Dear Carolyn, I am thinking about separating from my wife of 10 years. She is a doctor and makes a lot more money than me. I am a school teacher and make extra money coaching, but she still makes a lot more than me. Neither of us are having an…
Articles Posted in Child support
When Death is not the end, the IRS steps in: Part 2 of 2
Anderson v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2016-47, 2016 WL 976816 (2016) Facts: An Alabama court entered a pretrial order in a divorce case, requiring both parties to “[m]aintain status quo as to payment of house note or rent, utilities, food, necessities, fixed credit obligations, ” 2016 WL 976816, at *1. After…
Dot Your I’s and Cross Your T’s: the IRS is a Tough Grader, Especially for Dependency Exemptions and Child Tax Credits (McBride v. Comm’r)
By: Dana M. Horlick, Attorney, Woodruff Family Law GroupMcBride v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-6, 2015 WL 393011 (2015) (a) Facts: The taxpayer, his grown son and daughter, and his daughter’s child all lived in the same household. On her federal tax return, the daughter claimed an exemption for her child. On his federal tax return, the taxpayer claimed dependency…
A Lost Alimony Deduction by Linking to Child Support
Watch out for those hurried, last minute North Carolina agreements that link alimony and child support termination; you could get an unintended tax consequence and the loss of the tax deduction. While the Johnson case, discussed herein, is not a North Carolina case, it could be. Guys and gals, you…
Tax Dangers of Unallocated Family Support (Baur v. Comm’r)
It is tempting to lump child support and post separation support/alimony into a bucket of one dollar amount, sometimes referred to as “family support”. This is particularly tempting in the early part of a case, but it is DANGEROUS. A couple of tax rules will help: Rule 1: Don’t create…
So the Wife ends up in Tax Court for Mixing Alimony and Child Support…Don’t Do This! (Schilling v. Comm’r)
by Carolyn J. Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVASchilling v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2012‑256, 2012 WL 3848477 (2012) (a) Facts: The parties settled their divorce case by signing a separation agreement. The agreement awarded the wife $2,450 per month on spousal support for six years. It, further, provided that the wife’s spousal support would drop by specified amounts…