1040 e/s Married to Single

[spanel]

Who gets the estimated tax payments when a Married couple divorces in a year in which estimated taxes are paid?

Chris

[Lion]

Whoever paid how much from personal funds. I think if they don't agree on a split when coming from joint funds, then it defaults to 50/50, but look that up. Maybe it's ratio of income....

[ATSMAN]

I have taken the position that Estimated taxes and withheld taxes belong to the spouse who actually paid it. So when I do a MFJ/MFS split I code it accordingly.

I have quite a few clients filing MFJ who live in MA but one spouse works in CT. The CT balance due or refund belongs to that spouse.

[Jiggers]

What does the divorce decree say? That should be in it. If not, the attorneys didn't do their job.

[Roland Slugg]

This is what the IRS instructions for F-1040 say:

If you and your spouse paid joint estimated tax but are now filing separate income tax returns, you can divide the amount paid in any way you choose as long as you both agree. If you can't agree, you must divide the payments in proportion to each spouse's individual tax as shown on your separate returns for 2015. For an example and more information, see Pub. 505.

Of course, any payments made from either spouse's separate funds after the separation should be allocated to that person only.