Basic Marital Tax Matters

Course Description:

In this mini-course, initial marital tax matters such as living together, property rights, premarital agreements, filing status, exemptions, and dependents are explored. The detailed support test for children of divorced or separated parents, the tax treatment of back child support, the deduction of divorce costs, and estimated tax payments are reviewed. Emphasis is given to marital property rules, married versus unmarried tax rate comparison, head of household status, and treatment of refunds and deficiencies.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the tax advantages and disadvantages of joint filing, specify spousal defenses to joint and several liability and cite the status of deductible exemptions.
• Recognize qualified child and dependency status and identify the differences between custodial and non-custodial parents, including how the status affects dependency.
• Determine common law and community property, specifying their effect on marital and divorce planning, and identify the circumstances when payments qualify as §71 alimony.