Hello and thank you for your question. It must be difficult to have
the extra stress of the tax issue in addition to the stress of the
divorce.
I'll assume that you two are eligible to file a joint return for 2002:
"In general, your filing status depends on whether you are considered
unmarried or married. ...You are considered unmarried for the whole
year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are unmarried or
legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or a separate
maintenance decree. State law governs whether you are married or
legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree.
...If you are divorced under a final decree by the last day of the
year, you are considered unmarried for the whole year."
Marital Status
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/page/0,,id=10888,00.html
Do you have a divorce attorney? Does she? If so, why not have your
lawyer ask hers whether or not she is agreeable to filing a joint
return for 2002 and if so, how will the refund (or additional tax
obligation) be shared. That way you won't be in suspense, and if
she's agreed to file jointly she'll pretty much have to follow up and
locate or get another copy of the 'lost' W-2.
If your spouse does not want to file a joint return with you for 2002,
you'll have no choice but to file a separate for your own income:
"You can choose married filing jointly as your filing status if you
are married and both you and your spouse agree to file a joint return.
...
If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be
lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your
standard deduction (if you do not itemize deductions) may be higher,
and you may qualify for tax benefits that do not apply to other filing
statuses."
IRS Publication 501
Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/page/0,,id%3D103329,00.html#T15
I suggest that you figure your tax both on a joint return and on
separate returns, using your best guess for her income and
withholding.
So you should start by figuring approximately how much the tax will be
with and without the joint election. Almost certainly the total tax
will be higher without the joint election, but it might not be that
big a difference. Maybe you can find a pay check stub of hers around
the house? If so you'll have a good estimate not only of how much her
year's income is, but also how much tax withholding she has. Don't
forget, it's not just a question of the total tax, but also how much
of a refund you will get if you file your own separate return (in
other words, if you file separately then you presumably won't have to
share the refund from your withholding, while if you file jointly
presumably you each will split the refund).
There's another benefit to filing separately: If there's an audit in
the future, you won't have to cooperate with each other in responding
to it, and if there's extra tax to pay in there won't be a dispute
about who should pay it. [There's a special precedure called
'innocent spouse' that can apply in a joint return audit but it's
easier to avoid the issue all together by filing separately.]
Do you think the divorce will be finalized by April 15? By August 15?
If this issue isn't settled by April 15, you should file an extension
for your own return.
"It is the responsibility of each souse to ensure that they have filed
all appropriate tax returns and /or requests for extension of time to
file, if necessary."
Divorce an IRS Perspective
http://www.frcpa.com/Free/kb79.html
Filling Extension
2002 Form 4868
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
Search terms used:
divorce "joint return" site:irs.gov
requirements "joint return" site:irs.gov
Thank you again, and I hope you find this useful. If any of my answer
is unclear, feel free to request clarification. I would appreciate it
if you would hold off on rating my answer until I have an oppportunity
to reply.
Sincerely,
Google Researcher richard-ga |
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