My ex-wife and I are in the process of final orders for our divorce. My ex-wife hasn't worked for the entire marriage, she wants to file jointly. Is that a good idea?

ANSWER

Expert Linda Burroughs's Answer:

Tax wise: The married filing joint tax rate is more favorable than married filing separate. 

You will be considered single as of December 31 in the year in which your divorce is final.

Are there dependents involved?  If so, you would lose tax credits and deductions if you filed married filing separate.

I would compute the taxes both ways: Married Filing Separate and Married Filing Joint to determine the Tax benefits.

Married filing separate is the highest tax rate of all the filing statuses.

I hope this helps in your decision based solely on the tax consequences. 

Linda Burroughs, CPA

Georgia

25 yrs experience

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