Guest Author - Stephanie L Watson

One thing that is very important for those who are divorced or divorcing is their taxes. There are special concerns and rules of which you should be aware.


Claim Head of Household on your taxes if you meet all of the following criteria:

• You have been legally separated or divorced for the last six months of the year.

• You have a child who has lived with you more than six months of the year (except for temporary absences due to school)

• You provide more than 50% of the financial care for your child


Claiming the Earned Income Credit is something many former wives and husbands are not aware that they can do when their former spouse, by terms of the divorce or separation receives the dependent deduction. Even if the non-custodial parent has the right to claim the child during the tax year and you meet the qualifying tests, you can still claim the child for purposes of Earned Income Credit.

Generally, if you earned less than $32,000 and have one qualifying child you can claim the earned income credit. You must file head of household or married filing jointly, and your income earned from employment or self-employment. In other words, if you collect social security and alimony you do not qualify, as that income does not count as “earned income” for the purposes of this credit. See publication 596 for more information about this valuable credit.

If you are the non-custodial parent with the right to claim the dependent deduction during the year you may do so, even if the other parent is claiming the earned income credit, however you may not ever claim the Earned Income Credit, as you are not the custodial parent.

In order to claim the dependent deduction your former spouse must sign the form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents. (irs.gov)Once signed, the custodial parent may not claim the Child Tax Credit, however if qualified can qualify for the Earned Income Credit.

If you pay alimony, you may deduct your alimony payments to your former spouse. However, you may not deduct child support. If you receive alimony, you must claim this income on your taxes and you may be subject to quarterly taxes. Make sure you check with your tax professional or read the appropriate publications on the IRS website.

If your spouse was involved in any shady or illegal tax schemes, please look into filing for innocent spouse relief. It is very important to protect yourself in the event something happened. If your spouse was responsible for earning the income and filing taxes but you filed jointly and you signed the documents you will be equally responsible for any errors in spite of what any divorce agreement states. Make sure to protect your rights by learning about innocent spouse relief.

An exciting thing about taxes, (yes it can be exciting!)is that if you earn less than 35,000 a year, you can get your taxes done free by your local tax office. They will help you fill out the appropriate forms and inform you of your rights. FREE! You can also file free using special software online. You must do this through the recommended providers via the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov. There is no reason for most people to go to any of these tax-preparing businesses and pay an unnecessary fee to get your own money back.

The following forms and publications are important for you to look at.

Forms-
Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorce or Separated Parents: Form 8332
Request for Innocent Spouse Relief: Form 8857
Injured Spouse Allocation: Form 8379

Publications-
Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals