I often am asked by someone going through a divorce whether they should prepare their tax return using the Married-filing-joint method (MFJ) or Married-filing-separate (MFS) method. My first response is that MFJ is usually the method which results in the least amount of tax paid by the couple. … [Read more...]
Ways to Avoid Paying Spouse’s Income Tax
When your client is concerned about the risk of being held liable for taxes on the income of his or her spouse, there are several options to be considered. Married Filing Separate If your client knows or fears the spouse plans to under report taxes due, you may want to recommend that your client … [Read more...]
The Dependency Exemption
Divorcing parties often want to know which former spouse will be entitled to the $4,000 (for 2015) dependency exemption. The exemption is granted with respect to a “qualifying child”. The rules are found in Internal Revenue Code Section 152 and there are many exceptions and requirements. … [Read more...]
Tax Returns and Divorce
If you are in the process of divorcing your spouse, you may be interested in having some information about filing your tax return. The IRS treats you as married if on the last day of the tax year you still don't have a final divorce decree or separation agreement. This means you can only choose … [Read more...]