nextwife said:
YOU are not a party to the divorce or any agreements. Black out YOUR info on the tax returns. She has a right to his info.
My response:
Not a good idea. In fact, it's a costly idea. Real bad advice, Nextwife. Even filing "separately" won't help. This is the unfortunate "cross" our writer must bear for having married someone with court ordered obligations.
Specifically (apart from new spouse income reported on a joint tax return for purposes of applying the § 4059(a) deduction, third party income is "relevant" in a child support proceeding only to the extent it reduces the obligor parent's basic living expenses, thus increasing his or her "disposable income" available to spend on the children. Consequently, the party seeking compelled disclosure of third party financial information in a child support proceeding must meet the threshold burden of showing the third party actually contributes to the other parent's living expenses. [Harris v. Super.Ct. (Smets), supra, 3 Cal.App.4th at 668, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d at 569--third party's wage statements and tax returns not subject to discovery in child support case on mere showing she rented a room to obligor parent]
Family Code Section 4059(a) "clearly evidences [a legislative] intent to ensure that the deduction for tax liability accurately reflects the actual taxes due and payable by a parent." Therefore, when a parent is remarried to a wage-earning spouse with whom the parent is filing a joint tax return, the couple's combined gross income must be considered; otherwise, accurate calculation of the parent's actual tax liability is not possible. [County of Tulare v. Campbell (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 847, 854, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d 902, 906 (brackets added); Marriage of Carlsen (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 212, 219, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d 630, 634; see also Marriage of Drake (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 1139, 1163, 62 Cal.Rptr.2d 466, 482--considering new spouse income only to facilitate obligor's income tax computation "was proper"]
Ca Fam § 4057.5 no bar:
As will be discussed, the Family Code prohibits consideration of a new spouse's income in calculating child support except in certain "extraordinary circumstances" (Ca Fam § 4057.5).
However, this statute has been interpreted as barring only direct consideration of new mate income in the child support computation--i.e., courts cannot raise or lower child support because a parent has remarried. [County of Tulare v. Campbell, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 854, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 906]
By contrast, § 4057.5 is no bar to a determination of a parent's actual tax liability based on combined gross income of the parent and his or her new spouse when they file a joint tax return. [County of Tulare v. Campbell, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 856, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 907; Marriage of Carlsen, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 219, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 634]
"The plain language of section 4059 demonstrates that the purpose of the section is to ensure accurate calculation of an obligor parent's actual net disposable income, a determination which must take into account the fact of remarriage and subsequent change in net income and number of dependents when the parent and new spouse file a joint income tax return." To hold otherwise would be to punish the parent for remarrying and "unfairly burden[ ] the second family, an effect obviously not intended by the Legislature when it enacted section 4057.5." [County of Tulare v. Campbell, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 855-856, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 906-907 (emphasis in original); see also Marriage of Carlsen, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 219, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 634--§ 4057.5 not violated because new spouse's income "is not being used to subsidize the parents' expenses in any way"]
Calculation method:
All taxes payable on the combined income are not deducted from the obligor parent's income. Rather, the two incomes are combined to result in an adjusted gross income from which the couple's tax liability is calculated. The taxes are then apportioned between the parent and new spouse in direct proportion to their respective gross incomes. The obligor parent's actual tax liability is then deducted from his or her gross income to accurately determine his or her real net disposable income. [County of Tulare v. Campbell, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 854, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 906]
Comment:
Considering combined income of a parent and new spouse under § 4059(a) can have a significant practical effect in many cases. If a new spouse's earnings push the obligor parent into a higher income tax bracket, the parent clearly has an economic incentive to put that information before the court . . . because the higher the bracket, the greater the reduction in net disposable income, yielding more favorable formula support. Nonetheless, counsel should also note that Ca Fam § 4057.5 permits direct consideration of a new spouse's income in computing the amount of child support where failure to do so would cause a child to suffer severe and extreme hardship. [See County of Tulare v. Campbell, supra, 50 Cal.App.4th at 855, 57 Cal.Rptr.2d at 906-907]
IAAL