Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets in Your Divorce?

HOUSTON, TX, January 11, 2012

Whether you are considering filing for divorce, in the midst of a divorce, or newly single, it is time to start thinking about how your Texas divorce will affect taxes. The following are some of the important factors to consider when filing taxes in 2012:

Tax filing status: Your filing status for the entire year is based on your marital status on December 31, 2011. For example, if you were divorced on December 30, 2011, you will be considered "single" (or, depending on your situation, "head of household") for 2011 tax purposes. You may not file a joint return.

If your divorce decree was not issued until January 1, 2012, then you will be considered "married" for tax purposes. You can choose to file as "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately."

Your home: Many divorcing couples decide to sell their homes. If you sold your home in 2011, you and your spouse may have to worry about capital gains. If you are filing a joint tax return and owned your home for at least two of the past five years, you can exclude $500,000 of your home's value. If you are divorced and filing separately, you and your spouse may exclude $250,000 each (if your home was your primary residence for at least two years).

Alimony / spousal maintenance: If one of the spouses paid alimony in cash in 2011, he or she can take a tax deduction for those payments. You and your ex-spouse must report exactly the same amount of alimony / spousal maintenance on your federal tax returns. Alimony is considered income, which means that the spouse receiving alimony needs to pay taxes on that amount.

Dependent exemption: If a couple was divorced on or before December 31, 2011, only one of the ex-spouses may claim a child as a dependent. This can be difficult, especially if the divorce was later in the year. The parent who should claim the child as a dependent is usually the "custodial parent," or the parent with whom the child has lived the longest. Hopefully, you discussed this topic during divorce, especially since it also impacts the Lifetime Learning and American Opportunity credits (only the spouse who claims the child as a dependent can receive one of these credits).

Having a team of experts on your side during and after your divorce can help you make sure that all of your bases are covered, including the financial and tax implications of your divorce.

Website: http://www.k-hpc.com

Source: Huff Post Divorce, "5 Money Questions to Ask Before the Year and Your Marriage Come to a Close," Gabrielle Clemens, Dec. 27, 2011. Originally posted: http://www.k-hpc.com/blog/