How Do Taxes Change After a Divorce?

Having your divorce finalized can change a lot of aspects of your life, including your finances, your time with your children, and your future opportunities. One thing that divorce will certainly change is your taxes. With the end of the tax year upon us, and tax filing season approaching, it is important for people to understand how ending your marriage might impact your tax returns.

Personal Information

Each year, you might simply use the same auto-filled information for your returns, though it will likely be more complicated if you recently got divorced. If you are changing your name, make sure you take the appropriate steps through the Social Security Administration (SSA) and obtain a new Social Security card. If you moved from your marital home, use Form 8822to let the IRS know about your new address.

Update Your Withholdings

Often, people need to update their tax withholdings with their employer after a divorce. You should no longer have an allowance for being married, but you want to explore which withholdings will reduce your tax liability based on your children and other aspects of your life. Fill out a new W-4 with your employer once you are sure of the proper withholding amount.

Know Your Filing Status

This can be significantly more challenging than you might imagine, but you want to ensure you claim the right status. Failing to do so can cost you unnecessary taxes or even cause trouble with the IRS. The following are some brief tips about filing status, but you should always discuss your specific situation with an experienced attorney and/or CPA.

• Your filing status for the entire year is based on your marital status as of December 31st.
• If you are in the process of divorce, but your case is not final on December 31, 2019, you cannot file as a single individual.
• If your divorce was final prior to December 31st, you cannot file a married.
• If you must file a married, you can do so jointly or separate but married.
• If you lived separately from your spouse for six months or more and you are responsible for over half of the expenses of your household, you might be able to file as head of household.

Alimony

If your divorce was final in 2019, there are new tax rules for alimony. Spouses paying alimony can no longer deduct those payments from their taxes. Meanwhile, alimony recipients do not have to claim alimony payments as taxable income.

Consult with a Brandon Divorce Attorney About Your Case Today

These are only some of the many ways that your taxes can change after divorce. You might also need to consider personal exemptions, claiming dependents, and other tax-related issues unique to your situation. Such concerns are on top of the other major changes in your life, and adjusting can be difficult. Let the Brandon divorce lawyers at Carman, Bevington & Finegan help you through the process. Call 813-654-3444 or contact us online for more information.