Married filing separate or married filing joint
My accountant had recommended that we file jointly and in the case of any court issues he would prepare a married filing separate return to turn in with a letter stating that it represented DH income but was not filed as such due to harm to the Spouse. Has anyone done this and was it successful?
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There is currently no CS
There is currently no CS between BM and DH and the have joint custody. I am trying to maintain my own privacy and keep my income out of the equation in the event that there was ever a CS argument, while still providing an accurate picture of DHs income.
This year it is costing $7000
This year it is costing $7000 to file separate.
In that case, you can file
In that case, you can file jointly and redact your information, income and net income generated by the both of you.
They are only looking for what his net income was at the end of the year.
Ironically, due to H and I living in two separate states last year, we're filing MFJ with the feds and MFS with the states in which we lived. I had to prepare 5 different returns (one MFJ for feds, one MFS for the feds for each of us and one each MFS for the states we paid income tax to in 2014). BAH. Taxes.
So you believe MFS is the way
So you believe MFS is the way to achieve my goal?
Then they can redact and
Then they can redact and attach his copy of his W2. There are ways around this and all they are looking for is HIS net income.
This is basically what my
This is basically what my accountant is saying. My attorney agrees, but would rather file separate for extra security. I just wondered if anyone had a story to tell where this did or did not work.
If filing MFS will save you
If filing MFS will save you headaches later on and will even out to what your refund or payments would be if you filed MFJ, then I would go with MFS.
H never had to turn in a tax return. The county state where his divorce case was settled, only required a full month of paycheck stubs.
Our state is this way too.
Our state is this way too. The only thing we can ask is that the court review the taxes "in camera" so that the ex doesnt' get any of my financial information
We redacted our joint return
We redacted our joint return and the court requested the copy that was filed. Our lawyer said only the court would see it and not the other party. Not sure I believe that though.
If you want to be sure that no one sees your income, you have to file separately which is a lot more in taxes.
$7000 is a lot of money. I'd
$7000 is a lot of money. I'd have to think hard before filing separately. In most states your income wouldn't be part of the calculation. Is there some reason you think the court would count your income?
I wouldn't want BM seeing my income either, but I'm not sure that's worth $7000 to me.
I make significantly more
I make significantly more than DH and BM. If possible I don't want even the courts to know that so that we can avoid arguments.