Divorce can bring a lot of changes, but one of the biggest changes that you will need to pay heed to now is your tax status. A lot of people, particularly those who have been married for years, may be unfamiliar with how to file their taxes after a divorce. As a result, it is important to follow these few tips that will help you to understand the process a little better. While divorce can be a stressful and trying time, it is important to keep on top of your financial matters. This will help you to avoid any further stress and allow you to have some feeling of accomplishment.
Your Status
When you decide to file your taxes following your divorce, you will need to determine what your status is. If you are legally divorced from the last day of the year, then you will be putting yourself down as single, or as the head of the household. In the case of separation that is legally binding, you can claim these statuses as well.
The statuses of “married filing jointly” and “married filing separately” can be chosen if you are still legally married by December 31st. Whether you file separately or jointly is up to you and your partner. If the divorce is better, than the best advice will be to file both of your taxes separately.
Head of Household vs Single
“Single” as a tax status is going to require you to pay more tax, as opposed to “head of household”. “Married joint” will also give you a lower tax than “married separate” would. Those who decide to go through a divorce may want to look for filing as “married joint” simply so that they can save money. This is of course going to depend on the situation as well as the trust that is between the two partners.
Tax Refunds
If you are looking for a refund on your tax, then filing jointly can end up getting more complicated. This is primarily because both you and your partner will be entitled to the refund. This means that you will need to sit down and talk about who deserves what share of the money that is coming back. As a result of this, you will need to make sure that you both speak about this carefully. Some people may simply choose to go for “single” or “married separate” in order to avoid this.
No one likes to file tax, but when it comes to important things like this, you need to keep your eyes open. There is a lot of information out there that can be found on a tax relief website. All you will need to do is go there and ask a question. While this is just a rough guide to helping you file your taxes when divorced, there is more information that will help you with any specific situation.
Author Bio:
The author of this post is a freelance writer and blogger. If you are interested in more tax relief tips, the author recommends you visit OptimaTaxRelief.com
