Tax Brake with Robert G. Nath, Esq.

For filing purposes, the basic rule is that you are “married” if you are legally married on the last day of the tax year (December 31). If your spouse dies during the year, you are “married” for the year if you were married on the date of your spouse's death. So, you may be unmarried, or engaged, or even getting cold feet, for 364 days, but if you tie the knot on Dec 31, you can romantically file a joint tax return. Similarly, if you were married on December 31, and you divorce January 2 (two days later), you can still file a joint return.

Some people try to divorce once a year when to do so is to their tax advantage. (Yes, it's messy, but some people will do anything to foil the tax laws. Besides, it gives you some type of perverse bragging rights.) The courts do not recognize such divorces for tax purposes, concluding they are a tax sham even if the divorce is technically valid in the state.

Other times, a couple will divorce in one state and seek to have it recognized in another for tax purposes. Generally, that's ok, and the IRS honors those as well. However, watch the details. In some states, you can divorce on December 31, but if the time for appeal has not expired, you are still “married” for tax purposes until that time.

The tax laws also allow people who are “legally separated” to be considered unmarried for tax purposes. The decree must “expressly and affirmatively “ provide that the parties live apart in the future.

Even if you miss that one, you can be considered “unmarried” for tax purposes if you are an “abandoned spouse.” You qualify if you file a separate return, maintain a dependent's home for more than half the tax year, furnish over half the cost of maintaining that home for the year, and your spouse is not a member of your household during the last 6 months.

Confused? So are many people. Actually, the above bowl of tax spaghetti was intended (a) to make life easier for some and (b) to avoid abuse of the tax system.

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