How to adjust W-4 if separated but not yet divorced?

**EEinNJ** · 02-23-2012, 12:10 PM

Since I'm in this process as well, I can tell you my lawyer said for tax purposes whatever your status is at the end of the year will be your status for the whole year (no prorating).

I suggest you use your numbers from last year in a tax program and see what your liability is one way or the other. The difference may not be as much as you think, and probably not enough to cause a penalty for under witholding.

Divorce seems to take longer than you expect, especially if lawyers and hard feeling get involved. I wouldn't change anything just yet, why not wait 2-3 months?

Good luck, it's not a pleasant thing to go through even if it's for the best.

**Petunia 100** · 02-23-2012, 01:07 PM

Originally posted by neatdesign View Post

My husband and I are in the very early stages of getting divorced. We have been officially separated since Feb 1st, which means the earliest we can be divorced is August. According to the IRS, if we're still legally married (even if separated) on Dec 31st, then we must file as either Married-Joint or Married-Separate. If the final divorce decree has been issued on or before Dec 31st then I must file as Single.

The problem is that I have no way of knowing whether we'll actually be divorced by the end of the year, and therefore I don't know how to adjust my W-4. It's fairly likely that we'll be divorced by December, but what if we aren't? I don't want to assume I'll be filing as Single and then end up massively over- or under-withholding because we actually have to file as Married (Joint or Separate).

In case this matters: We have no children or dependents, do not own a home and aren't self-employed. The most "complicating" factor is my 403(b), which of course isn't complicated at all so hopefully that will give you some idea of how straightforward our tax situation (normally) is.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

~ Jenney

Well, in the event you are still legally married at the end of the year, which way do you think you will file? MFS or MFJ? MFS might as well be single, so claim single on your W-4.

Alternately, you could leave your payroll withholding alone and start saving money in the event you end up filing single.

**MonkeyMama** · 02-23-2012, 01:45 PM

IT depends on a number of factors, but the tax difference can be pretty huge. (As a general rule, you'll pay almost *twice* as much tax as a single individual, middle income. But an exception would be if spouse had a huge income - in which case your taxes could go down. Also depends if one of you withheld a biggger percentage, etc.).

It would be prudent to estimate your taxes, because it can be a shocker.

Petunia is right - MFS or single is about the same - so just start withholding as a single. I can't imagine you'd file joint?

**neatdesign** · 02-24-2012, 04:22 PM

Thanks for your responses, I really do appreciate it. I saved alternate versions of our 2011 tax returns, the only difference being the filing status. Here are the results, which sort of surprised me:

Single = $194 Federal refund / -$4 owe State
Married-Separate = -$466 owe Federal / -$176 owe State
Married-Joint = $1046 Fed refund / $6 State refund

So it looks like I'll be staying away from Married-Separate! LOL

The past 2-3 years I've received (knock wood) a 2% pay raise, which kicks in in June, so assuming all goes well this would mean my income will be higher for the second half of the year. I'll have to take that into account when I redo my W-4 calculations.

~ Jenney

How to adjust W-4 if separated but not yet divorced?