Tax Tips Divorce & Taxes 101: Filing Taxes After a Divorce Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Ginita Wall Published Mar 24, 2022 - [Updated Mar 1, 2024] 5 min read Reviewed by Katharina Reekmans, Enrolled Agent If you are one of the many people who went through a divorce last year, you will be coping with a different tax situation as a result and may even be filing your own tax return for the first time. Here are 10 things you should know. 1. Filing your taxes isn’t as hard as you think If this is the first time filing your taxes yourself with TurboTax, don’t worry. TurboTax will ask simple questions about you and will give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for based on your entries, whether or not you are divorced. Not sure you want to go it alone? You can also fully hand over your taxes to a TurboTax Live tax expert to do your taxes for you from start to finish or get help from an expert along the way. 2. Understand your filing status Your marital status at the end of the year determines how you file your tax return. If you were divorced by midnight on December 31 of the tax year, you will file separately from your former spouse. If you are the custodial parent for your children, you may qualify for the favorable head of household status. If not, you will file as a single taxpayer even if you were married for part of the tax year. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and will determine the filing status that’s best for you based on your entries. 3. Consider the tax implications of child support Child support is not tax deductible to the person who pays it, and alimony paid will only be tax deductible if your divorce was already final in 2018. Likewise, the recipient of alimony must claim it on their tax return if the divorce was final by December 31, 2018, but child support isn’t reported as income. If you rolled your support together into “family support” in your agreement, that makes it fully taxable to the recipient and deductible to the payer, just like alimony. Now the person paying alimony is no longer allowed to deduct the alimony paid, and the person receiving alimony will no longer have to claim the alimony as income if your divorce was final after December 31, 2018. Divorces final prior to 2019 are grandfathered under the old rules. 4. Don’t run afoul of the special rules regarding support If alimony payments are concentrated in the first year or two after divorce, the IRS may consider the money to be a non-deductible property settlement. Additionally, if alimony is scheduled to end within six months of a child’s 18th or 21st birthday, the IRS may consider the alimony, in reality, to be disguised child support. 5. Review your divorce decree to see who will claim the children as dependents If your divorce agreement did not specify who claims the children as dependents, then the custodial parent gets to claim them. If you have joint custody, the parent who has the child the greatest number of days during the tax year gets to claim the child as a dependent. 6. Claim Head of Household if You Have a Child If you are considered single on the last day of the year (whether divorced or legally separated), you may be able to take a higher standard deduction for Head of Household than if you file claiming a single status. You can claim Head of Household if you have a qualifying dependent and provide more than half of their support. The standard deduction is $19,400 for Head of Household compared to $12,950 for single filing status for tax year 2022 and $20,800 for Head of Household and $13,850 if you file as single for tax year 2023 (the taxes you typically file in 2024). 7. File first if you are entitled to claim your child but there are issues with your ex If you are entitled to claim your children on your tax return, but your ex threatens to claim them instead, file early in the year. That way, since you’ve already claimed your children, the IRS will make your ex prove he or she was entitled to claim them. 8. Claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit if you are eligible In previous years, the Child and Dependent Care credit was not a refundable credit. But for the 2021 tax year only, the credit was refundable if you lived in the United States for more than half of the year. This means that even if you don’t owe any taxes you could get the credit in the form of a tax refund. Also for the 2021 tax year only, the Child and Dependent Care Credit expanded the percentage and the child care expense thresholds, so you can get a credit up to 50% of $8,000 ($4,000) in child care expenses for one child under 13 (no age limit if disabled), an incapacitated spouse or parent, or another dependent so that you can work and up to 50% of $16,000 in expenses ($8,000) for families with two or more dependents. For tax year 2022 and 2023, the Child and Dependent Care credit has reverted to its prior limits of up to 35% of $3,000 ($1,050) for one qualifying dependent and up to 35% of $6,000 in expenses ($2,100) for two or more dependents and is refundable up to $1,400. 9. If you are employed, change your withholding on Form W-4 It’s always best to review your withholding whenever there are life changes. Update your W-4 with your employer to make sure that it reflects the most up-to-date information related to changes in your filing status, dependents, or income. 10. Estimate your tax picture With the new changes in your life, you can get an estimate of your overall tax picture by going online with TurboTax. You don’t pay anything until you file, and in some cases you may be able to file for free. See if you qualify here. We’ve Got You Covered Don’t worry about knowing tax laws. Meet with a TurboTax Full Service expert who can prepare, sign and file your taxes, so you can be 100% confident your taxes are done right. Start TurboTax Live Full Service today, in English or Spanish, and get your taxes done and off your mind. Previous Post Don’t Forget These 7 Stimulus Relief Related Last Minute Tax… Next Post Can Unpaid Taxes Keep Me From Buying a Home? Written by Ginita Wall More from Ginita Wall 120 responses to “Divorce & Taxes 101: Filing Taxes After a Divorce” My ex and I have been separated (not legally) and lived in separate states for 3 years now. Our divorce hearing is on 12/12/18….will I be able to file as single for tax purposes? Our divorce was final on 9/17/18. My ex now pays alimony of $3,500 per month. Our divorce is set up so I do not pay taxes on my alimony and he does not deduct the alimony. He was giving me $2,500 per month of non-court ordered support for years before we divorced, but we filed jointly. Do I have to pay taxes on those payments in 2018 before the divorce since we will not be filing a joint return for 2018? Very well written article with full information. Thank you for sharing this great info. It’s nice to know and read about this stuff. I would definitely try to follow these suggestions. My husband and I divorced several years ago. I now live with him and he supports me. Can he claim me as a dependent on his income taxes? I do not work, unable to find a job. He has a house and I have lived with him several years. Please let me know ASAP. Thank you Hi Michelle, If you lived with your ex-husband for the entire year, he provided over half of your support, and you did not make over $4,050 taxable income then he may be able to claim you as a dependent. TurboTax will ask him simple questions and give him the dependent exemption if he is eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Hi, I am finding regarding divorce and taxes from last 2 hours but i haven’t find anything informative. After reading your blog my all doubts are clear. Thanks for sharing!!! I blog frequently and I genuinely appreciate your content. The article has really peaked my interest. I will take a note of your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too. I filed my income tax a week before i got a divorce i clamed her and her three kids i had planned on splitting it with her. her student loans took well over half. I filed injured spouse. so i will be receiving it all back. is she intitled to any of it? Which state do I file state income taxes in? The one I resided in all year or the one where the ex spouse lives. I only have alimony as my source of income. our divorce became final in May 2014. As part of the divorce decree my husband was ordered to file the joint return taxes for 2013 by August of 2014. As of this date, April 10, 2015, he has not done that, although he did pay estimated quarterly taxes. Each of our two daughters lives with one of us- they are ages 22 and 23, each with a baby. My 2 questions are: 1) Is it allowed for me to claim my one daughter and her baby ( who are living with me and my daughter is not working) as an exemption, while he claims our other daughter and her baby? and 2) Can I file 2014 taxes individually ( as per divorce decree) without having filed anything for 2013? nt court for separation and have to wait 12 months for divorce to be final if i file taxes with him will it interfer with my 12 months wait i live in sc It’s tax season and my ex wants my social insurance number do I give it If my divorce was finalized in May 2014 and I got one of the 4 properties we’ve owned since 2010. Who can claim the state taxes on the property I got? My husband was writing the checks to pay the taxes on our properties but the funds were coming from our joint rental income or our joint HELOC loan. My husband and I have been separated since May of 2014. He was forced out of the home by an injunction for protection. Our two sons stayed with me and I have temporary custody until litigation is over. I offered for him to still see his sons on his two days off a week. He has paid not a single penny to help support his children. He tried getting me to file jointly and agreed to give me 2/3 of the return. I filed as head of household. I am getting more back by leaving him off of the return. I claimed both of my sons since they lived with me the entire year and for the last 7 months of the year he paid no support whatsoever. He will likely owe the irs since he cannot claim the children on his own return and didn’t have any withholding with his employer. Is he entitled to any of my return? Hi i have a question if you could answer for me i got divorced last august with two children but we agreed as of 2014 we had stated that we would only claim one child every year two my oldest graduate from high school then when he graduated from school we would spent every other year after that with spenting my youngest can he get in trouble for this i do have documents of this so u are know. Please help. Hi. I have been separated f(we do not have a legal separation in our community property state) for almost two years. My divorce has taken a long time, we are still in the process (a petition on my part has begun in November and I am already getting child support since Feb 2014). Last tax season (2013), we filed for bankruptcy, and even though we’d been living apart by that point by over six months, we had to do our taxes jointly, and any refund was taken by the bankruptcy. I thought I would be divorced by the end of 2014, so I withheld at a higher rate, but my lawyer is slow. This year, I decided to file as head of household. My ex was supposed to help with child care costs as well, but about 90% of the time, he did not. I am the custodial parent and through the child support, I am able to claim them on my taxes (I make more $ anyway than my spouse). He wanted to do his own taxes badly, so I figured he must be getting something back. He knew he was not supposed to claim the kids or the daycare credit. I had the opportunity through my lawyer to see his W-2’s. He did not withhold enough, and by my estimation, will owe at least $1500 on the federal return (I do my own taxes and I am fairly good at it). I have not seen his taxes and I am sure that he will not show them to me. He claims he owes the state and the person that did his taxes, and will not be getting anything back. I know that he would be screaming bloody murder if he owed $1500 (and he is not). Even though I meet all the qualifications to use the “Head of Household,” I am worried I might be liable if he filled out his tax return in correctly. I think something is fishy. Would I be liable for his incorrect return, or if he did it wrong, will it draw attention to me for an audit? S My wife or soon to be ex wife filed jointly and now just got separated this week. Am I entitled to half the refund? I’m not sure how it works and to be honest I’m still dealing with the emotional part of it and want to make sure what the laws are? My husband and i have a separation agreement and I’m going to file taxes. Our home was agreed to be mine and now he is asking what he is in tiled to on taxes for the house for the time he lived in it this year he moved out June 1 and I had the house remortgaged on Nov 30. same year what is he in tiled to in that case? Hi Karen, That decision is up to you, but you can split things like mortgage interest and property taxes if you agree to. TurboTax will allow you to properly file your taxes if you split your deductible home expenses. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Hi Lisa, I served my ex divorced papers april 2019. I believe it takes 6 months before the final divorce. Ive been a stay at home mother for 12 years and have never filed taxes. He will give me alimony and child support. I am head of household with 2 exemptions (do not know what that means) and it’s also said that I will claim my 2 children as dependent. How and when do I have to file my taxes? Do you have any advice for me? Thank you in advance! Hello Maria, The Tax Reform changes included new Alimony requirements. Divorce agreements finalized in 2019 follow new tax rules: Alimony is no longer considered taxable income and therefore is not required to be reported on your tax return. Child Support was never considered taxable income. If you have a W-2 job or are self-employed then you may qualify to file as Head of Household on your tax return. Here is more information on those requirements. https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household Hope this helps. Thank you I was divorced in early October 2014 in Wisconsin (community property state). I was the only income earner during the entire year. The judge said my ex and I were to split the income and taxes paid through the end of Sept. My W2 has my total income and taxes paid. I can pull payroll records to show income and taxes through Sept. How do I and my ex report my income and taxes paid off of one W2? we were married 11 mos.& 2 wks in year 2014.can we file married ? we have no children or property In the process of going through a Divorce. I was kicked out of the home on April 1st, but continued to pay all the bills for the residence and paid my soon to be ex over $6000 until the end of the year. Around August or September she was awarded temporary custody of the 3 kids. Can I still claim the kids and her, since she does not work and I supported them for most of the year, without court order? She does have court ordered temporary child support and alimony right now, as of September 1st. as of sept 30, 2014 my divorce was granted. I am the non-custodial parent and work full time. i was granted to claim 2 out of 4 children on my taxes with an opportunity for a buy- out clause. He (the custodial parent) has not worked at all in 2014 so can he claim anything? How does the buy out clause work? If I was still married to my spouse, and was separated from her in February of 2013, and the electric bill was still in my name where we lived at, and I lived somewhere else, then, how am I suppose to be able to prove that we were separated, if I had no other utility bills in my name, and everything I had sent to me was going to a p.o.box, instead of an address. I suspected my ex had off shore accounts.Nothing showed up on his tax records,but this was 2009,how could I know if he claimed them later due to the stricter rules regarding taxes and these types of accounts He asked me for the divorce then moved out took almost the entire house.I want to ask for support.He bought me a car and it breaks down all the time . He has not served me with papers ,The house was mine but I had to give it up I could not pay the bills I only got ss . Living with family .Do I need a attorney ? I think you need to see a attorney as fast as you can. Good luck! My husband name is not on my house we live in and he move out will he be entitle to get a part of my house. I all ready was told if his name not on the mortgage he can’t get anything just asking to make sure thank you Divorce final 10/2012 we owned an investment property together that has a mortgage I was given the investment in the divorce and my husband was given the marital property we owned. My question is can I claim the rental income, mortgage interest and loss for the property or do I need to split it with my ex-husband. The same on the marital property do we split the mortgage interest or do we just claim properties we were awarded and any write offs for those properties? My ex has been telling me he will file the 2012 tax returns in both our names jointly and has not done it yet and I’m concerned what the reprecussions might be since it is 2014. I filed mine individually for 2013 me and my ex has been divorsed for about 4 yrs and she is remarried. we have joint custody but she has primary. and i pay childsupport and am on dissability. well for the past 6 mths the kids has been stayiing with me cause she and him having problems. but i still pay cs wich she gets and nothing for me to help me while the kdis are here. should i report her to cs services. i have a question please help me i am never on here so if you can or anyone that knows email me your answer back i would be so greatful please…i am divorce live in chicago IL we have a child together and my question is do we have to give each other a copy of our tax return for proof of income for child support? meaning exchange it?? please help me i need to know the answer on that. thank yuo I just filed for divorce from my husband. When pulling IRS income forms i found out that he has not filed our income tax since 2010. He files Married, Joint returns. I had no income in 2011 or 2012. I have Social Security income for 2013. Can I file married, single for these years just to clear my name or does this need to be settled during the divorce. I want to purchase a home after the divorce and taxes not filed may hamper this process. If I receive a cash payout of my husbands 403.b retirement funds are they taxable on my end? If so what is the tax rate? My wife of 16 years decided that she no longer wanted to be married June 2013. Since we lived in a home that her Grandmother purchased for her estate with our 2 minor children she forced me to leave the house. In July or 2013 I moved into a rented apartment. Because I work for the school district I am off during the summer months and my wife had recently gotten a job after being unemployed for 3 years. I took care of the children all summer during the day and sometimes during the nights also. At one point my wife moved our 12 yr old daughter things out on the sidewalk for me to pick up along with my daughter and she lived with me for the next 2 months. No legal papers have been filed as of this date April 2014. My wife has file 2013 income tax as head of household claiming the children and will not provide any of our past tax paperwork for me to use in filing my 2013 taxes. I continue to provide childcare during school vacations and every other weekend. Since she has already filed for 2013 what can I do as far as my filing of taxing also she will not provide me with the childrens ss numbers. Help please she says she already has received the refund and has spent it.. I was divorce by the end of the year. How do i file if both are names are onthe title for the house still and I didn’t live there during the year. Hi Cheryl, If your divorce was final at the end of the year you have to file as single for 2013. If you both pay for your house and are on the title you can split the deduction for the home mortgage interest and property taxes. TurboTax will ask you questions related to your home and make the calculations for you. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Lisa – Got divorced this year and am planning for taxes next year. In the settlement, I agreed to alimony on a monthly basis. She is now asking if I can pay it as a lump sump each year for the yearly allocation. Am I allowed to pay ahead of schedule (but only up to the yearly amount) and not have it disallowed by the IRS? Or will I run into issues? Thanks! Hi, It won’t matter for your taxes whether it is paid as a lump sum for the year or monthly. You will still be able to deduct the amount paid for alimony for the year on your taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis My x and I divorced a few years ago I have been filing my taxes as a NY state resident, I have been living in Canada for 6 months I don’t work there since I don’t have a work permit. I don’t have any idea how do I file my taxes this year. I’m in the US for a few weeks and I will go back to Canada. What should I do? Divorced in 2013. I have custody of one child, no child support being paid. I am going to file Head of Household. Problem is ex has the tax records from 2012 and won’t give me a copy of them. I don’t remember if we received a state refund. He does not work so he won’t be filing a tax return for 2013. How can I find out what my liability is for the state refund if there was one? His address was on the state tax form so the 1099G would have gone to him. I am receiving retirement.In the divorce i agreed to my ex getting half the retirement.She filed QDRO but they only gave her 20%. I have been giving her the half we agreed upon in the divorce decree. Do i add the difference i have been paying her to the alimony i am paying her on my taxes. Divorced last year. I have just received a bank 1099 form from a closed custodian account. It has our son name and with his social number on it. Since the statement was sent to me, I would like to file it. Can I file it as part of my other 1099 forms together even it has his name on it? Note that I am going to claim him as my dependent because he lived with me more than 6 months last year. Please help My divorce became final on Nov 1st, 2013, my ex-wife and I have no children but we did own a home which we sold. We are just beginning to receive the tax documents for interested paid etc, how does that get divided since we have to file separate? My divorced was final in April 2013. My name is on the parent plus loan for my 22 year old daughter. My ex pays 42% of the loan and I pay 58%. Can we both claim the loan on our taxes since we both have a part in repaying? My husband has been incarcerated o and of for years. We filed for divorce several years ago but never followed up on it. However, I filed my taxes once or twice as Single/Divorced. I never knew that I could get a tax break if I filed a joint return. We were married in 2001 and I’ve only filed taxes twice since then. (I didn’t make enough to have to file) What kind of trouble would I get into if we were to file jointly this year. Will I be in trouble for claiming I was single last year? Divorced in September . I world like to file as married to get tax benefit of interest on the house. Am I able to do this? Sorry, previous question Had a lot of typos. I apologize. Hope ya’ll can understand what I asked. I am not an absent parent, but do provide the income he gets and he holds residency but we have 50/50 custody. Decree dsnt specify anything reguarding taxes? He has never worked since kds have lived there??? Help! Hello, major delima here. Divorced since 2002, 3minor boys. I pay my ex child support and m the visiting parent, notablsent by any means. 50/50 custodyp,but he holds Primary residency. He lives in his mothers house with our children, has not worked at all. By llaw, because I supply 100% of his income with that child support taken from me..legkally may I claim my children? Divorce decree does not specify. He dsnt collect welflare,just my childl support money. No ,his mother is not on any part of my dvorce What so ever. I Need help! Please help! Divorce was final sept 2013. Sold house end of August which was solely in ex name. I was breadwinner of household. I need to file jointly for 2013. Can I ? My dicvorce was finalize in March 2013. We sold our house in August 2013, since we were both on the loan can we claim anything on the house? It was rented out a couple of months during the year before sold it. Or is there nothing we can do. Any advice is good advice. Thank you. hi, i was married for 5 years then i got divorce and those times i was working too,but i didnt get any tax returned back,i worked for 2 to 3 years without getting any tax return,and now i got a bill or letter froem the IRS that i have to pay more than 500,do i need to pay this i mean im not married to him anymore and it sucks coz i didnt get any tax return back when i was working…am i screwed with my ex husband here?this is so frustrating for me.please i need help. You can not file jointly. As it says at the top of this document, if divorced at midnight on 12-31 (or before), you can not file jointly. I got a divorce in 2013, at my work I am still claiming Married with 0, I haven’t changed it to single with 0, will I “owe” money come tax time? I may be able to file as head of household but am not sure just yet b/c my child is now working part-time, how much $$ can she make before I’ll not be able to claim her as a dependent? Thank you, My divorce was finalized in Jan. we both share joint custody of our only child. Regarding the filing status, Should i file myself the head household instead of single? Our son is living with me more them half of the year and I am planning to claim my son as an dependent. I divorced in 2012 we had a tax liability owed to the IRS. I filed my taxes separately for 2012 and all of my refund went to the IRS I was told that I could fill out a form and the money would come back to me instead of going to the money owed during our marriage. Do you know anything about this? Can I go back and do this now? Divorced the house which was paid off and jointly owned is to be sold and profit split between both do I have to claim this as income since I will have buy a new place to live with this money? curious….if i file for a divorce today but it wouldnt be finalized until jan 1 2014 …. can me and him file taxes together as married couple since it wasnt finalized until jan 1? or cannot cuz of decree began today.. do they look at “finalized” of marriage or the day i filed? other question do we have the rights to let the court know which day we want our marriage to be finalized? or we don’t have any say in it? Hi Lisa, I and my spouse will be separating legally in a month or so. We do not have any children. I am paying a one time alimony to her as an out of court settlement. Can I show that in my 2013 tax deductions? i live in illinois and my children’s father pay me child support. why is it that i have to share my w2 and tax forms with him? i think it is invasion of privacy, especially since he as came up ti my former jobs putting salt on my tail!! ugh Hello, My ex husband and I have agreed that he can claim the two children as dependents on his income tax return. Today is the deadline and I have not received the release form 8332 to sign yet. Also he just informed me that he is filing a tax extension. We have always split the tax return that he gets for the children. I feel like he is not telling me the whole truth, or maybe tring to avoid splitting the tax return. If he does file an extension is he responsible for providing me copies of all tax paperwork? Thanks My sister got divorced and she has a child. she gets child support and alimony . I am head of household and both of them live with me . can i claim them as dependent as I play role in supporting them . please advice My ex husband and I have been divorced for three years. I have sole custody of our daughter. He continues to file her under his taxes and has done so for all three years. Is there anything I can do because I’m getting sick of not being able to efile and have the hassle of sending additional paperwork every year to the IRS. Wife and Husband separated for more than 6 months in 2012, divorce not finalized as of 2013. Can wife file her taxes as Married filing single and claim all of the children since she has been the main caretaker of children? (Husband has not filed taxes yet) Are there any ramifications to wife if she files and claims all of the children even though they are not officially divorced? Hi TurboTaxLisa! Very simple question. My wife and I got divorced in June 2012. Let’s say we had assets in three clumps “W” – the house. Given to her in divorce “X” – Investments – Given to her in divorce. “Y” – Investments – Given to me in divorce. “Z” – Investments – Split between the two of us. I think she gets full tax benefits (write offs) for the house for the whole year – correct?. For the investments, I assume we are both tax-liable for profits/loss on “our” investments (“W” and “X”) during the whole year. Correct? For Z, how do we handle profit/loss during the year, especially considering we only get ONE 1099 for all of the “Z” investments! Do we just take the 1099 for “Z” and “break it up” between us based on how the assets were split? Thanks – Not looking for trouble with Mr. IRS! Oh yeah, I’m a longtime TurboTax user. Does it contain any in-program tools/sections to specifically handle divorce? Sam Was divorced and we had a significant split of liquid assets are those taxable as my income? Also I did not work/have income for this tax year…do I need to file at all? My divorce wasn’t final until December 28th 2012. Do we get NO marriage credit for 2012 because we divorced 3 days before the end of the year? Correct, your filing status is determined by what your status is on the last day of the year Ok I got divorced this year. My ex and I did have a house (now sold) and we both paid the interest and such on the house. I never got the 1098, but I know enough to call and they are sending me one. I am filing single and there is nothing in the divorce decree about the house (papers signed on sale of house before divorce was final). When it comes to using turbo tax will the software divide the amount I put in for me or should I just add half of the amount listed on the 1098? Turbo tax doesn’t know you split the intrest with the ex. Enter half of the amount, and be sure the ex did the same, otherwise the IRS will come calling… My ex gets my tax money every year for our children and back support. Can they take my tax money for a child that is not from my ex? ie… My sister and her son lived with me more than half the year so I am claiming them since she did not work. Can they take my check and give it to my ex even though they have no ties to her or my children if I do claim them? It doesn’t matter how you file or what exemptions you take, you could be married again with children and the IRS would still take your refund until the back child support is paid I got a divorce in September 2012. I changed my filing status at the same time. Me having paid in as married with 4 kids now filing single with 2 How will my taxes be affected. I paid my ex wife alimony for almost 4 months after she remarried in 2011. We had to go court to stop the alimony. The judge ordered the alimony stop as of the date of her remarriage. She paid me back the over payments in the 2012 tax year? Do I have to claim it as alimony received and does she claim it as alimony paid in the 2012 tax? My wife and I divorced. In the settlement she received all of the mutual funds. She cashed some of them and claimed them on her taxes(2011). I just got a letter from the IRS stating that I did not claim them on my taxes(2011) and I owe 3400+ in . My name must have still been on the mutual funds. It says on the form that it was reported to the IRS by others and gives the amount of each withdrawal and interest accrued. If she already claimed them on her taxes why would I receive a note stating that I owe for them as well? Thank you. Explain this in a letter to and send an official copy of the divorce settlement to the IRS. That should clear things up between you and them. They’ll then go after your ex if she didn’t pay they taxes. I got married in July 2012, we got separated in November 2012. I filed divorced on February 1, 2013. Can I file single for 2013. Thank you for your assistance. NFC Hi my ex wife and I were divorced in 2012 and we filed joinrly for 2011 when we were separated. We recieved state and federal tax refunds which we split equally. How should we report this income for our 2012 taxes now that we are filing as single tax payers? Thank you. Federal tax refunds are not taxable. If you itemized your deductions in 2011 and took a deduction for the state taxes that were withheld from your paychecks then the state refund is taxable. To be fair I would split the amount of that refund. If you did not itemize, then the state refund is not taxable either. Dear (TurboTax-Lisa), I hope you doing well, please give me advice what shall I do in my case which as the fllowings: from 2008-2009, I was marry I file married filing jointly. in Oct 2010,we start divorce but wasnt final, I file as single (have no kids) in 2011, the divorce was final, I files as single again, in 2012 Me and my ex back togather, and we agree to file married filing jointly, do we qulified for that? what the Risk, if there any?and does the IRS request any approv? Note: we sill have the old marriage certificate, can we use it as approve for the IRS? Really appreciate it, Chad I am active duty Army since 2006. Been married since 2006 with 1 5 year old child. My wife “moved home” Aug of 2011, but I thought this was for her to go to school and work, be close to family ect. Well Dec 2012 she filed for divorce and it says “seperated since Aug 2011” We had our first hearing and the divorce won’t be finalized for another 60 days. She is now looking to file her taxes and to claim our daughter. She only started working in Aug of 2012 (8 dollars an hour) I supported her and my daughter for the entirety of 2012, Christmas presents, bills, trips ect everything! I understand she can file “married, but seperate” But aren’t I entitled to at least half of the child tax credit? Should I seek a lawyer to see that I get my entitlement of her return? Thanks! i think my wife has already filed 2013 taxes for herself. i’m sure she claimed head of household & everything else. however i have not signed an exemption claim of release. she had me removed from the home & a no contact order placed on me in march of 2012. what can i do about this? also i have been paying voluntary child support, any way it can be deductible? thank you for any info. What can I do legally, in my divorce it states that we alternate our 3 childen. 2 -1 -2. Each year. My ex claimed all 3 of my children for taxes. What can I do to be able to claim my 2 children as I was suppose to for this year? Hi Laura – My ex did this to me 2 years in a row. I was unable to file my taxes electronically because he beat me to the punch. The system recognized that he had already claimed them and ‘rejected’ my electronic returns. I had to print them out and mail them along with a copy of my divorce decree that showed that we were to each claim 1 child. From what I read, the IRS should have sent him a letter asking that he prove his ability to claim them both. Haven’t heard a thing since. 🙂 I’ve been recently divorced. My ex-husband and I received a tax refund for the 2011 year (last year) . We will both file separate this year for the 2012 year. How/who has to claim the tax refund as imcome? Do we split it? Thanks for any help! I was divorced in 2011 and filed single with no dependents although i continued to fully support my ex-wife for the entire year who lived in my primary residence. She did not file taxes for 2011 as she had no income. Could i have claimed her on my taxes for 2011 as single with her name as a dependent)? I also have fully supported her in 2012 in which she still lives in my primary residence. If it matters i also live in an RV which is closer to my work and will claim the interest as my secondary residence. So can i claim her for my 2012 taxes as well? Thank you Hi Mike, Was your support considered as Alimony in the divorce decree? If so, she would not be your dependent. You would just deduct it as alimony. If it is not considered alimony the only way you would be able to claim her as a dependent is if she lived with you the entire year. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis My wife and I used Turbo Tax during our marriage. We divorced last year. The values Turbo Tax generally imports from the previous year’s return. How are they handled for my filing single return this year? When you import your return from last year the program will ask if you made any changes. You would then put in the corrected info. we are divorced living together split bills have 2 kids kids live with us.we have house.we both work.whats best way to do taxes.officially she has primary custody of kids.but we see kids equally since we live in same house.we get along fine My wife asked for a divorce in November 2012 So its now 2013 the divorce isn’t complete so I see that I must file as married. If she only worked like less the 2 months of the year do I have to split the income with her? If you file a joint return, you’ll report your combined income on the return. If you file separately and live in a community property state, you may have to report half of the total community income on your tax return. Check with your accountant to be sure. As for whether you have to pay her half the income, you likely have a mutual duty to support each other under the laws of your state. So check with your attorney to see what support you must provide. you can file married filing seperately. It’s the worst tax rate. The best tax rate is married filing jointly, so if the wife is willing, it would probably be more beneficial to you I married in March 2012, My husband received his green card in July 2012. He has since moved out in December 2012. How do I file? I have a 22 yr old in college. Can I file Head of House Hold? He only got a job in October. If a couple with one child were married the entire year of 2012 but did not live together the last 6+ months of that year and one member did not have any income that entire year, can the person filing, file ether Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately or Head of Household? To file as head of household, you must not have lived together for the last six months of the year, and your home must have been the primary residence for your child. I am getting married in March and have unresolved IRS tax issues with my ex husband is there any way to protect my future husband from these issues? I have filed innocent spousal and have filed seperated for last 5 years. They keep my return we have been divorced since feb 2012 I filed for divorce in October 2012 and it was granted by the judge 90 days after in January 2013. Can I file single for 2012? Hi Tj, You can file as single if your divorce was granted before year end. But since your divorce wasn’t final until 2013, you will be considered married for 2012 and can’t file as single. Ginita Was married 33 years, the divorce was final on october 31st of 2012, i started to receive my alimony the 2nd week of sept 2012, i do not work do i have to file taxes for oct, nov, dec, and 2 weeks in sept, receive 375,00 a week also am i entitled to any of his income taxes for 2012. IRS says that “we” owe taxes from her retirement cash out in 2010. They say she rec 13K and owes taxes on that. I specifically remember that the amount she rec was actually about 9K and they said the taxes were taken out b4 she got it. Besides that we are now divorced and I agreed to half the ccards bills and that is all. She had prepaired in her name and I signed “jointly”………IRS now sending me the bill for 3K – which like I said seems like a mistake……..But, am I not excused anyway being divorced and this is new mail .???? My divorce will be final on november 27,2012 can we still file our taxes together? I got divorced on October 2011 and then got married on December 2011. I still supported my ex wife for the whole year since she is not working and we have a son together. How should I file my taxes? Should I claim my ex-wife? Thank you Hi Alonso, You have to file married filed jointly or married filed separately with your new wife. Unfortunately you cannot claim your ex-wife as a dependent under the “qualifying relative” rules. If the support you’re paying is considered alimony on your divorce decree then you can deduct it on your tax return. TurboTax will guide you through the entry. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Husband and I legally separated 1 July 2011 and divorced Feb 2012. We both owned jointly a house and a rental property. I got the house and he got the rental. He moved out of the house 1 July. Do we just do 50/50 on both or notfor tax filing? I think it should be 1/3 for him and 2/3 for me on house since paid 1/2 th mortgage on the house for the first 6 months and all the mortgage the last 6 months. Like wise on the rental… 2/3 him paying mortgage on rental and 1/3 me. Help Was my question too much? I keep checking back but I dont see anything at all. :O( My husband and I moved to Arizona to start a bring a new business(mine) and he bought a home in his name. We filed for divorce in November this year, and he moved back to Wisconsin. He sold the home, while I have a condo in Green Bay, that was leased until May this year, so we could live down here in the winter. I don’t know if I should file alone, or with my future Ex. He’s in another state, and I have alot of deductions with my condo. Any input would greatly be appreciated. I’m on talking terms with him, should we have to file together. Thanks, Sandy Hi Sandy, You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree. If this is the case, you would be able to file as single. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Sandy, As Lisa said, if you were divorced by 12/31, then you must file as single. But if you were still married, you have a choice. If he agrees, you might want to figure the taxes both ways to see which way saves the most in taxes. But filing separately may be your best bet, since you have so many deductions. Hope that helps. Ginita Wall I am divorced (Febr 2011) and we have rental property. The decree states that we will split all tax fees, refunds and etc.. I make more money and we have no dependents. Who would be the best person to claim taxes on the property and etc during tax time? Could we split it? Hi Melissa, Not sure what the divorce decree states about the rental property, but if it states you should split it evenly then the decree should be followed. If it does not state specifics regarding the property, it is up to you how you want to split it. You do have the ability to split the rental property and TurboTax software gives you the option to split ownership and automatically makes calculations based on the percentage split. You can also use TurboTax TaxCaster https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ to get an estimate of which option is best for you. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Question is: If my divorce has been dragging on for 3 years as spouse will not sign msa papers, and I used attorney to solely to represent my interest for alimony income in 2008-9 (divorce filed in 2008), Can one deduct from these two prior years on the 2010 tax return attorneys fees paid for A. the attorneys fee’s judge order ex spouse to pay, but I am paying,as he defaulted on judges order, back in 2009. B. The attorney’s fee’s I paid upfront in 2008 for x dollars? The entire basis of the my hiring an attorney was to represent my interest on the basis of alimony, the other jargon, I can did alone, like the financial statements for the court, turned them into the attorney to file with the court; etc. If you really want to be an attorney, then by all means, go to law school. But unless you really want to enter the practice of law, don’t do it. If you’re only motivation for going to law school is money, you could be in for a huge disappointment. It is true that the employment prospects in law are not exactly amazing at the moment, and you could find yourself unemployed with huge debts.Nice information. Marcia, You are right, you’ll have to wait until you receive your W-2 before you can file. But be Johnny-On-The-Spot and get your return filed right after that. TD, Sorry, but if you were divorced by midnight on Dec. 31, you are considered unmarried for tax purposes, so you can’t file jointly, even though you were married for part of the year. But if you have a child in your home, you might be able to file as head of household, which gives you a better tax rate than single (though not as good as joint filers get). If i was divorced on July 31, 2010, Can i still file jointly? I am having trouble pulling up my 2009 turbotax return. I was up to the payment screen before 4/15/10 and saved my work so I could print and file later (printer was out of ink). Now I cannot pull up my return. I have to file with Home and Business. I decided to buy the CD version after I had started my online return because I realized I needed to use the program throughout the year for the next year’s return. How can I get my return? I had a computer software problem when I got my disk and couldn’t load the .NET framework version. I have solved the problem and reloaded the turbo tax program. Now your site says they have no data for me for 2009. I need to file my taxes early so my ex does not try and claim my son….How can I file early if I have not receive my w-2 yet? Hello, My ex husband and I have agreed that he can claim the two children as dependents on his income tax return. Today is the deadline and I have not received the release form 8332 to sign yet. Also he just informed me that he is filing a tax extension. We have always split the tax return that he gets for the children. I feel like he is not telling me the whole truth, or maybe tring to avoid splitting the tax return. If he does file an extension is he responsible for providing me copies of all tax paperwork? Thanks Browse Related Articles Business Taxes Small Business Taxes: Expert Advice for Filing Your Return Latest News How to File Taxes for Free with TurboTax Mobile App Offer Income Tax by State Arizona State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide Family How Child Support Affects Your Taxes Latest News President Trump’s Tax Proposals: Overtime Tax, Taxes on Tips, and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Extension and More Income Tax by State Alabama State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide Income Tax by State Arkansas State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide Income Tax by State Nevada State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide Income Tax by State North Carolina State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide Income Tax by State Mississippi State Income Tax in 2025: A Guide
My ex and I have been separated (not legally) and lived in separate states for 3 years now. Our divorce hearing is on 12/12/18….will I be able to file as single for tax purposes?
Our divorce was final on 9/17/18. My ex now pays alimony of $3,500 per month. Our divorce is set up so I do not pay taxes on my alimony and he does not deduct the alimony. He was giving me $2,500 per month of non-court ordered support for years before we divorced, but we filed jointly. Do I have to pay taxes on those payments in 2018 before the divorce since we will not be filing a joint return for 2018?
Very well written article with full information. Thank you for sharing this great info. It’s nice to know and read about this stuff. I would definitely try to follow these suggestions.
My husband and I divorced several years ago. I now live with him and he supports me. Can he claim me as a dependent on his income taxes? I do not work, unable to find a job. He has a house and I have lived with him several years. Please let me know ASAP. Thank you
Hi Michelle, If you lived with your ex-husband for the entire year, he provided over half of your support, and you did not make over $4,050 taxable income then he may be able to claim you as a dependent. TurboTax will ask him simple questions and give him the dependent exemption if he is eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
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I filed my income tax a week before i got a divorce i clamed her and her three kids i had planned on splitting it with her. her student loans took well over half. I filed injured spouse. so i will be receiving it all back. is she intitled to any of it?
Which state do I file state income taxes in? The one I resided in all year or the one where the ex spouse lives. I only have alimony as my source of income.
our divorce became final in May 2014. As part of the divorce decree my husband was ordered to file the joint return taxes for 2013 by August of 2014. As of this date, April 10, 2015, he has not done that, although he did pay estimated quarterly taxes. Each of our two daughters lives with one of us- they are ages 22 and 23, each with a baby. My 2 questions are: 1) Is it allowed for me to claim my one daughter and her baby ( who are living with me and my daughter is not working) as an exemption, while he claims our other daughter and her baby? and 2) Can I file 2014 taxes individually ( as per divorce decree) without having filed anything for 2013?
nt court for separation and have to wait 12 months for divorce to be final if i file taxes with him will it interfer with my 12 months wait i live in sc
If my divorce was finalized in May 2014 and I got one of the 4 properties we’ve owned since 2010. Who can claim the state taxes on the property I got? My husband was writing the checks to pay the taxes on our properties but the funds were coming from our joint rental income or our joint HELOC loan.
My husband and I have been separated since May of 2014. He was forced out of the home by an injunction for protection. Our two sons stayed with me and I have temporary custody until litigation is over. I offered for him to still see his sons on his two days off a week. He has paid not a single penny to help support his children. He tried getting me to file jointly and agreed to give me 2/3 of the return. I filed as head of household. I am getting more back by leaving him off of the return. I claimed both of my sons since they lived with me the entire year and for the last 7 months of the year he paid no support whatsoever. He will likely owe the irs since he cannot claim the children on his own return and didn’t have any withholding with his employer. Is he entitled to any of my return?
Hi i have a question if you could answer for me i got divorced last august with two children but we agreed as of 2014 we had stated that we would only claim one child every year two my oldest graduate from high school then when he graduated from school we would spent every other year after that with spenting my youngest can he get in trouble for this i do have documents of this so u are know. Please help.
Hi. I have been separated f(we do not have a legal separation in our community property state) for almost two years. My divorce has taken a long time, we are still in the process (a petition on my part has begun in November and I am already getting child support since Feb 2014). Last tax season (2013), we filed for bankruptcy, and even though we’d been living apart by that point by over six months, we had to do our taxes jointly, and any refund was taken by the bankruptcy. I thought I would be divorced by the end of 2014, so I withheld at a higher rate, but my lawyer is slow. This year, I decided to file as head of household. My ex was supposed to help with child care costs as well, but about 90% of the time, he did not. I am the custodial parent and through the child support, I am able to claim them on my taxes (I make more $ anyway than my spouse). He wanted to do his own taxes badly, so I figured he must be getting something back. He knew he was not supposed to claim the kids or the daycare credit. I had the opportunity through my lawyer to see his W-2’s. He did not withhold enough, and by my estimation, will owe at least $1500 on the federal return (I do my own taxes and I am fairly good at it). I have not seen his taxes and I am sure that he will not show them to me. He claims he owes the state and the person that did his taxes, and will not be getting anything back. I know that he would be screaming bloody murder if he owed $1500 (and he is not). Even though I meet all the qualifications to use the “Head of Household,” I am worried I might be liable if he filled out his tax return in correctly. I think something is fishy. Would I be liable for his incorrect return, or if he did it wrong, will it draw attention to me for an audit? S
My wife or soon to be ex wife filed jointly and now just got separated this week. Am I entitled to half the refund? I’m not sure how it works and to be honest I’m still dealing with the emotional part of it and want to make sure what the laws are?
My husband and i have a separation agreement and I’m going to file taxes. Our home was agreed to be mine and now he is asking what he is in tiled to on taxes for the house for the time he lived in it this year he moved out June 1 and I had the house remortgaged on Nov 30. same year what is he in tiled to in that case?
Hi Karen, That decision is up to you, but you can split things like mortgage interest and property taxes if you agree to. TurboTax will allow you to properly file your taxes if you split your deductible home expenses. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Hi Lisa, I served my ex divorced papers april 2019. I believe it takes 6 months before the final divorce. Ive been a stay at home mother for 12 years and have never filed taxes. He will give me alimony and child support. I am head of household with 2 exemptions (do not know what that means) and it’s also said that I will claim my 2 children as dependent. How and when do I have to file my taxes? Do you have any advice for me? Thank you in advance!
Hello Maria, The Tax Reform changes included new Alimony requirements. Divorce agreements finalized in 2019 follow new tax rules: Alimony is no longer considered taxable income and therefore is not required to be reported on your tax return. Child Support was never considered taxable income. If you have a W-2 job or are self-employed then you may qualify to file as Head of Household on your tax return. Here is more information on those requirements. https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household Hope this helps. Thank you
I was divorced in early October 2014 in Wisconsin (community property state). I was the only income earner during the entire year. The judge said my ex and I were to split the income and taxes paid through the end of Sept. My W2 has my total income and taxes paid. I can pull payroll records to show income and taxes through Sept. How do I and my ex report my income and taxes paid off of one W2?
In the process of going through a Divorce. I was kicked out of the home on April 1st, but continued to pay all the bills for the residence and paid my soon to be ex over $6000 until the end of the year. Around August or September she was awarded temporary custody of the 3 kids. Can I still claim the kids and her, since she does not work and I supported them for most of the year, without court order? She does have court ordered temporary child support and alimony right now, as of September 1st.
as of sept 30, 2014 my divorce was granted. I am the non-custodial parent and work full time. i was granted to claim 2 out of 4 children on my taxes with an opportunity for a buy- out clause. He (the custodial parent) has not worked at all in 2014 so can he claim anything? How does the buy out clause work?
If I was still married to my spouse, and was separated from her in February of 2013, and the electric bill was still in my name where we lived at, and I lived somewhere else, then, how am I suppose to be able to prove that we were separated, if I had no other utility bills in my name, and everything I had sent to me was going to a p.o.box, instead of an address.
I suspected my ex had off shore accounts.Nothing showed up on his tax records,but this was 2009,how could I know if he claimed them later due to the stricter rules regarding taxes and these types of accounts
He asked me for the divorce then moved out took almost the entire house.I want to ask for support.He bought me a car and it breaks down all the time . He has not served me with papers ,The house was mine but I had to give it up I could not pay the bills I only got ss . Living with family .Do I need a attorney ?
My husband name is not on my house we live in and he move out will he be entitle to get a part of my house. I all ready was told if his name not on the mortgage he can’t get anything just asking to make sure thank you
Divorce final 10/2012 we owned an investment property together that has a mortgage I was given the investment in the divorce and my husband was given the marital property we owned. My question is can I claim the rental income, mortgage interest and loss for the property or do I need to split it with my ex-husband. The same on the marital property do we split the mortgage interest or do we just claim properties we were awarded and any write offs for those properties? My ex has been telling me he will file the 2012 tax returns in both our names jointly and has not done it yet and I’m concerned what the reprecussions might be since it is 2014. I filed mine individually for 2013
me and my ex has been divorsed for about 4 yrs and she is remarried. we have joint custody but she has primary. and i pay childsupport and am on dissability. well for the past 6 mths the kids has been stayiing with me cause she and him having problems. but i still pay cs wich she gets and nothing for me to help me while the kdis are here. should i report her to cs services.
i have a question please help me i am never on here so if you can or anyone that knows email me your answer back i would be so greatful please…i am divorce live in chicago IL we have a child together and my question is do we have to give each other a copy of our tax return for proof of income for child support? meaning exchange it?? please help me i need to know the answer on that. thank yuo
I just filed for divorce from my husband. When pulling IRS income forms i found out that he has not filed our income tax since 2010. He files Married, Joint returns. I had no income in 2011 or 2012. I have Social Security income for 2013. Can I file married, single for these years just to clear my name or does this need to be settled during the divorce. I want to purchase a home after the divorce and taxes not filed may hamper this process.
If I receive a cash payout of my husbands 403.b retirement funds are they taxable on my end? If so what is the tax rate?
My wife of 16 years decided that she no longer wanted to be married June 2013. Since we lived in a home that her Grandmother purchased for her estate with our 2 minor children she forced me to leave the house. In July or 2013 I moved into a rented apartment. Because I work for the school district I am off during the summer months and my wife had recently gotten a job after being unemployed for 3 years. I took care of the children all summer during the day and sometimes during the nights also. At one point my wife moved our 12 yr old daughter things out on the sidewalk for me to pick up along with my daughter and she lived with me for the next 2 months. No legal papers have been filed as of this date April 2014. My wife has file 2013 income tax as head of household claiming the children and will not provide any of our past tax paperwork for me to use in filing my 2013 taxes. I continue to provide childcare during school vacations and every other weekend. Since she has already filed for 2013 what can I do as far as my filing of taxing also she will not provide me with the childrens ss numbers. Help please she says she already has received the refund and has spent it..
I was divorce by the end of the year. How do i file if both are names are onthe title for the house still and I didn’t live there during the year.
Hi Cheryl, If your divorce was final at the end of the year you have to file as single for 2013. If you both pay for your house and are on the title you can split the deduction for the home mortgage interest and property taxes. TurboTax will ask you questions related to your home and make the calculations for you. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Lisa – Got divorced this year and am planning for taxes next year. In the settlement, I agreed to alimony on a monthly basis. She is now asking if I can pay it as a lump sump each year for the yearly allocation. Am I allowed to pay ahead of schedule (but only up to the yearly amount) and not have it disallowed by the IRS? Or will I run into issues? Thanks!
Hi, It won’t matter for your taxes whether it is paid as a lump sum for the year or monthly. You will still be able to deduct the amount paid for alimony for the year on your taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
My x and I divorced a few years ago I have been filing my taxes as a NY state resident, I have been living in Canada for 6 months I don’t work there since I don’t have a work permit. I don’t have any idea how do I file my taxes this year. I’m in the US for a few weeks and I will go back to Canada. What should I do?
Divorced in 2013. I have custody of one child, no child support being paid. I am going to file Head of Household. Problem is ex has the tax records from 2012 and won’t give me a copy of them. I don’t remember if we received a state refund. He does not work so he won’t be filing a tax return for 2013. How can I find out what my liability is for the state refund if there was one? His address was on the state tax form so the 1099G would have gone to him.
I am receiving retirement.In the divorce i agreed to my ex getting half the retirement.She filed QDRO but they only gave her 20%. I have been giving her the half we agreed upon in the divorce decree. Do i add the difference i have been paying her to the alimony i am paying her on my taxes.
Divorced last year. I have just received a bank 1099 form from a closed custodian account. It has our son name and with his social number on it. Since the statement was sent to me, I would like to file it. Can I file it as part of my other 1099 forms together even it has his name on it? Note that I am going to claim him as my dependent because he lived with me more than 6 months last year. Please help
My divorce became final on Nov 1st, 2013, my ex-wife and I have no children but we did own a home which we sold. We are just beginning to receive the tax documents for interested paid etc, how does that get divided since we have to file separate?
My divorced was final in April 2013. My name is on the parent plus loan for my 22 year old daughter. My ex pays 42% of the loan and I pay 58%. Can we both claim the loan on our taxes since we both have a part in repaying?
My husband has been incarcerated o and of for years. We filed for divorce several years ago but never followed up on it. However, I filed my taxes once or twice as Single/Divorced. I never knew that I could get a tax break if I filed a joint return. We were married in 2001 and I’ve only filed taxes twice since then. (I didn’t make enough to have to file) What kind of trouble would I get into if we were to file jointly this year. Will I be in trouble for claiming I was single last year?
Divorced in September . I world like to file as married to get tax benefit of interest on the house. Am I able to do this?
Sorry, previous question Had a lot of typos. I apologize. Hope ya’ll can understand what I asked. I am not an absent parent, but do provide the income he gets and he holds residency but we have 50/50 custody. Decree dsnt specify anything reguarding taxes? He has never worked since kds have lived there??? Help!
Hello, major delima here. Divorced since 2002, 3minor boys. I pay my ex child support and m the visiting parent, notablsent by any means. 50/50 custodyp,but he holds Primary residency. He lives in his mothers house with our children, has not worked at all. By llaw, because I supply 100% of his income with that child support taken from me..legkally may I claim my children? Divorce decree does not specify. He dsnt collect welflare,just my childl support money. No ,his mother is not on any part of my dvorce What so ever. I Need help!
Please help! Divorce was final sept 2013. Sold house end of August which was solely in ex name. I was breadwinner of household. I need to file jointly for 2013. Can I ?
My dicvorce was finalize in March 2013. We sold our house in August 2013, since we were both on the loan can we claim anything on the house? It was rented out a couple of months during the year before sold it. Or is there nothing we can do. Any advice is good advice. Thank you.
hi, i was married for 5 years then i got divorce and those times i was working too,but i didnt get any tax returned back,i worked for 2 to 3 years without getting any tax return,and now i got a bill or letter froem the IRS that i have to pay more than 500,do i need to pay this i mean im not married to him anymore and it sucks coz i didnt get any tax return back when i was working…am i screwed with my ex husband here?this is so frustrating for me.please i need help.
You can not file jointly. As it says at the top of this document, if divorced at midnight on 12-31 (or before), you can not file jointly.
I got a divorce in 2013, at my work I am still claiming Married with 0, I haven’t changed it to single with 0, will I “owe” money come tax time? I may be able to file as head of household but am not sure just yet b/c my child is now working part-time, how much $$ can she make before I’ll not be able to claim her as a dependent? Thank you,
My divorce was finalized in Jan. we both share joint custody of our only child. Regarding the filing status, Should i file myself the head household instead of single? Our son is living with me more them half of the year and I am planning to claim my son as an dependent.
I divorced in 2012 we had a tax liability owed to the IRS. I filed my taxes separately for 2012 and all of my refund went to the IRS I was told that I could fill out a form and the money would come back to me instead of going to the money owed during our marriage. Do you know anything about this? Can I go back and do this now?
Divorced the house which was paid off and jointly owned is to be sold and profit split between both do I have to claim this as income since I will have buy a new place to live with this money?
curious….if i file for a divorce today but it wouldnt be finalized until jan 1 2014 …. can me and him file taxes together as married couple since it wasnt finalized until jan 1? or cannot cuz of decree began today.. do they look at “finalized” of marriage or the day i filed? other question do we have the rights to let the court know which day we want our marriage to be finalized? or we don’t have any say in it?
Hi Lisa, I and my spouse will be separating legally in a month or so. We do not have any children. I am paying a one time alimony to her as an out of court settlement. Can I show that in my 2013 tax deductions?
i live in illinois and my children’s father pay me child support. why is it that i have to share my w2 and tax forms with him? i think it is invasion of privacy, especially since he as came up ti my former jobs putting salt on my tail!! ugh
Hello, My ex husband and I have agreed that he can claim the two children as dependents on his income tax return. Today is the deadline and I have not received the release form 8332 to sign yet. Also he just informed me that he is filing a tax extension. We have always split the tax return that he gets for the children. I feel like he is not telling me the whole truth, or maybe tring to avoid splitting the tax return. If he does file an extension is he responsible for providing me copies of all tax paperwork? Thanks
My sister got divorced and she has a child. she gets child support and alimony . I am head of household and both of them live with me . can i claim them as dependent as I play role in supporting them . please advice
My ex husband and I have been divorced for three years. I have sole custody of our daughter. He continues to file her under his taxes and has done so for all three years. Is there anything I can do because I’m getting sick of not being able to efile and have the hassle of sending additional paperwork every year to the IRS.
Wife and Husband separated for more than 6 months in 2012, divorce not finalized as of 2013. Can wife file her taxes as Married filing single and claim all of the children since she has been the main caretaker of children? (Husband has not filed taxes yet) Are there any ramifications to wife if she files and claims all of the children even though they are not officially divorced?
Hi TurboTaxLisa! Very simple question. My wife and I got divorced in June 2012. Let’s say we had assets in three clumps “W” – the house. Given to her in divorce “X” – Investments – Given to her in divorce. “Y” – Investments – Given to me in divorce. “Z” – Investments – Split between the two of us. I think she gets full tax benefits (write offs) for the house for the whole year – correct?. For the investments, I assume we are both tax-liable for profits/loss on “our” investments (“W” and “X”) during the whole year. Correct? For Z, how do we handle profit/loss during the year, especially considering we only get ONE 1099 for all of the “Z” investments! Do we just take the 1099 for “Z” and “break it up” between us based on how the assets were split? Thanks – Not looking for trouble with Mr. IRS! Oh yeah, I’m a longtime TurboTax user. Does it contain any in-program tools/sections to specifically handle divorce? Sam
Was divorced and we had a significant split of liquid assets are those taxable as my income? Also I did not work/have income for this tax year…do I need to file at all?
My divorce wasn’t final until December 28th 2012. Do we get NO marriage credit for 2012 because we divorced 3 days before the end of the year?
Ok I got divorced this year. My ex and I did have a house (now sold) and we both paid the interest and such on the house. I never got the 1098, but I know enough to call and they are sending me one. I am filing single and there is nothing in the divorce decree about the house (papers signed on sale of house before divorce was final). When it comes to using turbo tax will the software divide the amount I put in for me or should I just add half of the amount listed on the 1098?
Turbo tax doesn’t know you split the intrest with the ex. Enter half of the amount, and be sure the ex did the same, otherwise the IRS will come calling…
My ex gets my tax money every year for our children and back support. Can they take my tax money for a child that is not from my ex? ie… My sister and her son lived with me more than half the year so I am claiming them since she did not work. Can they take my check and give it to my ex even though they have no ties to her or my children if I do claim them?
It doesn’t matter how you file or what exemptions you take, you could be married again with children and the IRS would still take your refund until the back child support is paid
I got a divorce in September 2012. I changed my filing status at the same time. Me having paid in as married with 4 kids now filing single with 2 How will my taxes be affected.
I paid my ex wife alimony for almost 4 months after she remarried in 2011. We had to go court to stop the alimony. The judge ordered the alimony stop as of the date of her remarriage. She paid me back the over payments in the 2012 tax year? Do I have to claim it as alimony received and does she claim it as alimony paid in the 2012 tax?
My wife and I divorced. In the settlement she received all of the mutual funds. She cashed some of them and claimed them on her taxes(2011). I just got a letter from the IRS stating that I did not claim them on my taxes(2011) and I owe 3400+ in . My name must have still been on the mutual funds. It says on the form that it was reported to the IRS by others and gives the amount of each withdrawal and interest accrued. If she already claimed them on her taxes why would I receive a note stating that I owe for them as well? Thank you.
Explain this in a letter to and send an official copy of the divorce settlement to the IRS. That should clear things up between you and them. They’ll then go after your ex if she didn’t pay they taxes.
I got married in July 2012, we got separated in November 2012. I filed divorced on February 1, 2013. Can I file single for 2013. Thank you for your assistance. NFC
Hi my ex wife and I were divorced in 2012 and we filed joinrly for 2011 when we were separated. We recieved state and federal tax refunds which we split equally. How should we report this income for our 2012 taxes now that we are filing as single tax payers? Thank you.
Federal tax refunds are not taxable. If you itemized your deductions in 2011 and took a deduction for the state taxes that were withheld from your paychecks then the state refund is taxable. To be fair I would split the amount of that refund. If you did not itemize, then the state refund is not taxable either.
Dear (TurboTax-Lisa), I hope you doing well, please give me advice what shall I do in my case which as the fllowings: from 2008-2009, I was marry I file married filing jointly. in Oct 2010,we start divorce but wasnt final, I file as single (have no kids) in 2011, the divorce was final, I files as single again, in 2012 Me and my ex back togather, and we agree to file married filing jointly, do we qulified for that? what the Risk, if there any?and does the IRS request any approv? Note: we sill have the old marriage certificate, can we use it as approve for the IRS? Really appreciate it, Chad
I am active duty Army since 2006. Been married since 2006 with 1 5 year old child. My wife “moved home” Aug of 2011, but I thought this was for her to go to school and work, be close to family ect. Well Dec 2012 she filed for divorce and it says “seperated since Aug 2011” We had our first hearing and the divorce won’t be finalized for another 60 days. She is now looking to file her taxes and to claim our daughter. She only started working in Aug of 2012 (8 dollars an hour) I supported her and my daughter for the entirety of 2012, Christmas presents, bills, trips ect everything! I understand she can file “married, but seperate” But aren’t I entitled to at least half of the child tax credit? Should I seek a lawyer to see that I get my entitlement of her return? Thanks!
i think my wife has already filed 2013 taxes for herself. i’m sure she claimed head of household & everything else. however i have not signed an exemption claim of release. she had me removed from the home & a no contact order placed on me in march of 2012. what can i do about this? also i have been paying voluntary child support, any way it can be deductible? thank you for any info.
What can I do legally, in my divorce it states that we alternate our 3 childen. 2 -1 -2. Each year. My ex claimed all 3 of my children for taxes. What can I do to be able to claim my 2 children as I was suppose to for this year?
Hi Laura – My ex did this to me 2 years in a row. I was unable to file my taxes electronically because he beat me to the punch. The system recognized that he had already claimed them and ‘rejected’ my electronic returns. I had to print them out and mail them along with a copy of my divorce decree that showed that we were to each claim 1 child. From what I read, the IRS should have sent him a letter asking that he prove his ability to claim them both. Haven’t heard a thing since. 🙂
I’ve been recently divorced. My ex-husband and I received a tax refund for the 2011 year (last year) . We will both file separate this year for the 2012 year. How/who has to claim the tax refund as imcome? Do we split it? Thanks for any help!
I was divorced in 2011 and filed single with no dependents although i continued to fully support my ex-wife for the entire year who lived in my primary residence. She did not file taxes for 2011 as she had no income. Could i have claimed her on my taxes for 2011 as single with her name as a dependent)? I also have fully supported her in 2012 in which she still lives in my primary residence. If it matters i also live in an RV which is closer to my work and will claim the interest as my secondary residence. So can i claim her for my 2012 taxes as well? Thank you
Hi Mike, Was your support considered as Alimony in the divorce decree? If so, she would not be your dependent. You would just deduct it as alimony. If it is not considered alimony the only way you would be able to claim her as a dependent is if she lived with you the entire year. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
My wife and I used Turbo Tax during our marriage. We divorced last year. The values Turbo Tax generally imports from the previous year’s return. How are they handled for my filing single return this year?
When you import your return from last year the program will ask if you made any changes. You would then put in the corrected info.
we are divorced living together split bills have 2 kids kids live with us.we have house.we both work.whats best way to do taxes.officially she has primary custody of kids.but we see kids equally since we live in same house.we get along fine
My wife asked for a divorce in November 2012 So its now 2013 the divorce isn’t complete so I see that I must file as married. If she only worked like less the 2 months of the year do I have to split the income with her?
If you file a joint return, you’ll report your combined income on the return. If you file separately and live in a community property state, you may have to report half of the total community income on your tax return. Check with your accountant to be sure. As for whether you have to pay her half the income, you likely have a mutual duty to support each other under the laws of your state. So check with your attorney to see what support you must provide.
you can file married filing seperately. It’s the worst tax rate. The best tax rate is married filing jointly, so if the wife is willing, it would probably be more beneficial to you
I married in March 2012, My husband received his green card in July 2012. He has since moved out in December 2012. How do I file? I have a 22 yr old in college. Can I file Head of House Hold? He only got a job in October.
If a couple with one child were married the entire year of 2012 but did not live together the last 6+ months of that year and one member did not have any income that entire year, can the person filing, file ether Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately or Head of Household?
To file as head of household, you must not have lived together for the last six months of the year, and your home must have been the primary residence for your child.
I am getting married in March and have unresolved IRS tax issues with my ex husband is there any way to protect my future husband from these issues? I have filed innocent spousal and have filed seperated for last 5 years. They keep my return we have been divorced since feb 2012
I filed for divorce in October 2012 and it was granted by the judge 90 days after in January 2013. Can I file single for 2012?
Hi Tj, You can file as single if your divorce was granted before year end. But since your divorce wasn’t final until 2013, you will be considered married for 2012 and can’t file as single. Ginita
Was married 33 years, the divorce was final on october 31st of 2012, i started to receive my alimony the 2nd week of sept 2012, i do not work do i have to file taxes for oct, nov, dec, and 2 weeks in sept, receive 375,00 a week also am i entitled to any of his income taxes for 2012.
IRS says that “we” owe taxes from her retirement cash out in 2010. They say she rec 13K and owes taxes on that. I specifically remember that the amount she rec was actually about 9K and they said the taxes were taken out b4 she got it. Besides that we are now divorced and I agreed to half the ccards bills and that is all. She had prepaired in her name and I signed “jointly”………IRS now sending me the bill for 3K – which like I said seems like a mistake……..But, am I not excused anyway being divorced and this is new mail .????
I got divorced on October 2011 and then got married on December 2011. I still supported my ex wife for the whole year since she is not working and we have a son together. How should I file my taxes? Should I claim my ex-wife? Thank you
Hi Alonso, You have to file married filed jointly or married filed separately with your new wife. Unfortunately you cannot claim your ex-wife as a dependent under the “qualifying relative” rules. If the support you’re paying is considered alimony on your divorce decree then you can deduct it on your tax return. TurboTax will guide you through the entry. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Husband and I legally separated 1 July 2011 and divorced Feb 2012. We both owned jointly a house and a rental property. I got the house and he got the rental. He moved out of the house 1 July. Do we just do 50/50 on both or notfor tax filing? I think it should be 1/3 for him and 2/3 for me on house since paid 1/2 th mortgage on the house for the first 6 months and all the mortgage the last 6 months. Like wise on the rental… 2/3 him paying mortgage on rental and 1/3 me. Help
My husband and I moved to Arizona to start a bring a new business(mine) and he bought a home in his name. We filed for divorce in November this year, and he moved back to Wisconsin. He sold the home, while I have a condo in Green Bay, that was leased until May this year, so we could live down here in the winter. I don’t know if I should file alone, or with my future Ex. He’s in another state, and I have alot of deductions with my condo. Any input would greatly be appreciated. I’m on talking terms with him, should we have to file together. Thanks, Sandy
Hi Sandy, You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree. If this is the case, you would be able to file as single. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Sandy, As Lisa said, if you were divorced by 12/31, then you must file as single. But if you were still married, you have a choice. If he agrees, you might want to figure the taxes both ways to see which way saves the most in taxes. But filing separately may be your best bet, since you have so many deductions. Hope that helps. Ginita Wall
I am divorced (Febr 2011) and we have rental property. The decree states that we will split all tax fees, refunds and etc.. I make more money and we have no dependents. Who would be the best person to claim taxes on the property and etc during tax time? Could we split it?
Hi Melissa, Not sure what the divorce decree states about the rental property, but if it states you should split it evenly then the decree should be followed. If it does not state specifics regarding the property, it is up to you how you want to split it. You do have the ability to split the rental property and TurboTax software gives you the option to split ownership and automatically makes calculations based on the percentage split. You can also use TurboTax TaxCaster https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ to get an estimate of which option is best for you. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Question is: If my divorce has been dragging on for 3 years as spouse will not sign msa papers, and I used attorney to solely to represent my interest for alimony income in 2008-9 (divorce filed in 2008), Can one deduct from these two prior years on the 2010 tax return attorneys fees paid for A. the attorneys fee’s judge order ex spouse to pay, but I am paying,as he defaulted on judges order, back in 2009. B. The attorney’s fee’s I paid upfront in 2008 for x dollars? The entire basis of the my hiring an attorney was to represent my interest on the basis of alimony, the other jargon, I can did alone, like the financial statements for the court, turned them into the attorney to file with the court; etc.
If you really want to be an attorney, then by all means, go to law school. But unless you really want to enter the practice of law, don’t do it. If you’re only motivation for going to law school is money, you could be in for a huge disappointment. It is true that the employment prospects in law are not exactly amazing at the moment, and you could find yourself unemployed with huge debts.Nice information.
Marcia, You are right, you’ll have to wait until you receive your W-2 before you can file. But be Johnny-On-The-Spot and get your return filed right after that.
TD, Sorry, but if you were divorced by midnight on Dec. 31, you are considered unmarried for tax purposes, so you can’t file jointly, even though you were married for part of the year. But if you have a child in your home, you might be able to file as head of household, which gives you a better tax rate than single (though not as good as joint filers get).
I am having trouble pulling up my 2009 turbotax return. I was up to the payment screen before 4/15/10 and saved my work so I could print and file later (printer was out of ink). Now I cannot pull up my return. I have to file with Home and Business. I decided to buy the CD version after I had started my online return because I realized I needed to use the program throughout the year for the next year’s return. How can I get my return? I had a computer software problem when I got my disk and couldn’t load the .NET framework version. I have solved the problem and reloaded the turbo tax program. Now your site says they have no data for me for 2009.
I need to file my taxes early so my ex does not try and claim my son….How can I file early if I have not receive my w-2 yet?
Hello, My ex husband and I have agreed that he can claim the two children as dependents on his income tax return. Today is the deadline and I have not received the release form 8332 to sign yet. Also he just informed me that he is filing a tax extension. We have always split the tax return that he gets for the children. I feel like he is not telling me the whole truth, or maybe tring to avoid splitting the tax return. If he does file an extension is he responsible for providing me copies of all tax paperwork? Thanks