreed that Tom would cease childsupport payments immediately. Tom has a copy of the email exchange with Suri, and a reasonable reading of those emails would indicate that Suri agreed to the reduction. Katie did not pursue the matter with Tom because she also benefitted from Suris wealth and did not see the need for any more childsupport payments, but she did continue to receive her alimony and include the monthly $3,000 as income. Tom does not have any contemporaneous documentation of Katies acquiescence to the decision to reduce child support other than Suri informing him of her mothers agreement through a telephone conversation. The divorce decree did not contain any stipulation that if Suri married or attained substantial wealth, child support could stop.

What is the effect of Tom ceasing childsupport payment on his ability to deduct alimony before and after Suris marriage?