2017 Publication 504

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Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Publication 504

Cat. No. 15006I

Divorced

or Separated

Individuals

For use in preparing

2017 Returns

Get forms and other information faster and easier at:

• IRS.gov (English)

• IRS.gov/Spanish (Español)

•

IRS.gov/Chinese (中文)

•

IRS.gov/Korean (한국어)

• IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский)

• IRS.gov/Vietnamese (TiếngViệt)

Contents

Future Developments ....................... 1

What’s New .............................. 2

Reminders ............................... 2

Introduction .............................. 2

Filing Status .............................. 3

Married Filing Jointly ...................... 4

Married Filing Separately .................. 5

Head of Household ....................... 6

Exemptions .............................. 7

Personal Exemptions ..................... 7

Exemptions for Dependents ................ 8

Children of Divorced or Separated

Parents (or Parents Who Live Apart) ..... 9

Qualifying Child of More Than One

Person .......................... 11

Phaseout of Exemptions .................. 13

Alimony ................................ 13

General Rules ......................... 14

Instruments Executed After 1984 ............ 15

Alimony Requirements ................ 15

Recapture of Alimony ................. 17

Instruments Executed Before 1985 .......... 18

Qualified Domestic Relations Order ........... 18

Individual Retirement Arrangements .......... 19

Property Settlements ...................... 20

Transfer Between Spouses ................ 20

Gift Tax on Property Settlements ............ 21

Gift Tax Return ...................... 22

Sale of Jointly-Owned Property ............. 23

Costs of Getting a Divorce .................. 23

Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax ........... 23

Community Property ...................... 24

Community Income ...................... 24

Alimony (Community Income) .............. 26

How To Get Tax Help ...................... 26

Index .................................. 29

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to

Pub. 504, such as legislation enacted after this publication

was published, go to IRS.gov/Pub504.

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What’s New

Community property. Several states have enacted laws

that allow residents (and in some cases nonresidents) to

elect to treat certain income and property as community

property. For details, see Community property states,

later.

Reminders

Health care law. Under the health care law, you must

have qualifying health care coverage, qualify for an

exemption from qualifying health care coverage, or make

a shared responsibility payment. Your divorce or

separation may impact your responsibilities under the

health care law. For details, see Health care law

considerations.

Relief from joint liability. In some cases, one spouse

may be relieved of joint liability for tax, interest, and penal-

ties on a joint tax return. For more information, see Relief

from joint liability under Married Filing Jointly.

Social security numbers for dependents. You must in-

clude on your tax return the taxpayer identification number

(generally the social security number) of every person for

whom you claim an exemption. See Exemptions for De-

pendents under Exemptions, later.

Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). The

IRS will issue an ITIN to a nonresident or resident alien

who doesn’t have and isn’t eligible to get a social security

number (SSN). To apply for an ITIN, file Form W-7, Appli-

cation for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,

with the IRS. It takes about 6 to 10 weeks to get an ITIN.

The ITIN is entered wherever an SSN is requested on a

tax return. If you’re required to include another person's

SSN on your return and that person doesn’t have and

can’t get an SSN, enter that person's ITIN.

Change of address. If you change your mailing address,

be sure to notify the Internal Revenue Service. You can

use Form 8822, Change of Address.

Change of name. If you change your name, be sure to

notify the Social Security Administration using Form SS-5,

Application for a Social Security Card.

Change of withholding. If you have been claiming a

withholding exemption for your spouse, and you divorce

or legally separate, you must give your employer a new

Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate,

within 10 days after the divorce or separation showing the

correct number of exemptions.

Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud

partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited

Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children se-

lected by the Center may appear in this publication on pa-

ges that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring

these children home by looking at the photographs and

calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recog-

nize a child.

Introduction

This publication explains tax rules that apply if you are di-

vorced or separated from your spouse. It covers general

filing information and can help you choose your filing sta-

tus. It also can help you decide which exemptions you are

entitled to claim, including exemptions for dependents.

The publication also discusses payments and transfers

of property that often occur as a result of divorce and how

you must treat them on your tax return. Examples include

alimony, child support, other court-ordered payments,

property settlements, and transfers of individual retire-

ment arrangements. In addition, this publication also ex-

plains deductions allowed for some of the costs of obtain-

ing a divorce and how to handle tax withholding and

estimated tax payments.

The last part of the publication explains special rules

that may apply to persons who live in community property

states.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your com-

ments about this publication and your suggestions for fu-

ture editions.

You can send us comments through IRS.gov/

FormComments. Or you can write to:

Internal Revenue Service

Tax Forms and Publications

1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526

Washington, DC 20224

Although we can’t respond individually to each com-

ment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will

consider your comments as we revise our tax forms, in-

structions, and publications.

Ordering forms and publications. Visit IRS.gov/

FormsPubs to download forms and publications. Other-

wise, you can go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current

and prior-year forms and instructions. Your order should

arrive within 10 business days.

Tax questions. If you have a tax question not an-

swered by this publication, check IRS.gov and How To

Get Tax Help at the end of this publication.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publications

Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing

Information

Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets

Community Property

Contributions to Individual Retirement

Arrangements (IRAs)

Distributions from Individual Retirement

Arrangements (IRAs)

501

544

555

590-A

590-B

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Innocent Spouse Relief

Premium Tax Credit

Form (and Instructions)

Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to

Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent

Injured Spouse Allocation

Request for Innocent Spouse Relief

See How To Get Tax Help near the end of this publication

for information about getting publications and forms.

Filing Status

Your filing status is used in determining whether you must

file a return, your standard deduction, and the correct tax.

It may also be used in determining whether you can claim

certain other deductions and credits. The filing status you

can choose depends partly on your marital status on the

last day of your tax year.

Marital status. If you are unmarried, your filing status is

single or, if you meet certain requirements, head of house-

hold or qualifying widow(er). If you are married, your filing

status is either married filing a joint return or married filing

a separate return. For information about the single and

qualifying widow(er) filing statuses, see Pub. 501.

Unmarried persons. You are unmarried for the whole

year if either of the following applies.

You have obtained a final decree of divorce or sepa-

rate maintenance by the last day of your tax year. You

must follow your state law to determine if you are di-

vorced or legally separated.

Exception. If you and your spouse obtain a di-

vorce in one year for the sole purpose of filing tax re-

turns as unmarried individuals, and at the time of di-

vorce you intend to remarry each other and do so in

the next tax year, you and your spouse must file as

married individuals.

You have obtained a decree of annulment, which

holds that no valid marriage ever existed. You must

file amended returns (Form 1040X, Amended U.S. In-

dividual Income Tax Return) for all tax years affected

by the annulment that aren’t closed by the statute of

limitations. The statute of limitations generally doesn’t

end until 3 years (including extensions) after the date

you file your original return or within 2 years after the

date you pay the tax. On the amended return you will

change your filing status to single or, if you meet cer-

tain requirements, head of household.

Married persons. You are married for the whole year

if you are separated but you haven’t obtained a final de-

cree of divorce or separate maintenance by the last day of

your tax year. An interlocutory decree isn’t a final decree.

However, individuals who have entered into a registered

domestic partnership, civil union, or other similar relation-

ship that isn’t called a marriage under state (or foreign)

971

974

8332

8379

8857

law aren’t married for federal tax purposes. For more infor-

mation, see Pub. 501.

Same-sex marriage. For federal tax purposes, the

marriage of a same-sex couple is treated the same as the

marriage of a man to a woman. However, individuals who

have entered into a registered domestic partnership, civil

union, or other similar relationship that isn’t considered a

marriage under state law aren’t considered married for

federal tax purposes.

Exception. If you live apart from your spouse, under

certain circumstances, you may be considered unmarried

and can file as head of household. See Head of House-

hold, later.

Health care law considerations. Under the health care

law, you must have qualifying health care coverage, qual-

ify for an exemption from qualifying health care coverage,

or make a shared responsibility payment.

Qualifying health care coverage (also called minimum

essential coverage) includes:

Most coverage through government-sponsored pro-

grams (including Medicaid coverage, Medicare parts

A or C, the Children’s Health Insurance Program

(CHIP), certain benefits for veterans and their families,

TRICARE, and health coverage for Peace Corps vol-

unteers).

Most types of employer-sponsored coverage.

Grandfathered health plans.

Other health coverage the Department of Health and

Human Services designates as minimum essential

coverage.

Your divorce or separation may impact your responsi-

bilities under the health care law in the following ways.

Special Marketplace Enrollment Period. If you lose

your health insurance coverage due to divorce, you

are still required to have coverage for every month of

the year for yourself and the dependents you can

claim on your tax return. Losing coverage through a

divorce is considered a qualifying life event that allows

you to enroll in health coverage through the Health In-

surance Marketplace during a Special Enrollment Pe-

riod.

Changes in Circumstances. If you purchase health

insurance coverage through the Health Insurance

Marketplace you may get advance payments of the

premium tax credit in 2017. If you do, you should re-

port changes in circumstances to your Marketplace

throughout the year. Changes to report include a

change in marital status, a name change and a

change in your income or family size. By reporting

changes, you will help make sure that you get the

proper type and amount of financial assistance. This

will also help you avoid getting too much or too little

credit in advance.

Shared Policy Allocation. If you divorced or are le-

gally separated during the tax year and are enrolled in

the same qualified health plan, you and your former

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spouse must allocate policy amounts on your sepa-

rate tax returns to figure your premium tax credit and

reconcile any advance payments made on your be-

half. The instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax

Credit, has more information about the Shared Policy

Allocation.

Married Filing Jointly

If you are married, you and your spouse can choose to file

a joint return. If you file jointly, you both must include all

your income, exemptions, deductions, and credits on that

return. You can file a joint return even if one of you had no

income or deductions.

If both you and your spouse have income, you

should usually figure your tax on both a joint re-

turn and separate returns (using the filing status

of married filing separately) to see which gives the two of

you the lower combined tax.

Nonresident alien. To file a joint return, at least one of

you must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of

the tax year. If either of you was a nonresident alien at any

time during the tax year, you can file a joint return only if

you agree to treat the nonresident spouse as a resident of

the United States. This means that your combined world-

wide incomes are subject to U.S. income tax. These rules

are explained in Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Signing a joint return. Both you and your spouse gener-

ally must sign the return, or it will not be considered a joint

return.

Joint and individual liability. Both you and your spouse

may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the

tax and any interest or penalty due on your joint return.

This means that one spouse may be held liable for all the

tax due even if all the income was earned by the other

spouse.

Divorced taxpayers. If you are divorced, you are

jointly and individually responsible for any tax, interest,

and penalties due on a joint return for a tax year ending

before your divorce. This responsibility applies even if

your divorce decree states that your former spouse will be

responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint

returns.

Relief from joint liability. In some cases, a spouse

may be relieved of the tax, interest, and penalties on a

joint return. You can ask for relief no matter how small the

liability.

There are three types of relief available.

Innocent spouse relief.

Separation of liability, which applies to joint filers who

are divorced, widowed, legally separated, or who

haven’t lived together for the 12 months ending on the

date election of this relief is filed.

Equitable relief.

TIP

Married persons who live in community property states,

but who didn’t file joint returns, may also qualify for relief

from liability for tax attributable to an item of community in-

come or for equitable relief. See Relief from liability for tax

attributable to an item of community income, later, under

Community Property.

Each kind of relief has different requirements. You must

file Form 8857 to request relief under any of these catego-

ries. Pub. 971 explains these kinds of relief and who may

qualify for them. You can also find information on our web-

site at IRS.gov.

Tax refund applied to spouse's debts. The overpay-

ment shown on your joint return may be used to pay the

past-due amount of your spouse's debts. This includes

your spouse's federal tax, state income tax, child or

spousal support payments, or a federal nontax debt, such

as a student loan. You can get a refund of your share of

the overpayment if you qualify as an injured spouse.

Injured spouse. You are an injured spouse if you file

a joint return and all or part of your share of the overpay-

ment was, or is expected to be, applied against your

spouse's past-due debts. An injured spouse can get a re-

fund for his or her share of the overpayment that would

otherwise be used to pay the past-due amount.

To be considered an injured spouse, you must:

1. Have made and reported tax payments (such as fed-

eral income tax withheld from wages or estimated tax

payments), or claimed a refundable tax credit, such

as the earned income credit or additional child tax

credit on the joint return, and

2. Not be legally obligated to pay the past-due amount.

If the injured spouse's permanent home is in a com-

munity property state, then the injured spouse must only

meet (2). For more information, see Pub. 555.

If you are an injured spouse, you must file Form 8379 to

have your portion of the overpayment refunded to you.

Follow the instructions for the form.

If you haven’t filed your joint return and you know that

your joint refund will be offset, file Form 8379 with your re-

turn. You should receive your refund within 14 weeks from

the date the paper return is filed or within 11 weeks from

the date the return is filed electronically.

If you filed your joint return and your joint refund was

offset, file Form 8379 by itself. When filed after offset, it

can take up to 8 weeks to receive your refund. Don’t at-

tach the previously filed tax return, but do include copies

of all Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and W-2G,

Certain Gambling Winnings, for both spouses and any

Forms 1099 that show income tax withheld.

An injured spouse claim is different from an inno-

cent spouse relief request. An injured spouse

uses Form 8379 to request an allocation of the tax

overpayment attributed to each spouse. An innocent

spouse uses Form 8857 to request relief from joint liability

for tax, interest, and penalties on a joint return for items of

the other spouse (or former spouse) that were incorrectly

CAUTION

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reported on or omitted from the joint return. For informa-

tion on innocent spouses, see Relief from joint liability,

earlier.

Married Filing Separately

If you and your spouse file separate returns, you should

each report only your own income, exemptions, deduc-

tions, and credits on your individual return. You can file a

separate return even if only one of you had income. For in-

formation on exemptions you can claim on your separate

return, see Exemptions, later.

Community or separate income. If you live in a com-

munity property state and file a separate return, your in-

come may be separate income or community income for

income tax purposes. For more information, see Com-

munity Income under Community Property, later.

Separate liability. If you and your spouse file separately,

you each are responsible only for the tax due on your own

return.

Itemized deductions. If you and your spouse file sepa-

rate returns and one of you itemizes deductions, the other

spouse can’t use the standard deduction and should also

itemize deductions.

Dividing itemized deductions. You may be able to

claim itemized deductions on a separate return for certain

expenses that you paid separately or jointly with your

spouse. See Table 1.

Separate returns may give you a higher tax. Some

married couples file separate returns because each wants

to be responsible only for his or her own tax. There is no

joint liability. But in almost all instances, if you file separate

returns, you will pay more combined federal tax than you

would with a joint return. This is because the following

special rules apply if you file a separate return.

Itemized Deductions on Separate Returns

This table shows itemized deductions you can claim on your married filing separate return whether you paid the

expenses separately with your own funds or jointly with your spouse.

Caution: If you live in a community property state, these rules don’t apply. See Community Property.

IF you paid ... AND you ...

THEN you can deduct on your separate

federal return...

medical expenses paid with funds deposited in a joint checking

account in which you and your spouse have

an equal interest

half of the total medical expenses,

subject to certain limits, unless you can

show that you alone paid the expenses.

state income tax file a separate state income tax return the state income tax you alone paid

during the year.

file a joint state income tax return and you

and your spouse are jointly and individually

liable for the full amount of the state income

tax

the state income tax you alone paid

during the year.

file a joint state income tax return and you

are liable for only your own share of state

income tax

the smaller of:

the state income tax you alone paid

during the year, or

the total state income tax you and

your spouse paid during the year

multiplied by the following fraction.

The numerator is your gross

income and the denominator

is your combined gross income.

property tax paid the tax on property held as tenants by

the entirety

the property tax you alone paid.

mortgage interest paid the interest on a qualified home

held

as tenants by the entirety

the mortgage interest you alone paid.

casualty loss have a casualty loss on a home you own

as tenants by the entirety

half of the loss, subject to the

deduction limits. Neither spouse may

report the total casualty loss.

For more information on a qualified home and deductible mortgage interest, see Pub. 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.

Table 1.

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1. Your tax rate generally is higher than it would be on a

joint return.

2. Your exemption amount for figuring the alternative

minimum tax is half of that allowed on a joint return.

3. You can’t take the credit for child and dependent care

expenses in most cases, and the amount you can ex-

clude from income under an employer's dependent

care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead

of $5,000 on a joint return). If you are legally separa-

ted or living apart from your spouse, you may be able

to file a separate return and still take the credit. See

Pub. 503 for more information.

4. You can’t take the earned income credit.

5. You can’t take the exclusion or credit for adoption ex-

penses in most cases.

6. You can’t exclude the interest from qualified savings

bonds that you used for higher education expenses.

7. If you lived with your spouse at any time during the tax

year:

a. You can’t claim the credit for the elderly or the dis-

abled, and

b. You will have to include in income a higher per-

centage (up to 85%) of any social security or

equivalent railroad retirement benefits you re-

ceived.

8. The following credits and deductions are reduced at

income levels that are half those for a joint return.

a. The child tax credit.

b. The retirement savings contributions credit.

c. The deduction for personal exemptions.

d. Itemized deductions.

9. Your capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 (instead of

$3,000 on a joint return).

10.

If your spouse itemizes deductions, you can’t claim

the standard deduction. If you can claim the standard

deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the

amount allowed on a joint return.

11.

You can’t take the credit for higher education expen-

ses (American opportunity and lifetime learning cred-

its), or the deduction for student loan interest.

The tuition and fees deduction has expired and you

can no longer take this deduction. If extended (see

Caution below), information about this deduction will

be available in Pub. 970.

At the time this publication was prepared for print-

ing, Congress was considering legislation on ex-

pired provisions. To see if the legislation was

enacted, go to IRS.gov/Pub17.

Joint return after separate returns. If either you or your

spouse (or both of you) file a separate return, you gener-

ally can change to a joint return within 3 years from the

due date (not including extensions) of the separate return

CAUTION

or returns. This applies to a return either of you filed claim-

ing married filing separately, single, or head of household

filing status. Use Form 1040X to change your filing status.

Separate returns after joint return. After the due date

of your return, you and your spouse can’t file separate re-

turns if you previously filed a joint return.

Exception. A personal representative for a decedent

can change from a joint return elected by the surviving

spouse to a separate return for the decedent. The per-

sonal representative has 1 year from the due date (includ-

ing extensions) of the joint return to make the change.

Head of Household

Filing as head of household has the following advantages.

You can claim the standard deduction even if your

spouse files a separate return and itemizes deduc-

tions.

Your standard deduction is higher than is allowed if

you claim a filing status of single or married filing sep-

arately.

Your tax rate usually will be lower than it is if you claim

a filing status of single or married filing separately.

You may be able to claim certain credits (such as the

dependent care credit and the earned income credit)

you can’t claim if your filing status is married filing sep-

arately.

Income limits that reduce your child tax credit, retire-

ment savings contributions credit, itemized deduc-

tions, and the deduction for personal exemptions are

higher than the income limits if you claim a filing status

of married filing separately.

Requirements. You may be able to file as head of

household if you meet all the following requirements.

You are unmarried or “considered unmarried” on the

last day of the year.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a

home for the year.

A “qualifying person” lived with you in the home for

more than half the year (except for temporary absen-

ces, such as school). However, if the “qualifying per-

son” is your dependent parent, he or she doesn’t have

to live with you. See Special rule for parent, later, un-

der Qualifying person.

Considered unmarried. You are considered unmarried

on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following

tests.

You file a separate return. A separate return includes

a return claiming married filing separately, single, or

head of household filing status.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your

home for the tax year.

Your spouse didn’t live in your home during the last 6

months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to

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live in your home even if he or she is temporarily ab-

sent due to special circumstances. See Temporary

absences, later.

Your home was the main home of your child, step-

child, or foster child for more than half the year. (See

Qualifying person, later, for rules applying to a child's

birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)

You must be able to claim an exemption for the child.

However, you meet this test if you can’t claim the ex-

emption only because the noncustodial parent can

claim the child using the rule described later in Special

rule for divorced or separated parents (or parents who

live apart) under Exemptions for Dependents. The

general rules for claiming an exemption for a depend-

ent are shown in Table 3.

If you were considered married for part of the year

and lived in a community property state (one of

the states listed later under Community Property),

special rules may apply in determining your income and

expenses. See Pub. 555 for more information.

Nonresident alien spouse. If your spouse was a non-

resident alien at any time during the tax year, and you

haven’t chosen to treat your spouse as a resident alien,

you are considered unmarried for head of household pur-

poses. However, your spouse isn’t a qualifying person for

head of household purposes. You must have another

qualifying person and meet the other requirements to file

as head of household.

Keeping up a home. You are keeping up a home only if

you pay more than half the cost of its upkeep for the year.

This includes rent, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, in-

surance on the home, repairs, utilities, and food eaten in

the home. This doesn’t include the cost of clothing, edu-

cation, medical treatment, vacations, life insurance, or

transportation for any member of the household.

Qualifying person. Table 2 shows who can be a qualify-

ing person. Any person not described in Table 2 is not a

qualifying person.

Generally, the qualifying person must live with you for

more than half of the year.

Special rule for parent. If your qualifying person is

your father or mother, you may be eligible to file as head

of household even if your father or mother does not live

with you. However, you must be able to claim an exemp-

tion for your father or mother. Also, you must pay more

than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main

home for the entire year for your father or mother.

You are keeping up a main home for your father or

mother if you pay more than half the cost of keeping your

parent in a rest home or home for the elderly.

Death or birth. If the person for whom you kept up a

home was born or died in 2017, you still may be able to

file as head of household. If the person is your qualifying

child, the child must have lived with you for more than half

the part of the year he or she was alive. If the person is

anyone else, see Pub. 501.

CAUTION

Temporary absences. You and your qualifying per-

son are considered to live together even if one or both of

you are temporarily absent from your home due to special

circumstances such as illness, education, business, vaca-

tion, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility. It

must be reasonable to assume that the absent person will

return to the home after the temporary absence. You must

continue to keep up the home during the absence.

Kidnapped child. You may be eligible to file as head

of household even if the child who is your qualifying per-

son has been kidnapped. You can claim head of house-

hold filing status if all the following statements are true.

The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities

to have been kidnapped by someone who isn’t a

member of your family or the child's family.

In the year of the kidnapping, the child lived with you

for more than half the part of the year before the kid-

napping.

In the year of the child's return, the child lived with you

for more than half the part of the year following the

date of the child's return.

You would have qualified for head of household filing

status if the child hadn’t been kidnapped.

This treatment applies for all years until the earliest of:

1. The year the child is returned,

2. The year there is a determination that the child is

dead, or

3. The year the child would have reached age 18.

More information. For more information on filing as

head of household, see Pub. 501.

Exemptions

You can deduct $4,050 for each exemption you claim in

2017. However, if your adjusted gross income is more

than $156,900, see Phaseout of Exemptions, later.

There are two types of exemptions: personal exemp-

tions and exemptions for dependents. If you are entitled to

claim an exemption for a dependent (such as your child),

that dependent cannot claim his or her personal exemp-

tion on his or her own tax return.

Personal Exemptions

You can claim your own exemption unless someone else

can claim it. If you are married, you may be able to take an

exemption for your spouse. These are called personal ex-

emptions.

Exemption for Your Spouse

Your spouse is never considered your dependent.

Joint return. On a joint return, you can claim one exemp-

tion for yourself and one for your spouse.

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If your spouse had any gross income, you can claim his

or her exemption only if you file a joint return.

Separate return. If you file a separate return, you can

take an exemption for your spouse only if your spouse

had no gross income, isn’t filing a return, and wasn’t the

dependent of another taxpayer. If your spouse is the de-

pendent of another taxpayer, you can’t claim an exemp-

tion for your spouse even if the other taxpayer doesn’t ac-

tually claim your spouse's exemption.

Alimony paid. If you paid alimony to your spouse, you

can’t take an exemption for your spouse. This is because

alimony is gross income to the spouse who received it.

Divorced or separated spouse. If you obtained a final

decree of divorce or separate maintenance during the

year, you can’t take your former spouse's exemption. This

rule applies even if you provided all of your former spou-

se's support.

Exemptions for Dependents

You are allowed one exemption for each person you can

claim as a dependent. You can claim an exemption for a

dependent even if your dependent files a return.

The term “dependent” means:

A qualifying child, or

Who Is a Qualifying Person Qualifying You To File as Head of Household?

Caution. See the text of this publication for the other requirements you must meet to claim head of household filing

status.

IF the person is your ... AND ... THEN that person is ...

qualifying child (such as a son,

daughter, or grandchild who

lived with you more than half the

year and meets certain other

tests)

he or she is single a qualifying person, whether or not

you can claim an exemption for the

person.

he or she is married and you can claim an

exemption for him or her

a qualifying person.

he or she is married and you can’t claim an

exemption for him or her

not a qualifying person.

qualifying relative

who is your

father or mother

you can claim an exemption for him or her

a qualifying person.

you can’t claim an exemption for him or her not a qualifying person.

qualifying relative

other than

your father or mother (such as a

grandparent, brother, or sister

who meets certain tests)

he or she lived with you more than half the

year, and he or she is related to you in one of

the ways listed under Relatives who don't

have to live with you in Pub. 501 and you can

claim an exemption for him or her

a qualifying person.

he or she didn’t live with you more than half

the year

not a qualifying person.

he or she is not related to you in one of the

ways listed under Relatives who don't have

to live with you in Pub. 501 and is your

qualifying relative only because he or she

lived with you all year as a member of your

household

not a qualifying person.

you can’t claim an exemption for him or her not a qualifying person.

A person can’t qualify more than one taxpayer to use the head of household filing status for the year.

See Table 3 for the tests that must be met to be a qualifying child. Note. If you are a noncustodial parent, the term “qualifying child” for head of

household filing status doesn’t include a child who is your qualifying child for exemption purposes only because of the rules described under

Children of Divorced or Separated Parents (or Parents Who Live Apart) under Exemptions for Dependents, later. If you are the custodial parent

and those rules apply, the child is generally your qualifying child for head of household filing status even though the child isn’t a qualifying child for

whom you can claim an exemption.

This person is a qualifying person if the only reason you can’t claim the exemption is that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's

return.

See Table 3 for the tests that must be met to be a qualifying relative.

If you can claim an exemption for a person only because of a multiple support agreement, that person isn’t a qualifying person. See Multiple

Support Agreement in Pub. 501.

See Special rule for parent.

Table 2.

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A qualifying relative.

Table 3 shows the tests that must be met to be either a

qualifying child or qualifying relative, plus the additional

requirements for claiming an exemption for a dependent.

For detailed information, see Pub. 501.

Dependent not allowed a personal exemp-

tion. If you can claim an exemption for your de-

pendent, the dependent can’t claim his or her own

exemption on his or her own tax return. This is true even if

you don’t claim the dependent's exemption on your return.

It is also true if the decedent's exemption on your return is

reduced or eliminated under the phaseout rule described

under Phaseout of Exemptions, later.

CAUTION

You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each

qualifying child who was under age 17 at the end

of the year if you claimed an exemption for that

child. For more information, see the instructions for your

tax return if you file Form 1040A or 1040.

Children of Divorced or Separated Parents

(or Parents Who Live Apart)

In most cases, because of the residency test (see item 3

under Tests To Be a Qualifying Child in Table 3), a child of

divorced or separated parents is the qualifying child of the

custodial parent. However, the child will be treated as the

TIP

Overview of the Rules for Claiming an Exemption for a Dependent

Caution. This table is only an overview of the rules. For details, see Pub. 501.

• You can’t claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.

• You can’t claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of

withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.

• You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of

Canada or Mexico.

• You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying relative.

Tests To Be a Qualifying Child Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative

The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster

child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,

stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year

and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), (b)

under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and

younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), or (c) any

age if permanently and totally disabled.

The child must have lived with you for more than half of the

year.

The child must not have provided more than half of his or

her own support for the year.

The child isn’t filing a joint return for the year (unless that

joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income

tax or estimated tax paid).

A dependent is not a qualifying child unless he or she

meets items (1) through (5).

The person can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying

child of anyone else.

The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the

ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you

in Pub. 501 or (b) must live with you all year as a member of

your household

(and your relationship must not violate

local law).

The person's gross income for the year must be less than

$4,050.

You must provide more than half of the person's total

support for the year.

A dependent is not a qualifying relative unless he or she

meets items (1) through (4).

If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than

one person, only one person can actually treat the child as a

qualifying child. See Qualifying Child of More Than One Person,

later, to find out which person is the person entitled to claim the

child as a qualifying child.

Exception exists for certain adopted children.

Exceptions exist for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, children of divorced or separated parents (or parents

who live apart), and kidnapped children.

Exception exists for persons who are disabled and have income from a sheltered workshop.

Exceptions exist for multiple support agreements, children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart), and kidnapped children.

See Pub. 501.

Table 3.

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qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if the rule for

children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who

live apart)(discussed next) applies.

Children of divorced or separated parents (or pa-

rents who live apart). A child will be treated as the qual-

ifying child of his or her noncustodial parent if all four of

the following statements are true.

1. The parents:

a. Are divorced or legally separated under a decree

of divorce or separate maintenance,

b. Are separated under a written separation agree-

ment, or

c. Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of

the year, whether or not they are or were married.

2. The child received over half of his or her support for

the year from the parents.

3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for

more than half of the year.

4. Either of the following applies.

a. The custodial parent signs a written declaration,

discussed later, that he or she will not claim the

child as a dependent for the year, and the noncus-

todial parent attaches this written declaration to

his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went

into effect after 1984, see Divorce decree or sepa-

ration agreement that went into effect after 1984

and before 2009, or Post-2008 divorce decree or

separation agreement, later).

b. A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate mainte-

nance or written separation agreement that ap-

plies to 2017 states that the noncustodial parent

can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or

agreement wasn’t changed after 1984 to say the

noncustodial parent can’t claim the child as a de-

pendent, and the noncustodial parent provides at

least $600 for the child's support during 2017. See

Child support under pre-1985 agreement, later.

Custodial parent and noncustodial parent. The

custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for

the greater number of nights during the year. The other

parent is the noncustodial parent.

If the parents divorced or separated during the year

and the child lived with both parents before the separa-

tion, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child

lived for the greater number of nights during the rest of the

year.

A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the

child sleeps:

At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is

present, or

In the company of the parent, when the child doesn’t

sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and

child are on vacation together).

Equal number of nights. If the child lived with each

parent for an equal number of nights during the year, the

custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted

gross income.

December 31. The night of December 31 is treated as

part of the year in which it begins. For example, the night

of December 31, 2017, is treated as part of 2017.

Emancipated child. If a child is emancipated under

state law, the child is treated as not living with either pa-

rent. See Examples 5 and 6.

Absences. If a child wasn’t with either parent on a par-

ticular night (because, for example, the child was staying

at a friend's house), the child is treated as living with the

parent with whom the child normally would have lived for

that night, except for the absence. But if it can’t be deter-

mined with which parent the child normally would have

lived or if the child wouldn’t have lived with either parent

that night, the child is treated as not living with either pa-

rent that night.

Parent works at night. If, due to a parent's nighttime

work schedule, a child lives for a greater number of days

but not nights with the parent who works at night, that pa-

rent is treated as the custodial parent. On a school day,

the child is treated as living at the primary residence regis-

tered with the school.

Example 1—child lived with one parent greater

number of nights. You and your child’s other parent are

divorced. In 2017, your child lived with you 210 nights and

with the other parent 155 nights. You are the custodial pa-

rent.

Example 2—child is away at camp. In 2017, your

daughter lives with each parent for alternate weeks. In the

summer, she spends 6 weeks at summer camp. During

the time she is at camp, she is treated as living with you

for 3 weeks and with her other parent, your ex-spouse, for

3 weeks because this is how long she would have lived

with each parent if she hadn’t attended summer camp.

Example 3—child lived same number of days with

each parent. Your son lived with you 180 nights during

the year and lived the same number of nights with his

other parent, your ex-spouse. Your adjusted gross income

is $40,000. Your ex-spouse's adjusted gross income is

$25,000. You are treated as your son's custodial parent

because you have the higher adjusted gross income.

Example 4—child is at parent’s home but with

other parent. Your son normally lives with you during

the week and with his other parent, your ex-spouse, every

other weekend. You become ill and are hospitalized. The

other parent lives in your home with your son for 10 con-

secutive days while you are in the hospital. Your son is

treated as living with you during this 10-day period be-

cause he was living in your home.

Example 5—child emancipated in May. When your

son turned age 18 in May 2017, he became emancipated

under the law of the state where he lives. As a result, he

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isn’t considered in the custody of his parents for more

than half of the year. The special rule for children of di-

vorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart)

doesn’t apply.

Example 6—child emancipated in August. Your

daughter lives with you from January 1, 2017, until May

31, 2017, and lives with her other parent, your ex-spouse,

from June 1, 2017, through the end of the year. She turns

18 and is emancipated under state law on August 1, 2017.

Because she is treated as not living with either parent be-

ginning on August 1, she is treated as living with you the

greater number of nights in 2017. You are the custodial

parent.

Written declaration. The custodial parent must use

either Form 8332 or a similar statement (containing the

same information required by the form) to make the writ-

ten declaration to release the exemption to the noncusto-

dial parent. The noncustodial parent must attach a copy of

the form or statement to his or her tax return.

The exemption can be released for 1 year, for a num-

ber of specified years (for example, alternate years), or for

all future years, as specified in the declaration.

Divorce decree or separation agreement that went

into effect after 1984 and before 2009. If the divorce

decree or separation agreement went into effect after

1984 and before 2009, the noncustodial parent may be

able to attach certain pages from the decree or agreement

instead of Form 8332. The decree or agreement must

state all three of the following.

1. The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a de-

pendent without regard to any condition, such as pay-

ment of support.

2. The custodial parent will not claim the child as a de-

pendent for the year.

3. The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather

than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a de-

pendent.

The noncustodial parent must attach all of the following

pages of the decree or agreement to his or her return.

The cover page (write the other parent's social secur-

ity number on this page).

The pages that include all of the information identified

in items (1) through (3) above.

The signature page with the other parent's signature

and the date of the agreement.

Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agree-

ment. If the decree or agreement went into effect after

2008, a noncustodial parent claiming an exemption for a

child can’t attach pages from a divorce decree or separa-

tion agreement instead of Form 8332. The custodial pa-

rent must sign either a Form 8332 or a similar statement.

The only purpose of this statement must be to release the

custodial parent's claim to the child's exemption. The non-

custodial parent must attach a copy to his or her return.

The form or statement must release the custodial parent's

claim to the child without any conditions. For example, the

release must not depend on the noncustodial parent pay-

ing support.

The noncustodial parent must attach the required

information even if it was filed with a return in an

earlier year.

Revocation of release of claim to an exemption.

The custodial parent can revoke a release of claim to ex-

emption that he or she previously released to the noncus-

todial parent. In order for the revocation to be effective for

2017, the custodial parent must have given (or made rea-

sonable efforts to give) written notice of the revocation to

the noncustodial parent in 2016 or earlier. The custodial

parent can use Part III of Form 8332 for this purpose and

must attach a copy of the revocation to his or her return for

each tax year he or she claims the child as a dependent

as a result of the revocation.

Remarried parent. If you remarry, the support provi-

ded by your new spouse is treated as provided by you.

Child support under pre-1985 agreement. All child

support payments actually received from the noncustodial

parent under a pre-1985 agreement are considered used

for the support of the child.

Example. Under a pre-1985 agreement, the noncusto-

dial parent provides $1,200 for the child's support. This

amount is considered support provided by the noncusto-

dial parent even if the $1,200 was actually spent on things

other than support.

Parents who never married. This rule for divorced or

separated parents also applies to parents who never mar-

ried and lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of

the year.

Alimony. Payments to your spouse that are includible

in his or her gross income as either alimony, separate

maintenance payments, or similar payments from an es-

tate or trust, aren’t treated as a payment for the support of

a dependent.

Qualifying Child of More Than One Person

If your qualifying child isn’t a qualifying child of

anyone else, this topic doesn’t apply to you and

you don’t need to read about it. This is also true if

your qualifying child isn’t a qualifying child of anyone else

except your spouse with whom you plan to file a joint re-

turn.

If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the

noncustodial parent under the rules for Children

of divorced or separated parents (or parents who

live apart), earlier, see Applying the tiebreaker rules to di-

vorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart),

later.

Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, resi-

dency, support, and joint return tests to be a qualifying

child of more than one person. (For a description of these

tests, see list items 1 through 5 under Tests To Be a

CAUTION

TIP

CAUTION

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Qualifying Child in Table 3). Although the child meets the

conditions to be a qualifying child of each of these per-

sons, only one person can actually claim the child as a

qualifying child to take all of the following tax benefits (pro-

vided the person is eligible for each benefit).

1. The exemption for the child.

2. The child tax credit.

3. Head of household filing status.

4. The credit for child and dependent care expenses.

5. The exclusion from income for dependent care bene-

fits.

6. The earned income credit.

The other person can’t take any of these benefits

based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the

other person can’t agree to divide these tax benefits be-

tween you.

Tiebreaker rules. To determine which person can treat

the child as a qualifying child to claim these six tax bene-

fits, the following tiebreaker rules apply.

If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the

child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent.

If the parents file a joint return together and can claim

the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as

the qualifying child of the parents.

If the parents don’t file a joint return together but both

parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS

will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent

with whom the child lived for the longer period of time

during the year. If the child lived with each parent for

the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as

the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher

adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year.

If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child,

the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person

who had the highest AGI for the year.

If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but

no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated

as the qualifying child of the person who had the high-

est AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is

higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's pa-

rents who can claim the child. If the child's parents file

a joint return with each other, this rule can be applied

by dividing the parents' total AGI evenly between

them; see Pub. 501 for details.

Subject to these tiebreaker rules, you and the other

person may be able to choose which of you claims the

child as a qualifying child.

You may be able to qualify for the earned income credit

under the rules for taxpayers without a qualifying child if

you have a qualifying child for the earned income credit

who is claimed as a qualifying child by another taxpayer.

For more information, see Pub. 596.

Example 1—separated parents. You, your husband,

and your 10-year-old son lived together until August 1,

2017, when your husband moved out of the household. In

August and September, your son lived with you. For the

rest of the year, your son lived with your husband, the

boy's father. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and

your husband because your son lived with each of you for

more than half the year and because he met the relation-

ship, age, support, and joint return tests for both of you. At

the end of the year, you and your husband still were not

divorced, legally separated, or separated under a written

separation agreement, so the rule for children of divorced

or separated parents (or parents who live apart) does not

apply.

You and your husband will file separate returns. Your

husband agrees to let you treat your son as a qualifying

child. This means, if your husband doesn’t claim your son

as a qualifying child, you can claim your son as a depend-

ent and treat him as a qualifying child for the child tax

credit and exclusion for dependent care benefits, if you

qualify for each of those tax benefits. However, you can’t

claim head of household filing status because you and

your husband didn’t live apart the last 6 months of the

year. And, as a result of your filing status being married fil-

ing separately, you can’t claim the earned income credit

or the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

Example 2—separated parents claim same child.

The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you

and your husband both claim your son as a qualifying

child. In this case, only your husband will be allowed to

treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because, dur-

ing 2017, the boy lived with him longer than with you. If

you claimed an exemption or the child tax credit for your

son, the IRS will disallow your claim to both these tax ben-

efits. If you don’t have another qualifying child or depend-

ent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to the exclusion

for dependent care benefits. In addition, because you and

your husband didn’t live apart the last 6 months of the

year, your husband can’t claim head of household filing

status. And, as a result of his filing status being married fil-

ing separately, he can’t claim the earned income credit or

the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separa-

ted parents (or parents who live apart). If a child is

treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent

under the rules for children of divorced or separated pa-

rents (or parents who live apart) described earlier, only the

noncustodial parent can claim an exemption and the child

tax credit for the child. However, the custodial parent, if el-

igible, or other eligible person can claim the child as a

qualifying child for head of household filing status, the

credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclu-

sion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income

credit. If the child is the qualifying child of more than one

person for those tax benefits, the tiebreaker rules deter-

mine which person can treat the child as a qualifying child.

Example 1. You and your 5-year-old son lived all year

with your mother, who paid the entire cost of keeping up

the home. Your AGI is $10,000. Your mother's AGI is

$25,000. Your son's father does not live with you or your

son. Under the rules for children of divorced or separated

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parents (or parents who live apart), your son is treated as

the qualifying child of his father, who can claim an exemp-

tion and the child tax credit for the child if he meets all the

requirements to do so. Because of this, you cannot claim

an exemption or the child tax credit for your son. However,

your son's father can’t claim your son as a qualifying child

for head of household filing status, the credit for child and

dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent

care benefits, or the earned income credit.

You and your mother didn’t have any child care expen-

ses or dependent care benefits, but the boy is a qualifying

child of both you and your mother for head of household

filing status and the earned income credit because he

meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint

return tests for both you and your mother. (Note: The sup-

port test doesn’t apply for the earned income credit.) How-

ever, you agree to let your mother claim your son. This

means she can claim him for head of household filing sta-

tus and the earned income credit if she qualifies for each

and if you don’t claim him as a qualifying child for the

earned income credit. (You can’t claim head of household

filing status because your mother paid the entire cost of

keeping up the home.)

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1

except that your AGI is $25,000 and your mother's AGI is

$21,000. Your mother can’t claim your son as a qualifying

child for any purpose because her AGI is not higher than

yours.

Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 1

except that you and your mother both claim your son as a

qualifying child for the earned income credit. Your mother

also claims him as a qualifying child for head of household

filing status. You, as the child's parent, will be the only one

allowed to claim your son as a qualifying child for the

earned income credit. The IRS will disallow your mother's

claim to the earned income credit and head of household

filing status unless she has another qualifying child.

Phaseout of Exemptions

The amount you can claim as a deduction for exemptions

is reduced once your adjusted gross income (AGI) goes

above a certain level for your filing status. These levels

are as follows:

Filing Status

AGI Level

That Reduces

Exemption Amount

Married filing separately ...... $156,900

Single .................. 261,500

Head of household ......... 287,650

Married filing jointly ......... 313,800

Qualifying widow(er) ........ 313,800

You must reduce the dollar amount of your exemptions

by 2% for each $2,500, or part of $2,500 ($1,250 if you

are married filing separately), that your AGI exceeds the

amount shown above for your filing status. If your AGI

exceeds the amount shown above by more than $122,500

($61,250 if married filing separately), the amount of your

deduction for exemptions is reduced to zero.

If your AGI exceeds the level for your filing status, use

the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheet found in the in-

structions for Form 1040 or Form 1040NR to figure the

amount of your deduction for exemptions.

Alimony

Alimony is a payment to or for a spouse or former spouse

under a divorce or separation instrument. It doesn’t in-

clude voluntary payments that aren’t made under a di-

vorce or separation instrument.

Alimony is deductible by the payer, and the recipient

must include it in income. Although this discussion is gen-

erally written for the payer of the alimony, the recipient

also can use the information to determine whether an

amount received is alimony.

To be alimony, a payment must meet certain require-

ments. There are some differences between the require-

ments that apply to payments under instruments executed

after 1984 and to payments under instruments executed

before 1985. The general requirements that apply to pay-

ments regardless of when the divorce or separation instru-

ment was executed and the specific requirements that ap-

ply to post-1984 instruments (and, in certain cases, some

pre-1985 instruments) are discussed in this publication.

See Instruments Executed Before 1985, later, if you are

looking for information on where to find the specific re-

quirements that apply to pre-1985 instruments.

Spouse or former spouse. Unless otherwise stated, the

term “spouse” includes former spouse.

Divorce or separation instrument. The term “divorce or

separation instrument” means:

A decree of divorce or separate maintenance or a writ-

ten instrument incident to that decree,

A written separation agreement, or

A decree or any type of court order requiring a spouse

to make payments for the support or maintenance of

the other spouse. This includes a temporary decree,

an interlocutory (not final) decree, and a decree of ali-

mony pendente lite (while awaiting action on the final

decree or agreement).

Invalid decree. Payments under a divorce decree can

be alimony even if the decree's validity is in question. A di-

vorce decree is valid for tax purposes until a court having

proper jurisdiction holds it invalid.

Amended instrument. An amendment to a divorce

decree may change the nature of your payments. Amend-

ments aren’t ordinarily retroactive for federal tax purpo-

ses. However, a retroactive amendment to a divorce de-

cree correcting a clerical error to reflect the original intent

of the court will generally be effective retroactively for

federal tax purposes.

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Example 1. A court order retroactively corrected a

mathematical error under your divorce decree to express

the original intent to spread the payments over more than

10 years. This change also is effective retroactively for

federal tax purposes.

Example 2. Your original divorce decree did not fix

any part of the payment as child support. To reflect the

true intention of the court, a court order retroactively cor-

rected the error by designating a part of the payment as

child support. The amended order is effective retroactively

for federal tax purposes.

Deducting alimony paid. You can deduct alimony you

paid, whether or not you itemize deductions on your re-

turn. You must file Form 1040. You can’t use Form 1040A,

1040EZ, or 1040NR.

Enter the amount of alimony you paid on Form 1040,

line 31a. In the space provided on line 31b, enter your re-

cipient’s social security number (SSN) or IRS individual

taxpayer identification number (ITIN).

If you paid alimony to more than one person, enter the

SSN or ITIN of one of the recipients. Show the SSN or

ITIN and amount paid to each other recipient on an at-

tached statement. Enter your total payments on line 31a.

If you don’t provide your spouse's SSN or ITIN,

you may have to pay a $50 penalty and your de-

duction may be disallowed.

Reporting alimony received. Report alimony you re-

ceived as income on Form 1040, line 11, or on Sched-

ule NEC (Form 1040NR), line 12. You can’t use Form

1040A, 1040EZ, or 1040NR-EZ.

You must give the person who paid the alimony

your SSN or ITIN. If you don’t, you may have to

pay a $50 penalty.

Withholding on nonresident aliens. If you are a U.S.

citizen or resident alien and you pay alimony to a nonresi-

dent alien spouse, you may have to withhold income tax

at a rate of 30% on each payment. However, many tax

treaties provide for an exemption from withholding for ali-

mony payments. For more information, see Pub. 515,

Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign En-

tities.

General Rules

The following rules apply to alimony regardless of when

the divorce or separation instrument was executed.

Payments not alimony. Not all payments under a di-

vorce or separation instrument are alimony. Alimony

doesn’t include:

Child support,

Noncash property settlements,

Payments that are your spouse's part of community in-

come, as explained later under Community Property,

CAUTION

Payments to keep up the payer's property, or

Use of the payer's property.

Example. Under your written separation agreement,

your spouse lives rent-free in a home you own and you

must pay the mortgage, real estate taxes, insurance, re-

pairs, and utilities for the home. Because you own the

home and the debts are yours, your payments for the

mortgage, real estate taxes, insurance, and repairs aren’t

alimony. Neither is the value of your spouse's use of the

home.

If they otherwise qualify, you can deduct the payments

for utilities as alimony. Your spouse must report them as

income. If you itemize deductions, you can deduct the real

estate taxes and, if the home is a qualified home, you can

also include the interest on the mortgage in figuring your

deductible interest. However, if your spouse owned the

home, see Example 2 under Payments to a third party,

later. If you owned the home jointly with your spouse, see

Table 4. For more information on a qualified home and de-

ductible mortgage interest, see Pub. 936, Home Mortgage

Interest Deduction.

Child support. To determine whether a payment is

child support, see the discussion under Instruments Exe-

cuted After 1984, later. If your divorce or separation

agreement was executed before 1985, see the 2004 revi-

sion of Pub. 504 available at IRS.gov/FormsPubs.

Underpayment. If both alimony and child support pay-

ments are called for by your divorce or separation instru-

ment, and you pay less than the total required, the pay-

ments apply first to child support and then to alimony.

Example. Your divorce decree calls for you to pay

your former spouse $200 a month ($2,400 ($200 x 12) a

year) as child support and $150 a month ($1,800 ($150 x

12) a year) as alimony. If you pay the full amount of

$4,200 ($2,400 + $1,800) during the year, you can deduct

$1,800 as alimony and your former spouse must report

$1,800 as alimony received. If you pay only $3,600 during

the year, $2,400 is child support. You can deduct only

$1,200 ($3,600 – $2,400) as alimony and your former

spouse must report $1,200 as alimony received.

Payments to a third party. Cash payments, checks, or

money orders to a third party on behalf of your spouse un-

der the terms of your divorce or separation instrument can

be alimony, if they otherwise qualify. These include pay-

ments for your spouse's medical expenses, housing costs

(rent, utilities, etc.), taxes, tuition, etc. The payments are

treated as received by your spouse and then paid to the

third party.

Example 1. Under your divorce decree, you must pay

your former spouse's medical and dental expenses. If the

payments otherwise qualify, you can deduct them as ali-

mony on your return. Your former spouse must report

them as alimony received and can include them in figuring

deductible medical expenses.

Example 2. Under your separation agreement, you

must pay the real estate taxes, mortgage payments, and

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insurance premiums on a home owned by your spouse. If

they otherwise qualify, you can deduct the payments as

alimony on your return, and your spouse must report them

as alimony received. If itemizing deductions, your spouse

can deduct the real estate taxes and, if the home is a

qualified home, also include the interest on the mortgage

in figuring deductible interest. However, if you owned the

home, see the example under Payments not alimony, ear-

lier. If you owned the home jointly with your spouse, see

Table 4.

Life insurance premiums. Alimony includes premiums

you must pay under your divorce or separation instrument

for insurance on your life to the extent your spouse owns

the policy.

Payments for jointly-owned home. If your divorce or

separation instrument states that you must pay expenses

for a home owned by you and your spouse or former

spouse, some of your payments may be alimony. See Ta-

ble 4.

However, if your spouse owned the home, see Exam-

ple 2 under Payments to a third party, earlier. If you owned

the home, see the example under Payments not alimony,

earlier.

Instruments Executed After 1984

The following rules for alimony apply to payments under

divorce or separation instruments executed after 1984.

Exception for instruments executed before 1985.

There are two situations where the rules for instruments

executed after 1984 apply to instruments executed before

1985.

1. A divorce or separation instrument executed before

1985 and then modified after 1984 to specify that the

after-1984 rules will apply.

2. A temporary divorce or separation instrument execu-

ted before 1985 and incorporated into, or adopted by,

a final decree executed after 1984 that:

a. Changes the amount or period of payment, or

b. Adds or deletes any contingency or condition.

For the rules for alimony payments under pre-1985 in-

struments not meeting these exceptions, see the 2004 re-

vision of Pub. 504 available at IRS.gov/FormsPubs.

Example 1. In November 1984, you and your former

spouse executed a written separation agreement. In Feb-

ruary 1985, a decree of divorce was substituted for the

written separation agreement. The decree of divorce

didn’t change the terms for the alimony you pay your for-

mer spouse. The decree of divorce is treated as executed

before 1985. Alimony payments under this decree aren’t

subject to the rules for payments under instruments exe-

cuted after 1984.

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1

except that the decree of divorce changed the amount of

the alimony. In this example, the decree of divorce isn’t

treated as executed before 1985. The alimony payments

are subject to the rules for payments under instruments

executed after 1984.

Alimony Requirements

A payment to or for a spouse under a divorce or separa-

tion instrument is alimony if the spouses don’t file a joint

Expenses for a Jointly-Owned Home

Use the table below to find how much of your payment is alimony and how much you can claim as an itemized deduction.

IF you must pay

all of the ...

AND your home

is ...

THEN you can deduct

and your spouse (or

former spouse) must

include as alimony ...

AND you can claim as an itemized

deduction ...

mortgage

payments

(principal and

interest)

jointly owned half of the total payments half of the interest as interest expense (if

the home is a qualified home).

real estate

taxes and

home

insurance

held as tenants in

common

half of the total payments half of the real estate taxes

and none of the

home insurance.

held as tenants

by the entirety or

in joint tenancy

none of the payments all of the real estate taxes and none of the

home insurance.

Your spouse (or former spouse) can deduct the other half of the interest if the home is a qualified home.

Your spouse (or former spouse) can deduct the other half of the real estate taxes.

Table 4.

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return with each other and all the following requirements

are met.

The payment is in cash.

The instrument doesn’t designate the payment as not

alimony.

The spouses aren’t members of the same household

at the time the payments are made. This requirement

applies only if the spouses are legally separated un-

der 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 isn’t treated as child support.

Each of these requirements is discussed next.

Cash payment requirement. Only cash payments, in-

cluding checks and money orders, qualify as alimony. The

following don’t qualify as alimony.

Transfers of services or property (including a debt in-

strument 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 instru-

ment 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 fol-

lowing requirements are met.

The payments are in lieu of payments of alimony di-

rectly 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 be-

fore you file your return for the year you made the pay-

ments.

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 pay-

ments are not deductible as alimony by you and are ex-

cludable 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 sepa-

ration agreement (and therefore a divorce or separation

instrument). If you are subject to temporary support or-

ders, 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 desig-

nating them as not alimony to his or her return. The copy

must be attached each year the designation applies.

Spouses can’t 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 separa-

ted 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 aren’t 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 aren’t legally separated under a de-

cree of divorce or separate maintenance, a payment un-

der 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.

Liability for payments after death of recipient

spouse. If any part of payments you make must continue

to be made for any period after your spouse's death, that

part of your payments isn’t alimony whether made before

or after the death. If all of the payments would continue,

then none of the payments made before or after the death

are alimony.

The divorce or separation instrument doesn’t have to

expressly state that the payments cease upon the death

of your spouse if, for example, the liability for continued

payments would end under state law.

Example. You must pay your former spouse $10,000

in cash each year for 10 years. Your divorce decree states

that the payments will end upon your former spouse's

death. You must also pay your former spouse or your for-

mer spouse's estate $20,000 in cash each year for 10

years. The death of your spouse wouldn’t end these pay-

ments under state law.

The $10,000 annual payments may qualify as alimony.

The $20,000 annual payments that don’t end upon your

former spouse's death aren’t alimony.

Substitute payments. If you must make any pay-

ments in cash or property after your spouse's death as a

substitute for continuing otherwise qualifying payments

before the death, the otherwise qualifying payments aren’t

alimony. To the extent that your payments begin, acceler-

ate, or increase because of the death of your spouse, oth-

erwise qualifying payments you made may be treated as

payments that weren’t alimony. Whether or not such pay-

ments will be treated as not alimony depends on all the

facts and circumstances.

Example 1. Under your divorce decree, you must pay

your former spouse $30,000 annually. The payments will

stop at the end of 6 years or upon your former spouse's

death, if earlier.

Your former spouse has custody of your minor children.

The decree provides that if any child is still a minor at your

spouse's death, you must pay $10,000 annually to a trust

until the youngest child reaches the age of majority. The

trust income and corpus (principal) are to be used for your

children's benefit.

These facts indicate that the payments to be made af-

ter your former spouse's death are a substitute for

$10,000 of the $30,000 annual payments. Of each of the

$30,000 annual payments, $10,000 is not alimony.

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Example 2. Under your divorce decree, you must pay

your former spouse $30,000 annually. The payments will

stop at the end of 15 years or upon your former spouse's

death, if earlier. The decree provides that if your former

spouse dies before the end of the 15-year period, you

must pay the estate the difference between $450,000

($30,000 × 15) and the total amount paid up to that time.

For example, if your spouse dies at the end of the tenth

year, you must pay the estate $150,000 ($450,000 −

$300,000).

These facts indicate that the lump-sum payment to be

made after your former spouse's death is a substitute for

the full amount of the $30,000 annual payments. None of

the annual payments are alimony. The result would be the

same if the payment required at death were to be discoun-

ted by an appropriate interest factor to account for the pre-

payment.

Child support. A payment that is specifically designated

as child support or treated as specifically designated as

child support under your divorce or separation instrument

isn’t alimony. The amount of child support may vary over

time. Child support payments aren’t deductible by the

payer and aren’t taxable to the payee.

Specifically designated as child support. A pay-

ment will be treated as specifically designated as child

support to the extent that the payment is reduced either:

On the happening of a contingency relating to your

child, or

At a time that can be clearly associated with the con-

tingency.

A payment may be treated as specifically designated as

child support even if other separate payments are specifi-

cally designated as child support.

Contingency relating to your child. A contingency

relates to your child if it depends on any event relating to

that child. It doesn’t matter whether the event is certain or

likely to occur. Events relating to your child include the

child's:

Becoming employed,

Dying,

Leaving the household,

Leaving school,

Marrying, or

Reaching a specified age or income level.

Clearly associated with a contingency. Payments

that would otherwise qualify as alimony are presumed to

be reduced at a time clearly associated with the happen-

ing of a contingency relating to your child only in the fol-

lowing situations.

1. The payments are to be reduced not more than 6

months before or after the date the child will reach 18,

21, or local age of majority.

2. The payments are to be reduced on two or more oc-

casions that occur not more than 1 year before or

after a different one of your children reaches a certain

age from 18 to 24. This certain age must be the same

for each child, but need not be a whole number of

years.

In all other situations, reductions in payments are not trea-

ted as clearly associated with the happening of a contin-

gency relating to your child.

Either you or the IRS can overcome the presumption in

the two situations above. This is done by showing that the

time at which the payments are to be reduced was deter-

mined independently of any contingencies relating to your

children. For example, if you can show that the period of

alimony payments is customary in the local jurisdiction,

such as a period equal to one-half of the duration of the

marriage, you can overcome the presumption and may be

able to treat the amount as alimony.

Recapture of Alimony

If your alimony payments decrease or end during the first

3 calendar years, you may be subject to the recapture

rule. If you are subject to this rule, you have to include in

income in the third year part of the alimony payments you

previously deducted. Your spouse can deduct in the third

year part of the alimony payments he or she previously in-

cluded in income.

The 3-year period starts with the first calendar year you

make a payment qualifying as alimony under a decree of

divorce or separate maintenance or a written separation

agreement. Don’t include any time in which payments

were being made under temporary support orders. The

second and third years are the next 2 calendar years,

whether or not payments are made during those years.

The reasons for a reduction or end of alimony pay-

ments that can require a recapture include:

A change in your divorce or separation instrument,

A failure to make timely payments,

A reduction in your ability to provide support, or

A reduction in your spouse's support needs.

When to apply the recapture rule. You are subject to

the recapture rule in the third year if the alimony you pay in

the third year decreases by more than $15,000 from the

second year or the alimony you pay in the second and

third years decreases significantly from the alimony you

pay in the first year.

When you figure a decrease in alimony, don’t include

the following amounts.

Payments made under a temporary support order.

Payments required over a period of at least 3 calendar

years that vary because they are a fixed part of your

income from a business or property, or from compen-

sation for employment or self-employment.

Payments that decrease because of the death of ei-

ther spouse or the remarriage of the spouse receiving

the payments before the end of the third year.

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How to figure and report the recapture. Both you and

your spouse can use Worksheet 1 to figure recaptured ali-

mony.

Including the recapture in income. If you must in-

clude a recapture amount in income, show it on Form

1040, line 11 (“Alimony received”). Cross out “received”

and enter “recapture.” On the dotted line next to the

amount, enter your spouse's last name and social security

number (SSN) or IRS individual taxpayer identification

number (ITIN).

Deducting the recapture. If you can deduct a recap-

ture amount, show it on Form 1040, line 31a (“Alimony

paid”). Cross out “paid” and enter “recapture.” In the

space provided, enter your spouse's SSN or ITIN.

Example. You pay your former spouse $50,000 ali-

mony the first year, $39,000 the second year, and

$28,000 the third year. You complete Worksheet 1, illus-

trated later. In the third year, you report $1,500 as income

on Form 1040, line 11, and your former spouse reports

$1,500 as a deduction on Form 1040, line 31a.

Instruments Executed Before 1985

Information on pre-1985 instruments was included in this

publication through 2004. If you need the 2004 revision,

please visit IRS.gov/FormsPubs.

Qualified Domestic

Relations Order

A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is a judg-

ment, decree, or court order (including an approved prop-

erty settlement agreement) issued under a state's domes-

tic relations law that:

Recognizes someone other than a participant as hav-

ing a right to receive benefits from a qualified retire-

ment plan (such as most pension and profit-sharing

plans) or a tax-sheltered annuity,

Relates to payment of child support, alimony, or mari-

tal property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child,

or other dependent of the participant, and

Specifies certain information, including the amount or

part of the participant's benefits to be paid to the par-

ticipant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other de-

pendent.

Benefits paid to a child or other dependent. Benefits

paid under a QDRO to the plan participant's child or other

dependent are treated as paid to the participant. For infor-

mation about the tax treatment of benefits from retirement

plans, see Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

Benefits paid to a spouse or former spouse. Benefits

paid under a QDRO to the plan participant's spouse or

Worksheet 1. Recapture of Alimony Keep for Your Records

Note. Do not enter less than -0- on any line.

1. Alimony paid in 2nd year ............................................

2. Alimony paid in 3rd year ...........................

3. Floor ...........................................

$15,000

4. Add lines 2 and 3 ...................................................

5. Subtract line 4 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0- ..........................................

6. Alimony paid in 1st year .............................................

7. Adjusted alimony paid in 2nd year

(line 1 minus line 5) ............................... 7.

8. Alimony paid in 3rd year ...........................

9. Add lines 7 and 8 .................................

10. Divide line 9 by 2 .................................

10.

11. Floor ...........................................

11.

$15,000

12. Add lines 10 and 11 .................................................

12.

13. Subtract line 12 from line 6 .............................................................

13.

14. Recaptured alimony. Add lines 5 and 13 .................................................

*14.

* If you deducted alimony paid, report this amount as income on Form 1040, line 11.

If you reported alimony received, deduct this amount on Form 1040, line 31a.

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former spouse generally must be included in the spouse's

or former spouse's income. If the participant contributed to

the retirement plan, a prorated share of the participant's

cost (investment in the contract) is used to figure the taxa-

ble amount.

The spouse or former spouse can use the special rules

for lump-sum distributions if the benefits would have been

treated as a lump-sum distribution had the participant re-

ceived them. For this purpose, consider only the balance

to the spouse's or former spouse's credit in determining

whether the distribution is a total distribution. See

Lump-Sum Distributions in Pub. 575 for information about

the special rules.

Rollovers. If you receive an eligible rollover distribu-

tion under a QDRO as the plan participant's spouse or for-

mer spouse, you may be able to roll it over tax free into a

traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA) or an-

other qualified retirement plan.

For more information on the tax treatment of eligible

rollover distributions, see Pub. 575.

Individual Retirement

Arrangements

The following discussions explain some of the effects of

divorce or separation on traditional individual retirement

arrangements (IRAs). Traditional IRAs are IRAs other than

Roth or SIMPLE IRAs.

Spousal IRA. If you get a final decree of divorce or sepa-

rate maintenance by the end of your tax year, you can’t

deduct contributions you make to your former spouse's

traditional IRA. You can deduct only contributions to your

own traditional IRA.

IRA transferred as a result of divorce. The transfer of

all or part of your interest in a traditional IRA to your

spouse or former spouse, under a decree of divorce or

separate maintenance or a written instrument incident to

the decree, isn’t considered a taxable transfer. Starting

from the date of the transfer, the traditional IRA interest

transferred is treated as your spouse's or former spouse's

traditional IRA.

IRA contribution and deduction limits. All taxable ali-

mony you receive under a decree of divorce or separate

maintenance is treated as compensation for the contribu-

tion and deduction limits for traditional IRAs.

More information. For more information about IRAs, in-

cluding Roth IRAs, see Pub. 590-A and Pub. 590-B.

Worksheet 1. Recapture of Alimony—Illustrated

Note. Do not enter less than -0- on any line.

1. Alimony paid in 2nd year ..........................................

$39,000

2. Alimony paid in 3rd year ........................

28,000

3. Floor ...........................................

$15,000

4. Add lines 2 and 3 .................................................

43,000

5. Subtract line 4 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0- .....................................

-0-

6. Alimony paid in 1st year ...........................................

50,000

7. Adjusted alimony paid in 2nd year

(line 1 minus line 5) .............................. 7.

39,000

8. Alimony paid in 3rd year ........................

28,000

9. Add lines 7 and 8 ...............................

67,000

10. Divide line 9 by 2 ................................

10.

33,500

11. Floor ...........................................

11.

$15,000

12. Add lines 10 and 11 ...............................................

12.

48,500

13. Subtract line 12 from line 6 ...........................................................

13.

1,500

14. Recaptured alimony. Add lines 5 and 13 .............................................

*14.

1,500

* If you deducted alimony paid, report this amount as income on Form 1040, line 11.

If you reported alimony received, deduct this amount on Form 1040, line 31a.

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Property Settlements

Generally, there is no recognized gain or loss on the

transfer of property between spouses, or between former

spouses if the transfer is because of a divorce. You may,

however, have to report the transaction on a gift tax re-

turn. See Gift Tax on Property Settlements, later. If you

sell property that you own jointly to split the proceeds as

part of your property settlement, see Sale of

Jointly-Owned Property, later.

Transfer Between Spouses

Generally, no gain or loss is recognized on a transfer of

property from you to (or in trust for the benefit of):

Your spouse, or

Your former spouse, but only if the transfer is incident

to your divorce.

This rule applies even if the transfer was in exchange for

cash, the release of marital rights, the assumption of liabil-

ities, or other consideration.

Exceptions to nonrecognition rule. This rule doesn’t

apply in the following situations.

Your spouse or former spouse is a nonresident alien.

Certain transfers in trust, discussed later.

Certain stock redemptions under a divorce or separa-

tion instrument or a valid written agreement that are

taxable under applicable tax law, as discussed in Reg-

ulations section 1.1041-2.

Property subject to nonrecognition rule. The term

“property” includes all property whether real or personal,

tangible or intangible, or separate or community. It in-

cludes property acquired after the end of your marriage

and transferred to your former spouse. It doesn’t include

services.

Health savings account (HSA). If you transfer your in-

terest in an HSA to your spouse or former spouse under a

divorce or separation instrument, it isn’t considered a tax-

able transfer. After the transfer, the interest is treated as

your spouse's HSA.

Archer medical savings account (MSA). If you transfer

your interest in an Archer MSA to your spouse or former

spouse under a divorce or separation instrument, it isn’t

considered a taxable transfer. After the transfer, the inter-

est is treated as your spouse's Archer MSA.

Individual retirement arrangement (IRA). The treat-

ment of the transfer of an interest in an IRA as a result of

divorce is similar to that just described for the transfer of

an interest in an HSA and an Archer MSA. See IRA trans-

ferred as a result of divorce, earlier, under Individual Re-

tirement Arrangements.

Incident to divorce. A property transfer is incident to

your divorce if the transfer:

Occurs within 1 year after the date your marriage

ends, or

Is related to the end of your marriage.

A divorce, for this purpose, includes the end of your mar-

riage by annulment or due to violations of state laws.

Related to end of marriage. A property transfer is re-

lated to the end of your marriage if both of the following

conditions apply.

The transfer is made under your original or modified

divorce or separation instrument.

The transfer occurs within 6 years after the date your

marriage ends.

Unless these conditions are met, the transfer is pre-

sumed not to be related to the end of your marriage. How-

ever, this presumption will not apply if you can show that

the transfer was made to carry out the division of property

owned by you and your spouse at the time your marriage

ended. For example, the presumption will not apply if you

can show that the transfer was made more than 6 years

after the end of your marriage because of business or le-

gal factors which prevented earlier transfer of the property

and the transfer was made promptly after those factors

were taken care of.

Transfers to third parties. If you transfer property to a

third party on behalf of your spouse (or former spouse, if

incident to your divorce), the transfer is treated as two

transfers.

A transfer of the property from you to your spouse or

former spouse.

An immediate transfer of the property from your

spouse or former spouse to the third party.

You don’t recognize gain or loss on the first transfer. In-

stead, your spouse or former spouse may have to recog-

nize gain or loss on the second transfer.

For this treatment to apply, the transfer from you to the

third party must be one of the following.

Required by your divorce or separation instrument.

Requested in writing by your spouse or former

spouse.

Consented to in writing by your spouse or former

spouse. The consent must state that both you and

your spouse or former spouse intend the transfer to be

treated as a transfer from you to your spouse or for-

mer spouse subject to the rules of Internal Revenue

Code section 1041. You must receive the consent be-

fore filing your tax return for the year you transfer the

property.

This treatment doesn’t apply to transfers to which

Regulations section 1.1041-2 (certain stock re-

demptions) applies.

CAUTION

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Transfers in trust. If you make a transfer of property in

trust for the benefit of your spouse (or former spouse, if in-

cident to your divorce), you generally don’t recognize any

gain or loss.

However, you must recognize gain or loss if, incident to

your divorce, you transfer an installment obligation in trust

for the benefit of your former spouse. For information on

the disposition of an installment obligation, see Pub. 537,

Installment Sales.

You also must recognize as gain on the transfer of

property in trust the amount by which the liabilities as-

sumed by the trust, plus the liabilities to which the prop-

erty is subject, exceed the total of your adjusted basis in

the transferred property.

Example. You own property with a fair market value of

$12,000 and an adjusted basis of $1,000. You transfer the

property in trust for the benefit of your spouse. The trust

didn’t assume any liabilities. The property is subject to a

$5,000 liability. Your recognized gain is $4,000 ($5,000 −

$1,000).

Reporting income from property. You should report in-

come from property transferred to your spouse or former

spouse as shown in Table 5.

For information on the treatment of interest on transfer-

red U.S. savings bonds, see chapter 1 of Pub. 550, In-

vestment Income and Expenses.

When you transfer property to your spouse (or for-

mer spouse, if incident to your divorce), you must

give your spouse sufficient records to determine

the adjusted basis and holding period of the property on

the date of the transfer. If you transfer investment credit

property with recapture potential, you also must provide

sufficient records to determine the amount and period of

the recapture.

Tax treatment of property received. Property you re-

ceive from your spouse (or former spouse, if the transfer is

incident to your divorce) is treated as acquired by gift for

income tax purposes. Its value isn’t taxable to you.

Basis of property received. Your basis in property re-

ceived from your spouse (or former spouse, if incident to

your divorce) is the same as your spouse's adjusted ba-

sis. This applies for determining either gain or loss when

you later dispose of the property. It applies whether the

property's adjusted basis is less than, equal to, or greater

than either its value at the time of the transfer or any con-

sideration you paid. It also applies even if the property's li-

abilities are more than its adjusted basis.

This rule generally applies to all property received after

July 18, 1984, under a divorce or separation instrument in

effect after that date. It also applies to all other property

received after 1983 for which you and your spouse (or for-

mer spouse) made a “section 1041 election” to apply this

rule. For information about how to make that election, see

Temporary Regulations section 1.1041-1T(g).

Example. Karen and Don owned their home jointly.

Karen transferred her interest in the home to Don as part

RECORDS

of their property settlement when they divorced last year.

Don's basis in the interest received from Karen is her ad-

justed basis in the home. His total basis in the home is

their joint adjusted basis.

Property received before July 19, 1984. Your basis

in property received in settlement of marital support rights

before July 19, 1984, or under an instrument in effect be-

fore that date (other than property for which you and your

spouse (or former spouse) made a “section 1041 elec-

tion”) is its fair market value when you received it.

Example. Larry and Gina owned their home jointly be-

fore their divorce in 1983. That year, Gina received Larry's

interest in the home in settlement of her marital support

rights. Gina's basis in the interest received from Larry is

the part of the home's fair market value proportionate to

that interest. Her total basis in the home is that part of the

fair market value plus her adjusted basis in her own inter-

est.

Property transferred in trust. If the transferor recog-

nizes gain on property transferred in trust, as described

earlier under Transfers in trust, the trust's basis in the

property is increased by the recognized gain.

Example. Your spouse transfers property in trust, rec-

ognizing a $4,000 gain. Your spouse's adjusted basis in

the property was $1,000. The trust's basis in the property

is $5,000 ($1,000 + $4,000).

Gift Tax on Property Settlements

The federal gift tax doesn’t apply to most transfers of

property between spouses, or between former spouses

because of divorce. The transfers usually qualify for one

or more of the exceptions explained in this discussion.

However, if your transfer of property doesn’t qualify for an

exception, or qualifies only in part, you must report it on a

gift tax return. See Gift Tax Return, later.

For more information about the federal gift tax, see Es-

tate and Gift Taxes in Pub. 559, Survivors, Executors, and

Administrators, and Form 709 and its instructions.

Exceptions

Your transfer of property to your spouse or former spouse

isn’t subject to gift tax if it meets any of the following ex-

ceptions.

It is made in settlement of marital support rights.

It qualifies for the marital deduction.

It is made under a divorce decree.

It is made under a written agreement, and you are di-

vorced within a specified period.

It qualifies for the annual exclusion.

Settlement of marital support rights. A transfer in set-

tlement of marital support rights isn’t subject to gift tax to

the extent the value of the property transferred isn’t more

than the value of those rights. This exception doesn’t

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apply to a transfer in settlement of dower, curtesy, or other

marital property rights.

Marital deduction. A transfer of property to your spouse

before receiving a final decree of divorce or separate

maintenance is not subject to gift tax. However, this ex-

ception doesn’t apply to:

Transfers of certain terminable interests, or

Transfers to your spouse if your spouse isn’t a U.S.

citizen.

Transfer under divorce decree. A transfer of property

under the decree of a divorce court having the power to

prescribe a property settlement isn’t subject to gift tax.

This exception also applies to a property settlement

agreed on before the divorce if it was made part of or ap-

proved by the decree.

Transfer under written agreement. A transfer of prop-

erty under a written agreement in settlement of marital

rights or to provide a reasonable child support allowance

isn’t subject to gift tax if you are divorced within the 3-year

period beginning 1 year before and ending 2 years after

the date of the agreement. This exception applies whether

or not the agreement is part of or approved by the divorce

decree.

Annual exclusion. The first $14,000 of gifts of present

interests to each person during 2017 isn’t subject to gift

tax. The annual exclusion is $149,000 for transfers to a

spouse who isn’t a U.S. citizen provided the gift would

otherwise qualify for the gift tax marital deduction if the do-

nee were a U.S. citizen.

Present interest. A gift is considered a present inter-

est if the donee has unrestricted rights to the immediate

use, possession, and enjoyment of the property or income

from the property.

Gift Tax Return

Report a transfer of property subject to gift tax on Form

709. Generally, Form 709 is due April 15 following the

year of the transfer.

Transfer under written agreement. If a property trans-

fer would be subject to gift tax except that it is made under

a written agreement, and you don’t receive a final decree

of divorce by the due date for filing the gift tax return, you

Property Transferred Pursuant to Divorce

The tax treatment of items of property transferred from you to your spouse or former spouse pursuant to your divorce is

shown below.

IF you transfer ... THEN you ...

AND your spouse or

former spouse ...

FOR more information,

see ...

income-producing

property (such as an

interest in a business,

rental property,

stocks, or bonds)

include on your tax return

any profit or loss, rental

income or loss,

dividends, or interest

generated or derived

from the property during

the year until the property

is transferred

reports any income or

loss generated or

derived after the

property is transferred.

Pub. 550, Investment

Income and Expenses.

(See Ownership

transferred under U. S.

Savings Bonds in

chapter 1.)

interest in a passive

activity with unused

passive activity losses

can’t deduct your

accumulated unused

passive activity losses

allocable to the interest

increases the adjusted

basis of the transferred

interest by the amount

of the unused losses.

Pub. 925, Passive

Activity and At-Risk

Rules.

investment credit

property with

recapture potential

don’t have to recapture

any part of the credit

may have to recapture

part of the credit if he or

she disposes of the

property or changes its

use before the end of

the recapture period.

Form 4255, Recapture of

Investment Credit.

interests in

nonstatutory stock

options and

nonqualified deferred

compensation

don’t include any amount

in gross income upon the

transfer

includes an amount in

gross income when he

or she exercises the

stock options or when

the deferred

compensation is paid or

made available to him

or her.

Table 5.

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must report the transfer on Form 709 and attach a copy of

your written agreement. The transfer will be treated as not

subject to the gift tax until the final decree of divorce is

granted, but no longer than 2 years after the effective date

of the written agreement.

Within 60 days after you receive a final decree of di-

vorce, send a certified copy of the decree to the IRS office

where you filed Form 709.

Sale of Jointly-Owned Property

If you sell property that you and your spouse own jointly,

you must report your share of the recognized gain or loss

on your income tax return for the year of the sale. Your

share of the gain or loss is determined by your state law

governing ownership of property. For information on re-

porting gain or loss, see Pub. 544.

Sale of home. If you sold your main home, you may be

able to exclude up to $250,000 (up to $500,000 if you and

your spouse file a joint return) of gain on the sale. For

more information, including special rules that apply to sep-

arated and divorced individuals selling a main home, see

Pub. 523, Selling Your Home.

Costs of Getting a Divorce

You can’t deduct legal fees and court costs for getting a

divorce. But you may be able to deduct legal fees paid for

tax advice in connection with a divorce and legal fees to

get alimony. In addition, you may be able to deduct fees

you pay to appraisers, actuaries, and accountants for

services in determining your correct tax or in helping to

get alimony.

Fees you pay may include charges that are de-

ductible and charges that aren’t deductible. You

should request a breakdown showing the amount

charged for each service performed.

You can claim deductible fees only if you itemize de-

ductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). Claim them as mis-

cellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2%-of-ad-

justed-gross-income floor. For more information, see Pub.

529, Miscellaneous Deductions.

Fees for tax advice. You can deduct fees for advice on

federal, state, and local taxes of all types, including in-

come, estate, gift, inheritance, and property taxes.

If a fee is also for other services, you must determine

and prove the expense for tax advice. The following ex-

amples show how you can meet this requirement.

Example 1. The lawyer handling your divorce consults

another law firm, which handles only tax matters, to get in-

formation on how the divorce will affect your taxes. You

can deduct the part of the fee paid over to the second firm

and separately stated on your bill, subject to the 2% floor.

Example 2. The lawyer handling your divorce uses the

firm's tax department for tax matters related to your

TIP

divorce. Your statement from the firm shows the part of

the total fee for tax matters. This is based on the time re-

quired, the difficulty of the tax questions, and the amount

of tax involved. You can deduct this part of your bill, sub-

ject to the 2% floor.

Example 3. The lawyer handling your divorce also

works on the tax matters. The fee for tax advice and the

fee for other services are shown on the lawyer's state-

ment. They are based on the time spent on each service

and the fees charged locally for similar services. You can

deduct the fee charged for tax advice, subject to the 2%

floor.

Fees for getting alimony. Because you must include

alimony you receive in your gross income, you can deduct

fees you pay to get or collect alimony.

Example. You pay your attorney a fee for handling

your divorce and an additional fee that is for services in

getting and collecting alimony. You can deduct the fee for

getting and collecting alimony, subject to the 2% floor, if it

is separately stated on your attorney's bill.

Nondeductible expenses. You can’t deduct the costs of

personal advice, counseling, or legal action in a divorce.

These costs aren’t deductible, even if they are paid, in

part, to arrive at a financial settlement or to protect in-

come-producing property.

However, you can add certain legal fees you pay spe-

cifically for a property settlement to the basis of the prop-

erty you receive. For example, you can add the cost of

preparing and filing a deed to put title to your house in

your name alone to the basis of the house.

You can’t deduct fees you pay for your spouse or for-

mer spouse, unless your payments qualify as alimony.

(See Payments to a third party under Alimony, earlier.) If

you have no legal responsibility arising from the divorce

settlement or decree to pay your spouse's legal fees, your

payments are gifts and may be subject to the gift tax.

Tax Withholding

and Estimated Tax

When you become divorced or separated, you will usually

have to file a new Form W-4 with your employer to claim

your proper withholding allowances. If you receive ali-

mony, you may have to make estimated tax payments.

If you don’t pay enough tax either through with-

holding or by making estimated tax payments,

you will have an underpayment of estimated tax

and you may have to pay a penalty. If you don’t pay

enough tax by the due date of each payment, you may

have to pay a penalty even if you are due a refund when

you file your tax return.

For more information, see Pub. 505, Tax Withholding

and Estimated Tax.

CAUTION

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Joint estimated tax payments. If you and your spouse

made joint estimated tax payments for 2017 but file sepa-

rate returns, either of you can claim all of your payments,

or you can divide them in any way on which you both

agree. If you can’t agree, the estimated tax you can claim

equals the total estimated tax paid times the tax shown on

your separate return for 2017, divided by the total of the

tax shown on your 2017 return and your spouse's 2017 re-

turn. You may want to attach an explanation of how you

and your spouse divided the payments.

If you claim any of the payments on your tax return, en-

ter your spouse's or former spouse's social security num-

ber in the space provided on the front of Form 1040 or

Form 1040A. If you were divorced and remarried in 2017,

enter your present spouse's social security number in that

space and enter your former spouse's social security

number, followed by “DIV” to the left of Form 1040,

line 65, or Form 1040A, line 41.

Community Property

If you are married and your domicile (permanent legal

home) is in a community property state, special rules de-

termine your income. Some of these rules are explained in

the following discussions. For more information, see Pub.

555.

Community property states. Community property

states include:

Arizona,

California,

Idaho,

Louisiana,

Nevada,

New Mexico,

Texas,

Washington, and

Wisconsin.

Community Income

If your domicile is in a community property state during

any part of your tax year, you may have community in-

come. Your state law determines whether your income is

separate or community income. If you and your spouse

file separate returns, you must report half of any income

described by state law as community income and all of

your separate income, and your spouse must report the

other half of any community income plus all of his or her

separate income. Each of you can claim credit for half the

income tax withheld from community income.

Community Property Laws Disregarded

The following discussions are situations where special

rules apply to community property.

Certain community income not treated as community

income by one spouse. Community property laws may

not apply to an item of community income that you re-

ceived but didn’t treat as community income. You will be

responsible for reporting all of it if:

You treat the item as if only you are entitled to the in-

come, and

You don’t notify your spouse of the nature and amount

of the income by the due date for filing the return (in-

cluding extensions).

Relief from liability for tax attributable to an item of

community income. You aren’t responsible for the tax

on an item of community income if all five of the following

conditions exist.

1. You didn’t file a joint return for the tax year.

2. You didn’t include an item of community income in

gross income on your separate return.

3. The item of community income you didn’t include is

one of the following.

a. Wages, salaries, and other compensation your

spouse (or former spouse) received for services

he or she performed as an employee.

b. Income your spouse (or former spouse) derived

from a trade or business he or she operated as a

sole proprietor.

c. Your spouse's (or former spouse's) distributive

share of partnership income.

d. Income from your spouse's (or former spouse's)

separate property (other than income described in

(a), (b), or (c)). Use the appropriate community

property law to determine what is separate prop-

erty.

e. Any other income that belongs to your spouse (or

former spouse) under community property law.

4. You establish that you didn’t know of, and had no rea-

son to know of, that community income.

5. Under all facts and circumstances, it would not be fair

to include the item of community income in your gross

income.

Equitable relief from liability for tax attributable to an

item of community income. In order to be considered

for equitable relief from liability for tax attributable to an

item of community income, you must meet all of the fol-

lowing conditions.

1. You timely filed your claim for relief.

2. You and your spouse (or former spouse) didn’t trans-

fer assets to one another as a part of a fraudulent

scheme. A fraudulent scheme includes a scheme to

defraud the IRS or another third party, such as a cred-

itor, former spouse, or business partner.

3. Your spouse (or former spouse) didn’t transfer prop-

erty to you for the main purpose of avoiding tax or the

payment of tax.

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4. You didn’t knowingly participate in the filing of a frau-

dulent joint return.

5. The income tax liability from which you seek relief is

attributable (either in full or in part) to an item of your

spouse (or former spouse) or an unpaid tax resulting

from your spouse’s (or former spouse’s) income. If the

liability is partially attributable to you, then relief can

only be considered for the part of the liability attributa-

ble to your spouse (or former spouse). The IRS will

consider granting relief regardless of whether the un-

derstated tax, deficiency, or unpaid tax is attributable

(in full or in part) to you if any of the following excep-

tions apply.

a. The item is attributable or partially attributable to

you solely due to the operation of community

property law. If you meet this exception, that item

will be considered attributable to your spouse (or

former spouse) for purposes of equitable relief.

b. If the item is titled in your name, the item is pre-

sumed to be attributable to you. However, you can

rebut this presumption based on the facts and cir-

cumstances.

c. You didn’t know, and had no reason to know, that

funds intended for the payment of tax were misap-

propriated by your spouse (or former spouse) for

his or her benefit. If you meet this exception, the

IRS will consider granting equitable relief although

the unpaid tax may be attributable in part or in full

to your item, and only to the extent the funds in-

tended for payment were taken by your spouse (or

former spouse).

d. You establish that you were the victim of spousal

abuse or domestic violence before the return was

filed, and that, as a result of the prior abuse, you

didn’t challenge the treatment of any items on the

return for fear of your spouse’s (or former spou-

se’s) retaliation. If you meet this exception, relief

will be considered even though the understated

tax or unpaid tax may be attributable in part or in

full to your item.

e. The item giving rise to the understated tax or defi-

ciency is attributable to you, but you establish that

your spouse’s (or former spouse’s) fraud is the

reason for the erroneous item.

Requesting relief. For information on how and when

to request relief from liabilities arising from community

property laws, see Community Property Laws in Pub. 971.

Spousal agreements. In some states spouses may en-

ter into an agreement that affects the status of property or

income as community or separate property. Check your

state law to determine how it affects you.

Spouses living apart all year. If you are married at any

time during the calendar year, special rules apply for re-

porting certain community income. You must meet all the

following conditions for these special rules to apply.

1. You and your spouse lived apart all year.

2. You and your spouse didn’t file a joint return for a tax

year beginning or ending in the calendar year.

3. You and/or your spouse had earned income for the

calendar year that is community income.

4. You and your spouse haven’t transferred, directly or

indirectly, any of the earned income in (3) between

yourselves before the end of the year. Don’t take into

account transfers satisfying child support obligations

or transfers of very small amounts or value.

If all these conditions exist, you and your spouse must

report your community income as explained in the follow-

ing discussions. See also Certain community income not

treated as community income by one spouse, earlier.

Earned income. Treat earned income that isn’t trade

or business or partnership income as the income of the

spouse who performed the services to earn the income.

Earned income is wages, salaries, professional fees, and

other pay for personal services.

Earned income doesn’t include amounts paid by a cor-

poration that are a distribution of earnings and profits

rather than a reasonable allowance for personal services

rendered.

Trade or business income. Treat income and related

deductions from a trade or business that isn’t a partner-

ship as those of the spouse carrying on the trade or busi-

ness.

Partnership income or loss. Treat income or loss

from a trade or business carried on by a partnership as

the income or loss of the spouse who is the partner.

Separate property income. Treat income from the

separate property of one spouse as the income of that

spouse.

Social security benefits. Treat social security and

equivalent railroad retirement benefits as the income of

the spouse who receives the benefits.

Other income. Treat all other community income,

such as dividends, interest, rents, royalties, or gains, as

provided under your state's community property law.

Example. George and Sharon were married through-

out the year but didn’t live together at any time during the

year. Both domiciles were in a community property state.

They didn’t file a joint return or transfer any of their earned

income between themselves. During the year their in-

comes were as follows:

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George Sharon

Wages ..................... $20,000 $22,000

Consulting business ........... 5,000

Partnership .................. 10,000

Dividends from separate

property ..................... 1,000 2,000

Interest from community

property .....................

500 500

Totals

$26,500 $34,500

Under the community property law of their state, all the

income is considered community income. (Some states

treat income from separate property as separate in-

come—check your state law.) Sharon didn’t take part in

George's consulting business.

Ordinarily, on their separate returns they would each

report $30,500, half the total community income of

$61,000 ($26,500 + $34,500). But because they meet the

four conditions listed earlier under Spouses living apart all

year, they must disregard community property law in re-

porting all their income (except the interest income) from

community property. They each report on their returns

only their own earnings and other income, and their share

of the interest income from community property. George

reports $26,500 and Sharon reports $34,500.

Other separated spouses. If you and your spouse are

separated but don’t meet the four conditions discussed

earlier under Spouses living apart all year, you must treat

your income according to the laws of your state. In some

states, income earned after separation but before a de-

cree of divorce continues to be community income. In

other states it is separate income.

Ending the Marital Community

When the marital community ends as a result of divorce or

separation, the community assets (money and property)

are divided between the spouses. Each spouse is taxed

on half the community income for the part of the year be-

fore the community ends. However, see Spouses living

apart all year, earlier. Income received after the commun-

ity ended is separate income, taxable only to the spouse

to whom it belongs.

An absolute decree of divorce or annulment ends the

marital community in all community property states. A de-

cree of annulment, even though it holds that no valid mar-

riage ever existed, usually doesn’t nullify community prop-

erty rights arising during the “marriage.” However, you

should check your state law for exceptions.

A decree of legal separation or of separate mainte-

nance may or may not end the marital community. The

court issuing the decree may terminate the marital com-

munity and divide the property between the spouses.

A separation agreement may divide the community

property between you and your spouse. It may provide

that this property, along with future earnings and property

acquired, will be separate property. This agreement may

end the community.

In some states, the marital community ends when the

spouses permanently separate, even if there is no formal

agreement. Check your state law.

Alimony (Community Income)

Payments that may otherwise qualify as alimony aren’t de-

ductible by the payer if they are the recipient spouse's part

of community income. They are deductible by the payer

as alimony and taxable to the recipient spouse only to the

extent they are more than that spouse's part of community

income.

Example. You live in a community property state. You

are separated but the special rules explained earlier under

Spouses living apart all year don’t apply. Under a written

agreement, you pay your spouse $12,000 of your $20,000

total yearly community income. Your spouse receives no

other community income. Under your state law, earnings

of a spouse living separately and apart from the other

spouse continue as community property.

On your separate returns, each of you must report

$10,000 of the total community income. In addition, your

spouse must report $2,000 as alimony received. You can

deduct $2,000 as alimony paid.

How To Get Tax Help

If you have questions about a tax issue, need help prepar-

ing your tax return, or want to download free publications,

forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov and find resources

that can help you right away.

Preparing and filing your tax return. Find free options

to prepare and file your return on IRS.gov or in your local

community if you qualify.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program

offers free tax help to people who generally make $54,000

or less, persons with disabilities, and limited-Eng-

lish-speaking taxpayers who need help preparing their

own tax returns. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE)

program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly

those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volunteers

specialize in answering questions about pensions and re-

tirement-related issues unique to seniors.

You can go to IRS.gov to see your options for preparing

and filing your return which include the following.

Free File. Go to IRS.gov/FreeFile. See if you qualify

to use brand-name software to prepare and e-file your

federal tax return for free.

VITA. Go to IRS.gov/VITA, download the free IRS2Go

app, or call 1-800-906-9887 to find the nearest VITA

location for free tax preparation.

TCE. Go to IRS.gov/TCE, download the free IRS2Go

app, or call 1-888-227-7669 to find the nearest TCE

location for free tax preparation.

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Getting answers to your tax questions. On

IRS.gov get answers to your tax questions any-

time, anywhere.

Go to IRS.gov/Help or IRS.gov/LetUsHelp pages for a

variety of tools that will help you get answers to some

of the most common tax questions.

Go to IRS.gov/ITA for the Interactive Tax Assistant, a

tool that will ask you questions on a number of tax law

topics and provide answers. You can print the entire

interview and the final response for your records.

Go to IRS.gov/Pub17 to get Pub. 17, Your Federal In-

come Tax for Individuals, which features details on

tax-saving opportunities, 2017 tax changes, and thou-

sands of interactive links to help you find answers to

your questions. View it online in HTML, as a PDF, or

download it to your mobile device as an eBook.

You may also be able to access tax law information in

your electronic filing software.

Getting tax forms and publications. Go to IRS.gov/

Forms to view, download, or print all of the forms and pub-

lications you may need. You can also download and view

popular tax publications and instructions (including the

1040 instructions) on mobile devices as an eBook at no

charge. Or, you can go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to place

an order and have forms mailed to you within 10 business

days.

Access your online account (Individual taxpayers

only). Go to IRS.gov/Account to securely access infor-

mation about your federal tax account.

View the amount you owe, pay online or set up an on-

line payment agreement.

Access your tax records online.

Review the past 18 months of your payment history.

Go to IRS.gov/SecureAccess to review the required

identity authentication process.

Using direct deposit. The fastest way to receive a tax

refund is to combine direct deposit and IRS e-file. Direct

deposit securely and electronically transfers your refund

directly into your financial account. Eight in 10 taxpayers

use direct deposit to receive their refund. IRS issues more

than 90% of refunds in less than 21 days.

Delayed refund for returns claiming certain credits.

Due to changes in the law, the IRS can’t issue refunds be-

fore mid-February 2018, for returns that properly claimed

the earned income credit (EIC) or the additional child tax

credit (ACTC). This applies to the entire refund, not just

the portion associated with these credits.

Getting a transcript or copy of a return. The quickest

way to get a copy of your tax transcript is to go to IRS.gov/

Transcripts. Click on either "Get Transcript Online" or "Get

Transcript by Mail" to order a copy of your transcript. If

you prefer, you can:

Order your transcript by calling 1-800-908-9946.

Mail Form 4506-T or Form 4506T-EZ (both available

on IRS.gov).

Using online tools to help prepare your return. Go to

IRS.gov/Tools for the following.

The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/

EIC) determines if you’re eligible for the EIC.

The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN) helps you

get an employer identification number.

The IRS Withholding Calculator (IRS.gov/W4App) es-

timates the amount you should have withheld from

your paycheck for federal income tax purposes.

The First Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up

(IRS.gov/HomeBuyer) tool provides information on

your repayments and account balance.

The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/

SalesTax) figures the amount you can claim if you

itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040),

choose not to claim state and local income taxes, and

you didn’t save your receipts showing the sales tax

you paid.

Resolving tax-related identity theft issues.

The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by

email or telephone to request personal or financial in-

formation. This includes any type of electronic com-

munication, such as text messages and social media

channels.

Go to IRS.gov/IDProtection for information and vid-

eos.

If your SSN has been lost or stolen or you suspect

you’re a victim of tax-related identity theft, visit

IRS.gov/ID to learn what steps you should take.

Checking on the status of your refund.

Go to IRS.gov/Refunds.

Due to changes in the law, the IRS can’t issue refunds

before mid-February 2018, for returns that properly

claimed the EIC or the ACTC. This applies to the en-

tire refund, not just the portion associated with these

credits.

Download the official IRS2Go app to your mobile de-

vice to check your refund status.

Call the automated refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954.

Making a tax payment. The IRS uses the latest encryp-

tion technology to ensure your electronic payments are

safe and secure. You can make electronic payments on-

line, by phone, and from a mobile device using the

IRS2Go app. Paying electronically is quick, easy, and

faster than mailing in a check or money order. Go to

IRS.gov/Payments to make a payment using any of the

following options.

IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual tax bill or estima-

ted tax payment directly from your checking or sav-

ings account at no cost to you.

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Debit or credit card: Choose an approved payment

processor to pay online, by phone, and by mobile de-

vice.

Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Offered only when fil-

ing your federal taxes using tax preparation software

or through a tax professional.

Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: Best op-

tion for businesses. Enrollment is required.

Check or money order: Mail your payment to the ad-

dress listed on the notice or instructions.

Cash: You may be able to pay your taxes with cash at

a participating retail store.

What if I can’t pay now? Go to IRS.gov/Payments for

more information about your options.

Apply for an online payment agreement (IRS.gov/

OPA) to meet your tax obligation in monthly install-

ments if you can’t pay your taxes in full today. Once

you complete the online process, you will receive im-

mediate notification of whether your agreement has

been approved.

Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier (IRS.gov/

OIC) to see if you can settle your tax debt for less than

the full amount you owe.

Checking the status of an amended return. Go to

IRS.gov/WMAR to track the status of Form 1040X amen-

ded returns. Please note that it can take up to 3 weeks

from the date you mailed your amended return for it to

show up in our system and processing it can take up to 16

weeks.

Understanding an IRS notice or letter. Go to IRS.gov/

Notices to find additional information about responding to

an IRS notice or letter.

Contacting your local IRS office. Keep in mind, many

questions can be answered on IRS.gov without visiting an

IRS Tax Assistance Center (TAC). Go to IRS.gov/

LetUsHelp for the topics people ask about most. If you still

need help, IRS TACs provide tax help when a tax issue

can’t be handled online or by phone. All TACs now pro-

vide service by appointment so you’ll know in advance

that you can get the service you need without long wait

times. Before you visit, go to IRS.gov/TACLocator to find

the nearest TAC, check hours, available services, and ap-

pointment options. Or, on the IRS2Go app, under the Stay

Connected tab, choose the Contact Us option and click on

“Local Offices.”

Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video portal

(IRSvideos.gov) contains video and audio presentations

for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals.

Getting tax information in other languages. For tax-

payers whose native language isn’t English, we have the

following resources available. Taxpayers can find informa-

tion on IRS.gov in the following languages.

Spanish (IRS.gov/Spanish).

Chinese (IRS.gov/Chinese).

Vietnamese (IRS.gov/Vietnamese).

Korean (IRS.gov/Korean).

Russian (IRS.gov/Russian).

The IRS TACs provide over-the-phone interpreter serv-

ice in over 170 languages, and the service is available

free to taxpayers.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service Is

Here To Help You

What is the Taxpayer Advocate Service?

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independ-

ent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and

protects taxpayer rights. Our job is to ensure that every

taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and under-

stand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

What Can the Taxpayer Advocate Service

Do For You?

We can help you resolve problems that you can’t resolve

with the IRS. And our service is free. If you qualify for our

assistance, you will be assigned to one advocate who will

work with you throughout the process and will do every-

thing possible to resolve your issue. TAS can help you if:

Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you,

your family, or your business,

You face (or your business is facing) an immediate

threat of adverse action, or

You’ve tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one

has responded, or the IRS hasn’t responded by the

date promised.

How Can You Reach Us?

We have offices in every state, the District of Columbia,

and Puerto Rico. Your local advocate’s number is in your

local directory and at TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/

Contact-Us. You can also call us at 1-877-777-4778.

How Can You Learn About Your Taxpayer

Rights?

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 10 basic rights that

all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Our Tax

Toolkit at TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov can help you under-

stand what these rights mean to you and how they apply.

These are your rights. Know them. Use them.

How Else Does the Taxpayer Advocate

Service Help Taxpayers?

TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect

many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues,

please report it to us at IRS.gov/SAMS.

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Low Income Taxpayer Clinics

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) are independent

from the IRS. LITCs represent individuals whose income

is below a certain level and need to resolve tax problems

with the IRS, such as audits, appeals, and tax collection

disputes. In addition, clinics can provide information about

taxpayer rights and responsibilities in different languages

for individuals who speak English as a second language.

Services are offered for free or a small fee. To find a clinic

near you, visit TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/LITCmap or

see IRS Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

List.

To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.

See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.

Index

Absence, temporary 7

Address, change of 2

Aliens (See Nonresident aliens)

Alimony 11, 13–18

Community income 26

Fees paid for getting 23

No exemption for spouse 8

Annual exclusion, gift tax 22

Annulment decrees:

Absolute decree 26

Amended return required 3

Considered unmarried 3

Archer MSA 20

Assistance (See Tax help)

Basis:

Property received in settlement 21

Benefits paid under QDROs 18

Birth of dependent 7

Change of address 2

Change of name 2

Change of withholding 2

Child custody 10

Children:

Birth of child:

Head of household, qualifying

person to file as 7

Claiming parent, when child is head

of household 7

Custody of 10

Death of child:

Head of household, qualifying

person to file as 7

Photographs of missing children 2

Child support:

Alimony, difference from 14

Clearly associated with

contingency 17

Contingency relating to child 17

Payment specifically designated

as 17

Child support under pre-1985

agreement 11

Child tax credit 9

Community income 24–26

Community property 24–26

(See also Community income)

Ending the marital community 26

Laws disregarded 24

States 24

Costs of getting divorce 23

Fees for tax advice 23

Nondeductible expenses 23

Custody of child 10

Death of dependent 7

Death of recipient spouse. 16

Debts of spouse:

Refund applied to 4

Deductions:

Alimony paid 14

Alimony recapture 18

Limits on IRAs 19

Marital 22

Dependents:

Exemption for 8–13

Qualifying child 8

Qualifying child (Table 3) 9

Qualifying relative 8

Qualifying relative (Table 3) 9

Social security numbers 2

Divorce decrees:

Absolute decree 26

Amended 13

Costs of getting 23

Defined for purposes of alimony 13

Invalid 13

Unmarried persons 3

Divorced parents 9

Child custody 10

Domestic relations

orders (See Qualified domestic

relations orders (QDROs))

Domicile 24

Earned income 25

Equitable relief (See Relief from joint

liability)

Estimated tax 23

Joint payments 24

Exemptions 7–13

Dependents 8, 13

Personal 7

Spouse 7

Fees for tax advice 23

Filing status 3–7

Head of household 6

Form 1040:

Deducting alimony paid 14

Reporting alimony received 14

Form 1040X:

Annulment, decree of 3

Form 8332:

Release of exemption to

noncustodial parent 11

Form 8379:

Injured spouse 4

Form 8857:

Innocent spouse relief 4

Former spouse:

Defined for purposes of alimony 13

Form W-4:

Withholding 23

Form W-7:

Individual taxpayer identification

number (ITIN) 2

Gift tax 21, 22

Head of household 6

Health care law 2

Health savings accounts

(HSAs) 20

Home owned jointly:

Alimony payments for 15

Expenses for, as alimony

(Table 4) 15

Sale of 23

HSAs (Health savings

accounts) 20

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Identification number 2

Identity theft 27

Income 24

(See also Community income)

Alimony received 14

Individual retirement arrangements

(IRAs) 19

Individual taxpayer identification

numbers (ITINs) 2

Injured spouse 4

Innocent spouse relief 4

Insurance premiums 15

Invalid decree 13

IRAs (Individual retirement

arrangements) 19

Itemized deductions on separate

returns 5

ITINs (Individual taxpayer

identification numbers) 2

Joint liability:

Relief from 2, 4

Jointly-owned home:

Alimony payments for 15

Expenses for, as alimony

(Table 4) 15

Sale of 23

Joint returns 4

Change from separate return 6

Change to separate return 6

Divorced taxpayers 4

Exemption for spouse 7

Joint and individual liability 4

Relief from joint liability 4

Signing 4

Kidnapped child:

Head of household status and 7

Liability for taxes (See Relief from

joint liability)

Life insurance premiums as

alimony 15

Marital community, ending 26

Marital status 3

Married persons 3

Medical savings accounts

(MSAs) 20

Missing children, photographs of 2

Mortgage payments as alimony 15

MSAs (Medical savings

accounts) 20

Name, change of 2

Nondeductible expenses 23

Nonresident aliens:

Joint returns 4

Withholding 14

Parent:

Head of household, claim for 7

Parents, divorced or separated 9

Personal exemptions 7

Phaseout of exemptions 13

Property settlements 20–23

Publications (See Tax help)

Qualified domestic relations orders

(QDROs) 18

Qualifying child, exemption for 8

Qualifying child, exemption for

(Table 3) 9

Qualifying person, head of

household 7

Table 2 8

Qualifying relative, exemption for 8

Qualifying relative, exemption for

(Table 3) 9

Recapture of alimony 17

Refunds:

Spouse's debts, applied to 4

Release of exemption to

noncustodial parent 11

Revocation 11

Relief from joint liability 2, 4

Relief from separate return liability:

Community income 24

Reporting requirements:

Alimony received 14

Returns:

Amended return required 3

Joint (See Joint returns)

Separate (See Separate returns)

Rollovers 19

Sales of jointly-owned property 23

Section 1041 election 21

Separated parents 9

Separate maintenance decrees 3,

13, 26

Separate returns 5

Change to or from joint return 6

Community or separate income 5

Exemption for spouse 8

Itemized deductions 5

Relief from liability 24

Separate liability 5

Tax consequences 5

Separation agreements 26

Defined for purposes of alimony 13

Separation of liability (See Relief

from joint liability)

Settlement of

property (See Property

settlements)

Social security benefits 25

Social security numbers (SSNs):

Alimony recipient's number

required 14

Dependents 2

Spousal IRA 19

Spouse:

Defined for purposes of alimony 13

Refund applied to debts 4

Statute of limitations:

Amended return 3

Injured spouse allocation 4

Tables and figures:

Exemption for dependents

(Table 3) 9

Itemized deductions on separate

returns (Table 1) 5

Jointly-owned home, expenses for,

as alimony (Table 4) 15

Property transferred pursuant to

divorce (Table 5) 22

Qualifying person for head of

household (Table 2) 8

Tax advice fees 23

Tax help 26

Taxpayer identification numbers 2

Tax withholding (See Withholding)

Third parties:

Alimony payments to 14, 16

Property settlements, transfers

to 20

Tiebreaker rules 12

Underpayment of alimony 14

Unmarried persons 3

What’s New 2

Withholding:

Change of 2, 23

Nonresident aliens 14

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Worksheets:

Recapture of alimony (Worksheet

1) 18

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