Alimony and form 2555EZ

Hi, quick tax question...

I see where you put alimony on the 1040, but for form 2555EZ, when it asks for "total foreign earned income you earned and received" on line 17, is it just income I put on line 7 of the 1040 or does that include the alimony as well?  Thanks in advance!

Alimony is not 'earned income'; earned income is quite literally 'earned' e.g. from employment.

Also, make sure you understand this paragraph from Article 17 of the US-UK tax treaty if it applies to you:

Periodic payments, made pursuant to a written separation agreement or a decree of divorce, separate maintenance, or compulsory support, including payments for the support of a child, paid by a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State, shall be exempt from tax in both Contracting States, except that, if the payer is entitled to relief from tax for such payments in the first-mentioned State, such payments shall be taxable only in the other State.

Thanks for the reply,

I'm not sure if I'm reading the paragraph correctly, but my ex and I are both in the UK, he is British, and I am not taxed on his maintenance payments to me, so will I be expected to be taxed on them on my US taxes?  To be fair, my standard deduction and exemptions put me down to zero taxed anyway...

Which country was the divorce decree? What did the Court say about the taxability of the alimony?

It would be very odd in these circumstances for the decree not to say the payments would not be deductible to the payor and tax-free to the recipient. Did your solicitor discuss this with you?