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Tax filing after divorce

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dantarantado

Active Member
What is the name of your state? WA

I recently got divorced. My ex-husband and I have been filing taxes as "married filing jointly" for the past several years.
Should I file as "single filing taxes" next year, eventhough the marriage ended only this month of July?
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state? WA

I recently got divorced. My ex-husband and I have been filing taxes as "married filing jointly" for the past several years.
Should I file as "single filing taxes" next year, eventhough the marriage ended only this month of July?
Just to reiterate: All that matters is your marital status at the end of the year. Your divorce could be finalized on December 29th and you'd still have to file as something other than "married" for the entire year.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
What is the name of your state? WA

I recently got divorced. My ex-husband and I have been filing taxes as "married filing jointly" for the past several years.
Should I file as "single filing taxes" next year, eventhough the marriage ended only this month of July?
With the exception of your spouse dying during the tax year (for which there is a special rule), your marital status is determined as of the last day of the tax year (i.e. December 31 for the vast majority of individuals). So if you divorce during the tax year and remain unmarried on the last day of the tax year you are treated as though you were unmarried for the entire tax year. See IRS Publication 501 and Publication 504. But while that determines your filing status, you may still have some community income to deal with for the period of the year before your divorce was final since you are in a community property state. See IRS Publication 555 on that.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? WA

I recently got divorced. My ex-husband and I have been filing taxes as "married filing jointly" for the past several years.
Should I file as "single filing taxes" next year, eventhough the marriage ended only this month of July?
Your filing status is your actual status as of 12/31 of each tax year. Therefore since you will be single on 12/31/2019 you would file as single for 2019. You would not be allowed to file as married because you will not be married as of 12/31/2019. If you have children living primarily with you, you would also be eligible for "head of household" filing status.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Therefore since you will be single on 12/31/2019 you would file as single for 2019.
Predicting the future with certainty is always fraught with peril. How do you know that the OP won't find a new love and marry before the end of the year? After all, it is not unheard of that people marry within days after meeting each other. I was a friends with a couple who married after knowing each other for only 3 days. They'd been married 10 years by then and were still married when we lost touch a few years ago. Sometimes you really do instantly know your true love. :D
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Predicting the future with certainty is always fraught with peril. How do you know that the OP won't find a new love and marry before the end of the year? After all, it is not unheard of that people marry within days after meeting each other. I was a friends with a couple who married after knowing each other for only 3 days. They'd been married 10 years by then and were still married when we lost touch a few years ago. Sometimes you really do instantly know your true love. :D
We actually had that very scenario in our office this year. One of our clients was widowed early in 2018 and remarried before the end of the year. We actually had to do a bunch of research to figure out she should file her taxes and the taxes of her deceased husband. The final resolution was that the deceased husband filed married filing separately, and she filed a joint return with her new husband.

So, good catch on that one!:D
 

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