Divorce Health Insurance

[thomtax]

Suspect I know the answer, but do any of you know "off the top of your head" is the cost of health insurance an ex if required to provide for ex spouse through their workplace, is considered as alimony along with the amounts paid to ex spouse directly?

Do not go to any trouble researching it, I am just hoping that some of you have recently run into this.

Thanks to all.
LT

[DaveO]

If it's a pre-tax deduction I can't see how it would be.

[thomtax]

If it's a pre-tax deduction I can't see how it would be.

Thanks Dave - I understand that. But for the health insurance that he has to pay from his salary, it is not pre-tax. His is paid by the company but he has to pay for hers.

LT

[taxcraft]

Health Insurance

He can pay for medical expenses directly to third parties.

Alimony requirements. A payment to or for a spouse under a divorce or separation instrument is alimony if the spouses do not file a joint return with each other and all the following requirements are met.

*

The payment is in cash.
*

The instrument does not designate the payment as not alimony.
*

The spouses are not members of the same household at the time the payments are made. This requirement applies only if the spouses are legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
*

There is no liability to make any payment (in cash or property) after the death of the recipient spouse.
*

The payment is not treated as child support.

Each of these requirements is discussed next.

Cash payment requirement. Only cash payments, including checks and money orders, qualify as alimony. The following do not qualify as alimony.

*

Transfers of services or property (including a debt instrument of a third party or an annuity contract).
*

Execution of a debt instrument by the payer.
*

The use of the payer's property.

Payments to a third party. Cash payments to a third party under the terms of your divorce or separation instrument can qualify as cash payments to your spouse. See Payments to a third party under General Rules, earlier.

Also, cash payments made to a third party at the written request of your spouse may qualify as alimony if all the following requirements are met.

*

The payments are in lieu of payments of alimony directly to your spouse.
*

The written request states that both spouses intend the payments to be treated as alimony.
*

You receive the written request from your spouse before you file your return for the year you made the payments.

Payments designated as not alimony. You and your spouse can designate that otherwise qualifying payments are not alimony. You do this by including a provision in your divorce or separation instrument that states the payments are not deductible as alimony by you and are excludable from your spouse's income. For this purpose, any instrument (written statement) signed by both of you that makes this designation and that refers to a previous written separation agreement is treated as a written separation agreement (and therefore a divorce or separation instrument). If you are subject to temporary support orders, the designation must be made in the original or a later temporary support order.

Your spouse can exclude the payments from income only if he or she attaches a copy of the instrument designating them as not alimony to his or her return. The copy must be attached each year the designation applies.

Spouses cannot be members of the same household. Payments to your spouse while you are members of the same household are not alimony if you are legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance. A home you formerly shared is considered one household, even if you physically separate yourselves in the home.

You are not treated as members of the same household if one of you is preparing to leave the household and does leave no later than 1 month after the date of the payment.

Exception. If you are not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, a payment under a written separation agreement, support decree, or other court order may qualify as alimony even if you are members of the same household when the payment is made.

[thomtax]

taxcraft,

Boy, this is right on point. I appreciate you sending it. Is this in a publication that I can print out to put into the file, since there is the possibility that it could be questioned.

LT

[taxcraft]

Publication

This is from a publication but I don't remember which one. Do a search at www.irs.gov.

[thomtax]

Found it in Pub 504

LT