OT -- Alimony
 

question for you attorney and tax guru's


if i'm court obligated to pay my ex's credit cards -- can that be considered alimony as far as a deduction on my taxes ?

Boy...is sure seems so, but attorney and tax guru'I'm not. Sounds like you should have one doing your taxes!

Let me be the first to say....I DON'T KNOW....

But, I found this online (Smart Money) for you. I'll keep looking and see if I can find something directly related to what you're talking about.

http://www.smartmoney.com/divorce/ba...ry=alimonycalc

When calculating alimony recapture, the following payments are not included. So, don't enter them into our calculator.


· Payments made under a temporary support order.
· Payments required over a period of at least three calendar years based on a fixed percentage of income from a business, a property, salary or self-employment. In other words, don't count payments that are intended to vary according to your income if such variable payments extend over at least three years.
· Payments that decrease because of the death of either former spouse or the remarriage of the former spouse receiving the payments.

Okay...I know this is long - but skip right to pages 10, 11 +

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p504.pdf

I'm no tax atty, but I would say "NO".

It probably comes under "division of assets and liabilities", not alimony.

thats what i was afraid of --

i'll do a little more research


thanks for the info!!!

i would say, sell everything you own to your best friend dirt cheap, put all the money in a safe deposit box at the mgm grand in las vegas and declare bankruptcy. and when the judge ask's you where all the money went just say you were depressed and went on a gambling binge and spent all the money. someone i know did this and it worked like a charm.:D ;) :p :cool:

too late!

my divorce is already finalized -- and our assests have been split up !!!


now i'm just trying to figure out a way to recoup some of the money i'm paying for her!!!

I think the distiction is - was it HER credit card you both of your credit card? If it's hers and you pay it 1. kill your friggin lawyer and 2. I'm thinking claim it.

I hope a CPA get's here soon!!!

her credit card -- in her name


yes my attorney sucked -- but at the same time -- i make 4 times what she makes -- so i'm paying for me making a better living!!

its a long story -- and i'm not even THAT bitter about it

Mark, bitter or not, it is still a steaming pile of cow poo that you are paying HER credit card bills. Obviously your lawyer did suck. Here's to hoping you can count the bills as alimony!

Steaming pile of cow poo. LMFAO! :D :D :D

I think the name Alimony was created by a woman...the real word was "All My Money"...then they changed it to Alimony to make it more "user friendly"

Shane, see my post above. All women aren't like that! The ones that are just make the rest of us look bad. :crazy:

LMAO! :D (and crying at the same time :( )

well -- i talked to a CPA friend of mine -- now he's not a TAX cpa -- but he thinks i should be alright doing it


any more thougts?

It's always worth a try. I can't see why you shouldn't be able to. It is a form of "supporting" her after all. And with no benefit to you. My mother is working at H&R Block, want me to give her a call and see what I can find out?

that would be GREAT !!!

I wasn't going to say anything, because I don't have the training. But, when I was reading page 11 it sounded like to me that if you pay ANY of her bills to a third party in lieu of giving the cash to her, you can claim it. I'd hate to tell you the wrong thing and have you get in the sh!t.

Congrats...not only can you claim the expense, she has to claim the income. :D

yeah -- i read it the same way -- but it can be very confusing === and no one wants an audit!!!!

I have an answer but you don't want to know it. She has to claim it as part of her income for you to claim it as a deductible. If she files the alimony as income you can claim that, but if she doesn't you are stuck. Just because you pay the third party for her, it doesn't count. I know that isn't the answer you wanted and I don't agree with it, but there it is. Sorry!

If she doesn't claim it as income, turn her into the IRS, then she'll get audited and you'll be able to claim it.
Been there...done that

Alimony= The Fu--in you get for the fu--in you got

Now there is that. It could hold up any sort of refund you might get but then she would know to claim it next go 'round. Personally, I think it's crap that you have to pay it, and then not be able to claim it unless she does.

Perpetual bachelor for this very reason...

D. Ocean
Pompano Beach, FLA

refund = funny!!!


i haven't got a refund in years -- i owe i owe i owe


but its the life i choose!!

hey -- how am i supposed to control how she files her taxes and what she reports as income???

doesn't sound like anything i could be held accountable for?

Just reading the short version angers me.....Check out the m60 video clips posted earlier.

The IRS is most interested in un-reported INCOME. Your expenditure is not INCOME, but a tax deduction on alimony.

Have you contacted a tax person yet? You only have 26 more hours to file!!! If she receives alimony and does not report it, that is her problem and not yours. You can not control how or what she files.

File an extension. Just make sure you send in enough money right now to cover your "best guess" on what you owe.

I've written off bad debts before (and this past year as well). To do that you are supposed to make sure the other party claims it as income. I'm pretty sure the guys that have bailed on debts to me haven't ever claimed that as income, but that isn't my fault. Not something I can make them do. I report every penny of my income, cash, barter, etc. Not worth the hassle later if you don't. I also take all the deductions and write offs I am entitled to and try to make sure I have adequate supporting documentation to do so.

But the bottom line is that my tax guy says i can only make sure I do my taxes properly and that it isn't my duty to make sure the other guys are doing the same.

So let me guess Mark, you have waited until the last minute to file? lol You can't be held accountable for making sure she files properly. I just meant be prepared in case an audit of her filing holds up anything on your end. But since you are working to pay THE MAN, that won't be an issue. Like MCollins said, if you file the extension, go ahead and send what you estimate you owe and work it out in the extension. Good luck!

yeah -- i'm guilty -- i waited till the last second -- i actually have them all filled out ready to go


i was going back through them and thought about the whole alimony thing -- figured it couldn't hurt to ask a few questions before i get it in the mail today!

That is funny not a tax cpa, than what the hell is he, one that washes cars? lol

he does internal audits at a manufacturing company



he can wax a car though!!!! (with some direction)