Divorcing or separated: the tax side of your divorce figured before you file
Free tax review
Find out what we’d handle and what it costs
Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.
We figure your filing status, who claims the children, and how the alimony, the house and the retirement splits are taxed, federal and state, then prepare the return. The first review is free, any planning is one flat fee quoted in writing before work starts, and individual returns start at $350. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with people going through a divorce or separation in any state.
Typical situations
Do you work with people going through a divorce or separation?
Yes, we handle the tax side of a divorce or separation at every stage: parents deciding who claims the children, a spouse keeping the house or a rental, a 401(k) split by court order, joint estimated payments to divide, an IRS letter about a joint return from the marriage, and a joint refund taken for the other spouse’s debt.
Parents whose decree alternates who claims the children
The decree lets the parent the children don’t live with claim them every other year, but the release form hasn’t been signed. For tax, the custodial parent is the one the child lived with more nights. That parent signs Form 8332 (the form that lets the other parent claim the child tax credit), and the other parent attaches it to their return each year. For a decree that took effect after 2008, the decree pages don’t replace the signed form. We check the decree and any signed Form 8332 against both returns before either is filed. Individual returns from $350 — how we prepare the return.
A spouse keeping the house, or a rental, in the settlement
If the deed, the purchase closing statement, improvement records or, for a rental, the depreciation schedule on the prior returns are missing, the basis (what was paid for the property plus improvements) is hard to prove at a later sale. The spouse who keeps it takes over the other spouse’s basis, so the gain built up since the original purchase lands at that spouse’s later sale. Handing property to a spouse as part of the divorce isn’t a taxable sale: there’s no gain or loss. The same holds for a former spouse within 1 year after the marriage ends or under the decree within 6 years, and the spouse handing it over has to give the basis and holding-period records (how long the property has been owned). We collect the deed, closing statements, improvement records and the depreciation schedule at the transfer and carry the basis onto the return for the year of any sale. Individual returns from $350; from $650 when the year includes one rental.
An ex-spouse receiving part of a 401(k) under a QDRO
The plan administrator has accepted the QDRO — a qualified domestic relations order, the court order that splits a workplace retirement plan — and the share is about to be paid or rolled over; the documents are the order, the plan statements and the Form 1099-R (the form that reports a retirement payout) that follows a payout. What the plan pays the ex-spouse under the order is taxed to the ex-spouse, who can generally roll an eligible payment into their own IRA tax-free. A payment the plan makes straight to the ex-spouse under the order isn’t hit with the extra tax on early withdrawals; once the money is in an IRA, a later withdrawal can be. We check whether the money is paid straight from the plan under the order or goes through an IRA first, before anything is paid out; we don’t draft the order and we don’t move money. After a payout, here is what the code on a 1099-R means.
A spouse with joint estimated payments and a married W-4
Joint estimated payments were made during the marriage, the returns will now be separate, and the Form W-4 at work — the form that sets withholding from a paycheck — is still set for a married household. The documents are the estimated payment records, the last pay stub and the W-4. On separate returns either spouse can claim all of the joint payments, or the two can divide them any way they agree, and a divorce or separation usually calls for a new Form W-4. We divide the payments on the returns as the two agree and figure whether a new W-4 or estimated payments are needed for the next year.
A former spouse holding an IRS letter about a joint year
The letter is about a joint-return year from the marriage, and the decree says the ex pays it; the documents on hand are the letter, the decree and the joint return. We read the letter and say whether a request for relief from joint liability may apply — the kinds and the deadline are in the FAQ below. Send the letter before responding or paying: how we handle IRS letters.
A spouse whose joint refund was taken for the other’s debt
The refund was taken for the other spouse’s past-due debt; the documents are the offset notice, the joint return and the W-2s. The whole joint refund can be applied to a debt only one spouse owes. The spouse who doesn’t owe the debt can ask for their share of the refund back on Form 8379, the injured spouse allocation — a different request from innocent spouse relief. We check whether an injured spouse allocation can still be made for the year the refund was taken and, before the next joint return is filed, whether one should go in with it.
Filing status
Which filing status can I use the year we separate?
Your marital status on December 31 decides your filing status for the whole year. With a final decree of divorce or separate maintenance (a court decree of legal separation) by then, you file as single, or as head of household if you meet its tests; without one, you’re married for the year and file jointly or separately. Filing status is the category the return is filed under — single, married filing jointly, married filing separately or head of household — and state law decides whether you’re divorced or legally separated.
A joint return usually costs less in combined tax but makes each spouse liable for all of it, while separate returns leave each spouse responsible only for their own. A parent still married on December 31 may be able to file as head of household — the status for an unmarried, or considered unmarried, parent who pays more than half the cost of the home — if the spouse didn’t live there during the last 6 months of the year and the other tests are met. We figure the joint return and the separate or head of household returns side by side before anything is filed — and the answer can be “file jointly.” More on this: the head of household tests, step by step, and Roth IRA contributions when you file separately.
Alimony and child support
Is alimony or child support taxable after a divorce?
Child support is never deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient. Federal alimony depends on when the agreement was executed: executed after 2018, it isn’t deductible or taxable; executed on or before December 31, 2018, it still is, unless a later change expressly adopts the newer rule.
Payments made voluntarily, outside the agreement or a court order, aren’t alimony. A recipient whose alimony is still taxable may need estimated payments, and we figure those for the next year. The California return can treat the same alimony differently — that rule sits in the California section below.
We read the execution and modification dates, and any payment tied to a child, off the agreement for their tax effect only — and we tell you when a question needs an attorney.
What you get
What does the divorce tax review give me?
Before the first return is filed, you get the filing-status comparison, who claims each child, how the alimony is treated and the tax side of each property and retirement split; the return or returns follow at filing time.
The filing-status comparison
Each status open to you, figured on your actual numbers, in order, with the reasoning written next to them.
The children and the alimony
Who claims each child and whether a Form 8332 is needed, and how the alimony is treated on the federal return and, for a California resident, on the California return.
The property and retirement splits
The basis and holding period of anything transferred, the tax treatment of each retirement split before the payout, and whether a new Form W-4 or estimated payments are needed.
The return, and an honest read
The return or returns for the year, or the figures handed to your own preparer. When planning isn’t worth paying for, we tell you and you’re done.
What we check
What do you check on a divorce-year return before anything is filed?
We check the decree and agreement dates, the children’s claims, the basis of anything transferred and the paperwork behind each retirement split. The documents we read:
- The divorce decree, the separation agreement or court order, and any changes to it
- The last joint return
- This year’s W-2s and 1099s
- Any Form 8332 already signed
- The house closing statements and improvement records
- Retirement plan and IRA statements, with the QDRO or transfer paperwork and any Form 1099-R
- Joint estimated payment records
- Any IRS or California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) letter about a joint-return year
California
What’s different in California for a divorce?
In California, alimony under an agreement executed from 2019 through 2025 is still deducted by the payer and reported by the recipient on the state return, community income (income earned during the marriage that belongs to both spouses) is split on separate returns, relief from a joint balance is its own request to the Franchise Tax Board, and there is no injured spouse law.
- Alimony follows the date the agreement was executed. An agreement executed on or before December 31, 2018 is deducted by the payer and taxed to the recipient on both returns. One executed from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2025 stays off the federal return, but the payer still deducts it and the recipient still reports it on the California return, through an adjustment on Schedule CA (the California form that adjusts the federal numbers). One executed on or after January 1, 2026 is neither deducted nor taxed on either return. A later change moves an agreement into a newer group only if it expressly says so. We read the dates off the agreement and carry the Schedule CA adjustment.
- California is a community property state, and community income is split on separate returns: a married Californian filing separately reports half of the community income and all of their own separate income, with Form 8958, the form showing the split, attached. What counts as community income and when the community ended are state-law questions, so we use the date you and your attorney give us.
- Relief from a California joint-return balance is a separate request to the Franchise Tax Board, California’s tax agency, made online through MyFTB or on form FTB 705, and IRS relief for the same years can support it; the FTB notifies the former spouse of the request. We tell you when a California request may apply.
- California has no injured spouse law, and a joint refund is community property, so we say so before a joint California return is filed when one spouse has past-due debts.
Pricing
What does divorce tax planning cost in 2026?
In 2026 the first review is free, individual returns start at $350, self-employed returns with one business or one rental at $650, and business returns at $850 with the owner’s personal return included. Any planning after the free review, and each return, is a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.
What moves a quote: the year of separation and whether a joint or separate return is being decided; whether there are children and who claims them; whether alimony is paid or received and when the agreement was executed; whether a house, a rental or investments are being transferred or sold; whether retirement accounts are being split (a workplace plan or an IRA); California residence (community income and the California alimony adjustment); an IRS or FTB letter about a joint-return year; and how many years need filing or amending. The quote is the price.
Planning review
$0 first review
- Planning after it only if it’s worth paying for
Individual return
from $350
- A single, head of household or married-filing-separately return without a business or rental
- Federal and state returns e-filed together, one price
Self-employed or with a rental
from $650
- One business or one rental (a Schedule C or a single rental’s Schedule E)
A joint-versus-separate comparison, a Form 8332 review, a retirement-split check, an injured spouse allocation, an amended or prior-year return and a second state are priced into the quote.
How it works
What happens after the free call?
After the free 30-minute call, you get the engagement letter with the price, sign when you’re ready, send your documents through the secure portal, and we do the planning review and prepare the return you see before it’s filed.
The 30-minute call
Six to eight questions: where the divorce or separation stands at year-end, which return is being decided, whether there are children, whether alimony is paid or received and when the agreement was executed, what’s being split, and whether an IRS or FTB letter has arrived. It ends with one flat price for the work we’d take on.
The engagement letter
It goes out during the call with that price, and it doesn’t expire — you sign when you’re ready. Signing sets up a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite comes from that call.
Documents
The portal invite, the decree, the separation agreement or the court order (with any changes to it), the last joint return, and the statements for any retirement account being split.
The planning review
We line up the dates — the December 31 status, when you lived apart, the date the agreement was executed or changed — figure the joint and separate returns, confirm who claims each child, read the alimony and property terms for their tax effect, and check each retirement split before money moves. You and your attorney settle the terms; we don’t draft, negotiate, value or move anything.
The return
Half the return fee starts the work, and the balance is due before e-file. You see the return before it’s filed.
Communication
You’ll know where things stand.
The person who answers the phone is on the same team that figures the planning numbers and prepares the return.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
At any stage
Before the decree is final, the year of the split, or the first return after — the free call ends with a straight answer on whether we’re the right fit.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
For a person going through a divorce, we figure the filing status, who claims the children, the alimony dates and the splits, then prepare the return from the same numbers.
Tax planning · Tax preparation · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
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"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."
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"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."
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Where we work
Do you work with people going through a divorce outside California?
Yes, we work remotely with people going through a divorce or separation in any state. Documents come through the secure portal, and we walk through the numbers by phone and screen share. If you live in another state, we prepare that state’s return too and price it into your quote.
What we don’t do
We handle the tax side: the planning review, the returns, quarterly estimates when the event calls for them, and IRS letters. Legal advice on the settlement, custody or the amount of child or spousal support, drafting a QDRO, valuing a business or a pension, mediation, and investment or financial advice are outside our work, and we don’t advise on them.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
For the first year you file apart: when the IRS opens the 2027 season, and how to catch up a joint or separate year that went unfiled.
FAQ
Divorce tax questions
Do I file as single, married or head of household the year my divorce becomes final?
It depends on where the divorce stands on December 31, because that day sets your status for the whole year. If the final decree is in place by then, you file as single, or as head of household if you meet that status’s tests; if the decree isn’t final until the new year, you’re married for the whole year and file jointly or separately (a parent who lived apart and meets that status’s tests may be able to file as head of household). State law decides when you’re divorced. We figure each status that’s open to you before you file.
Who claims the children after a divorce?
For tax, the custodial parent is the parent the child slept at more nights during the year; when the nights are equal, it’s the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (the income figure before the standard or itemized deduction). The other parent can claim the child tax credit only with the custodial parent’s signed release, which moves the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit and the credit for other dependents; head of household and the earned income credit stay with the custodial parent. If both parents claim the same child, the IRS keeps one claim and disallows the other. We match each child to one return using the nights count, the decree and any release before either parent files.
Do we owe tax if one of us keeps the house or we sell it?
Transferring the house, or a share of it, to a spouse, or to a former spouse as part of the divorce, has no gain or loss, and the spouse who receives it takes over the other’s basis. On a sale, each owner reports their own share of the gain, and an owner who owned and lived in the home 2 of the last 5 years can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 on a joint return). An owner who moved out can count the time a former spouse lives there under the decree, and a spouse who received the home counts the other spouse’s years of ownership but has to meet the 2-year living test alone. We figure each owner’s share and the exclusion on the return for the year of the sale.
Is splitting an IRA in a divorce taxable?
Not when it’s done under the decree by changing the name on the IRA or by a direct transfer between custodians — from that date the money is the receiving spouse’s IRA. If the transfer changes the after-tax amount (basis) in either IRA, both spouses file Form 8606, the form that tracks after-tax money in an IRA. Money taken out of that IRA later can carry the early-withdrawal tax. We check the transfer paperwork before anything moves.
The IRS wants payment on a joint return from our marriage. Does my divorce decree protect me?
No. The decree binds the two of you, not the IRS: a joint-return balance can be collected from either spouse, even when the decree assigns it to one of you. Relief from joint liability comes in three forms — innocent spouse relief, separation of liability and equitable relief — all asked for on Form 8857, the IRS request for relief from a joint-return tax bill, and the IRS decides; the first two generally have to be requested within 2 years after the IRS first tries to collect from you. Send us the letter and the decree before you respond or pay.
Is it too late to plan if the divorce is already final?
No. The return for the year still needs the filing status, the children and the alimony worked out, and a Form 8332 can be signed before it’s filed. Basis records for property you received, and retirement money not yet moved, can be checked now. We work through each piece on the return for the year.
Ready to know what the divorce means for your taxes?
One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. This page is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation.