Tax season is finally over. But for those couples currently weathering divorce, next year’s tax season may already be a pressing issue. Post-divorce taxes can be unquestionably tricky. In addition, the tax liabilities resulting from certain approaches to property division may affect you for years to come.
As a result, it is important for couples who are divorcing to start thinking about next year’s tax season now. It is critical that you analyze your current income, debts, budgeted expenses and other financial matters in order to see how they will impact next year’s tax liabilities. And it is imperative that you and your attorney talk about how your proposed approach to property division will affect your taxes as well.
If you have children, it is important to discuss who will claim them for tax purposes once you have divorced. Generally, if one parent has custody he or she will claim the children unless that parent files an IRS Form 8332 in order to allow the non-custodial parent to claim the kids. In general, the IRS considers the parent who has the children for the greatest number of overnights during the year to be the custodial parent for tax purposes.
In addition, be aware of the fact that your filing status for the end of this year will be determined by whether or not you have divorced by December 31, 2014. Even if you are married right now, if your divorce is finalized by the end of the year, you will be considered single for the whole of 2014 in the eyes of the IRS.
Source: The Huffington Post, “4 Things To Know About Filing Your Taxes After Divorce,” Lauren Young, April 10, 2014