Divorced in 2011 - how file taxes with IRS/NYS for 2011?

Question

Divorced in 2011. Although the judge signed the final papers in Dec

2011 does NYS and the IRS for tax purposes consider that I am divorced based on the date of the 'Stipulation of Settlement and Agreement' signed in April 2011 or the date of the final decree - or it doesn't matter because on the last day of 2011 I was legally divorced?

Note: the Stipulation agreement was only jointly signed/notarized (me/ wife) and we did not appear in front of a judge for it (if that matters)

I need to know if I still need to file married joint/separate or can file as Head of Household (which I was planning on doing for 2011).

Thanks for any assistance! Walt

bh2os · Accepted Answer

You can file Single; or Head of Household if you qualify.

Bill Brown · Answer

It doesn't matter because your marital status for the entire year is determined by your marital status on December 31.

Just a thought: If you were living apart not later than Jun 30, 2010 and had custody of a dependent child for the rest of the year, you may have qualified for head-of-household status in 2010 even though you were still married.

Gene E. Utterback, EA, ABA · Answer

Divorced in 2011. Although the judge signed the final papers in Dec

2011 does NYS and the IRS for tax purposes consider that I am divorced based on the date of the 'Stipulation of Settlement and Agreement' signed in April 2011 or the date of the final decree - or it doesn't matter because on the last day of 2011 I was legally divorced?

snipped

Your marital status on the last day of the year is your marital status for the entire year - usually. I say usually because some jurisdictions allow for divorce in less than a year. In Maryland you can get a no fault divorce if you've lived separate and apart for at least one full year with no cohabitation. In Nevada, as I understand it with the caveat that IANAL, you can get a divorce in a quick as a week.

Let's assume that's correct - you can go to Nevada and get divorced in a week. A couple does that for the Thanksgiving holiday. They were married from Jan 1 through November 25, went to Nevada and got divorced on December

Here's where it might get interesting.

Clearly you can file as single, clearly you cannot file as married. But what about HoH - to file as HoH you had to live separate and apart from your spouse AND maintain the home that was the home for the children FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS. If the couple lived together until they got the divorce on December 10 neither could possibly have maintained such a home. So maybe HoH isn't an option? I'm not sure, I'm pondering .

Gene E. Utterback, EA, RFC, ABA

ira smilovitz · Answer

I don't see a problem with filing HoH in that situation. The requirement that you live separate and apart from your spouse etc. is for the special situation where the divorce isn't legally finalized by December 31. Once the divorce is finalized, you start fresh as Single or HoH based on the facts.

Ira Smilovitz Leonia, NJ

Alan · Answer

you live separate and apart from your spouse etc. is for the special situation where the divorce isn't legally finalized by December 31. Once the divorce is finalized, you start fresh as Single or HoH based on the facts.

IRA is correct. To file as HoH you can fall into the unmarried or considered unmarried category. It is the considered unmarried category that has the stipulation that you cannot spend even one night with your spouse anytime in the last half of the year. If you get divorced by

12/31, then you fall into the unmarried category and it doesn't matter how many nights you spent with your former spouse. What does matter, is sorting out who actually provided more than half the cost of maintaining the household for the year.

Divorced in 2011 - how file taxes with IRS/NYS for 2011?

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