Category Archives: Marriage & Divorce
Tips on Deciding Which Tax-Filing Status Is Best for You – Yahoo Finance
“Who are you? Who, who, who, who?”
—The Who
For most taxpayers, the answer probably seems obvious. But for some, it can be surprisingly tricky to determine which tax-filing status will hold the most advantages.
The choices may involve more thought and number-crunching than might be apparent at first glance. A few issues may be important for some taxpayers to consider before New Year’s Day because of tax-law changes enacted late last year and other factors.
Here are a few suggestions from tax pros on avoiding an identity crisis, and making sure you don’t wind up paying more in taxes than you need to pay.
For starters, married couples can file either jointly or separately. The choice is important since your filing status is used to determine such things as the standard-deduction amount, eligibility for certain tax credits and other breaks, and, ultimately, how much tax you will owe.
Most married couples file joint returns. About 54.1 million returns received by the Internal Revenue Service for 2016 were joint returns (or returns of “surviving spouses”), according to the latest IRS data. Only 3.1 million returns came from married couples filing separately. The reason is simple: Generally, married couples would pay more combined tax if they file separately than if they file jointly.
But not always, says Mark T. Nash, a tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. When in doubt, run the numbers both ways.
Here are some powerful reasons to consider filing separately:
Untrustworthy spouse: Beware of filing a joint return if you suspect your spouse is hiding taxable income or isn’t telling the truth about deductions, credits or other issues, says Bryan Skarlatos. a lawyer at Kostelanetz & Fink in New York. If you file jointly, you are responsible for what’s on that joint return—unless you can qualify for special relief. But winning “innocent-spouse” relief can be “very complicated and difficult to accomplish,” Mr. Skarlatos says.
Thus, filing separately can be a smart move in cases where you want to be responsible only for what is on your own return, says Eric L. Green, a lawyer at Green & Sklarz in New Haven, Conn.
Special Factors: In some cases, it might be better for a married couple to consider filing separately to enable one spouse to claim certain deductions or other breaks that would be reduced, or even lost, on a joint return.
One example is a lower-earning spouse who has large amounts of medical expenses or might be eligible for a large casualty-loss deduction, says Mark A. Luscombe, principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. Filing separately might enable that spouse to deduct more of those items than he or she would on a joint return because the expenses are deductible only to the extent they exceed certain thresholds.
Also check if there are any state-tax issues that might affect the calculations, says Sidney Kess, senior consultant at Citrin Cooperman and of counsel to Kostelanetz & Fink.
Marriage bonus or penalty: Getting married this month, or postponing the official ceremony until next year, might have a surprising impact on your taxes in certain cases. For example, some two-income couples who get married this year and are in the top brackets may wind up owing more in combined federal income tax than they would if they had each remained single—commonly known as the marriage penalty tax. But in other cases, a married couple winds up paying less total tax than if each spouse had remained single. Lawmakers have taken steps to reduce or eliminate the marriage penalty in certain cases and to increase the amount of the bonus in many others. But these issues haven’t disappeared entirely.
Pass-through businesses: The new law includes a 20% deduction for owners of various types of “pass-through businesses.” Such businesses, which include partnerships, sole proprietorships and S corporations, pass along profits to their owners, who report them on their personal returns. The deduction has limits that begin above certain amounts of taxable income. Because of these limits, an owner who files separately might be eligible to make greater use of this deduction than by filing jointly with a spouse who has significant amounts of income.
It’s complex and details can vary widely depending on individual circumstances, so it’s best to consult a tax expert.
Part of the new law generally says you won’t be allowed to deduct alimony payments you make under a divorce or separation agreement executed after 2018. This new restriction won’t apply to agreements finalized this year or in prior years, says Elena Karabatos, a matrimonial lawyer at Schlissel Ostrow and Karabatos PLLC. Alimony payments will continue to be tax-deductible under agreements signed this year or in prior years, she says.
Another change: Recipients of alimony payments under agreements executed after this year won’t be taxed on those payments. The new law doesn’t change the tax treatment of child-support payments, says Mr. Green of Green & Sklarz.
This category can be a source of significant confusion and taxpayer errors, both honest and otherwise. “Generally, you may claim head of household filing status on your tax return only if you are unmarried and pay more than 50% of the costs of keeping up a home for yourself and your dependent(s) or other qualifying individuals,” the IRS says on its website.
For exceptions to this general rule and other key points, search the IRS website for “head of household.”
Suppose your spouse died this year and you haven’t remarried. It might seem logical to assume you are single. However, you’re eligible to file a joint return with your deceased spouse for this year. Also, for the next two years, you may be eligible for special benefits as a “qualifying widow(er).” See IRS Publication 501 for more details.
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For those who want more information about what status they should use, the IRS offers an online interview, “What Is My Filing Status,” a tool that asks individuals questions and offers answers that can help them decide. Tax-preparation software can also be helpful in wading through these issues.
Mr. Herman is a writer in New York City. He was formerly The Wall Street Journal’s Tax Report columnist. Send comments and tax questions to taxquestions@wsj.com.
More From The Wall Street Journal
From torrid affairs to seeing 20 married men, readers tell us how their illicit relationships survive the – The Sun
CHRISTMAS can be the least romantic time of the year for “the bit on the side” in a love triangle. So how do lovers survive the festive period when they know married partners are spending special time with their “real” families?
Three illicit lovers tell Georgette Culley how they manage it.
Sheryl, 38
Sheryl has been having an affair with a married man for three months
CARE worker Sheryl Pillai, 38, from Wandsworth, South London, has been having an affair with a married man for three months.
The mum of five hopes her lover, 42, will leave his wife in the New Year. She says:
“It’s lonely being a mistress at Christmas. Everywhere you look, people are getting into the festive spirit and swooning over romcoms on telly.
“Normally I love Christmas. This is my first year as a mistress and it’s a struggle. It’d be lovely to see Christmas carols together and enjoy the build-up but we can’t go out in public.
Olivia West – The Sun
She says she normally loves Christmas, but this year it’s a struggle
“We meet once a week in hotels. His wife doesn’t know. I didn’t plan to fall in love with “forbidden fruit” – it just happened. We met through mutual friends and it was love at first sight. I couldn’t help myself.
“It would be lovely to take him to my work Christmas party and introduce him as my boyfriend to friends and family, but I have to be realistic. Instead of getting one another presents, we are putting our money together to book a holiday and escape next month.
“It’s hard knowing they’ll spend the day together but I will see him on Boxing Day and make up for lost time. I have five kids to keep me entertained, so we’ll still have a nice day but it’s hard not being able to see him.
“He tells me he is going to leave his wife next year. That is my Christmas wish.
Olivia West – The Sun
Sheryl’s Christmas wish is for her lover to leave his wife next year
“My advice for other mistresses is to take it day by day and not get swept up in the romance of Christmas. It is just another day and you have to be strong.
“If you choose to get involved with a married man, then he’s going to be unavailable at special times of the year.”
Danny, 30
Olivia West – The Sun
Danny says it’s hard being The Bit on The Side if you’re a man
SALESMAN Danny Oakley, 30, of Southampton, is in an 18-month affair. He says:
“No one ever thinks about men when they think of The Bit on The Side but it’s hard for us too.
“My lover is a Muslim married mum and an ex colleague. So it’s extremely complicated for us both and can be very hard to see each other.
“We also have to be very careful as she has a lot to lose should we get caught.
Olivia West – The Sun
Danny didn’t realise that his relationship would escalate so quickly
“We started the affair when we were working together. At first, it was purely sexual and was meant to be nothing more than a one night thing.
“I think she gets off on the secrecy, it turns her on. Before I developed feelings I felt the same but now it’s getting harder for me.
“She is very wealthy and sometimes I feel like an escort, it’s a tricky position to be in.
“What’s more, I have only ever told one female friend. I have to be very careful as loose lips sink ships. She says she’ll leave her husband when her son goes to university, but that’s eight years away.
Olivia West – The Sun
Danny says he won’t be getting any kisses under the mistletoe this year
“I’d love to wake up to her on Christmas morning and spoil her with breakfast in bed and a stocking. But she’s hard to buy for. What do you buy someone who has everything?
“I’ll be spending Christmas with family, with my mum constantly asking me when I’m going to settle down. People might start to wonder if I’m gay soon as I never bring a woman home with me.
“I won’t be getting any cheeky snogs under the mistletoe at my work Christmas party either, I’ll stay loyal to my lover despite her being with her husband.
“I’ll be waiting to hear from her at some point on Christmas Day. I’ll have to make do with a quick text when all I want to do is spend the day with her like normal couples. She’s the only present I want to unwrap under my Christmas tree.”
Hayley, 32
Olivia West – The Sun
Hayley asks her lovers for designer jewellery, clothes, holidays and botox
FITNESS instructor Hayley Leeanna, 32, from Peterborough has TWENTY married lovers. She says:
“I love being a mistress at Christmas. Think about of the presents you’re going to get. I sent my Xmas list to all my lovers and asked for designer jewellery, clothes, holidays and botox.
“Some people may judge me and think I’m ruining relationships but I’m making them stronger. Christmas is a stressful time but my lovers will be happier at the family dinner table because they secretly see me.
“I am spending Christmas Day with my family but will go on about 20 dates over the festive period.
Olivia West – The Sun
Hayley likes being The Other Woman because she makes it fun
“We’ll go to jazz bars, fancy restaurants and swanky hotels. I like being The Other Woman because I am in control. I get all the best parts of a relationship without the boring bits. One time a wife called me up after she found out about our affair.
“We met and I explained why her husband had strayed.
take the wrap
Mum spends £1.7K on HUNDREDS of Xmas gifts for kids & refuses to feel guilty
sacked off
Mum Googles cost of her Secret Santa gift then demands new one as it ‘was cheap’
partying shot
Woman dumps cheating boyfriend with savage speech at her 21st birthday party
‘BAN THEM’
Mum who lost baby at 34 weeks blames home Doppler kit that gave her false hope
HOME GROWN
Where are the Home Alone kids now? One’s battled heroin & another’s an Olympian
britain’s saddest bedroom
I spent 2 days cuddling my dead son & could have stayed forever
“At first she was devastated but when I explained it was just sex and nothing more she understood. Now, they’re stronger than ever and she thanked me for saving their marriage.
“Being a mistress at Christmas is what you make of it and I choose to make it fun.”
Hayley meets her lovers on married-dating site Illicit Encounters.
Cardi B reveals she’s split with husband Offset amid cheating rumours
The Best New Books About Sex and Marriage – Fatherly
Marriage counseling and sex therapy can be expensive and, despite the proven benefit of both, not a proposition the majority of couples want to consider. It’s a good thing, then, that each year there are a number of excellent reads from therapists, researchers, and other experts that offer insightful, research-driven, and actionable steps regular couples can take to either shore up their relationship or just learn more about what makes a good one work. This year saw a number of excellent options, from one that delves deep into — and takes the stigma away from — the sexual fantasies of average Americans for the purpose of enhancing your sex life to a blunt book of marriage advice written by a divorce lawyer who really, really would like to see fewer broken couples in his office. So, without further ado, here are our favorite books on sex and marriage.
Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life by Justin Lehmiller
In attempts to open up a more frank dialogue about sex, Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a leading expert on human sexuality at the Kinsey Institute and author of the blog Sex and Psychology, organized one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys surrounding Americans’ attitudes towards sex and fantasy ever conducted, a two-year study involving more than 4,000 Americans of various backgrounds. This book explores the results, and, in the process, shines new light on ways in which these things operate within the context of American relationships. It’s full of sharp, interesting information. Did you, for instance, know that women are more likely to fantasize about same-sex experiences than men and men are more likely to have gender-bending fantasies (like crossdressing or having sex with a transsexual partner) than women? Or that, in fantasy scenarios, women are more likely to think about BDSM and to place more emphasis on where they were having sex and that, as Lehmiller told us, men report more taboo sexual fantasies and place more emphasis on who they were having sex with? As a whole, the book serves as an examination of sexual fantasies, why they’re good (and perfectly natural), and how to keep shame out of the equation.
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If You’re in my Office, It’s Already Too Late: A Divorce-Lawyers Guide to Staying Together by James Sexton
“Marriage is like the lottery,” James Sexton told us, “you’re probably not going to win, but if you win, what you win is so good that it’s worth buying a ticket.” Coming from most anyone else, this would be cynical. But Sexton, who, during his 20-year stint as a divorce lawyer in NYC, has helped more than 1,000 couples untie the knot, is simply calling it like he sees it. Such is the nature of his book, which is full of advice to help couples avoid stepping foot into his office. Through observations accrued during his two decades on the job, Sexton lays out a variety of helpful tips for married couples to go the distance. It’s all about maintaining your identity within the marriage, staying interesting, fighting in the appropriate manner, and much more. It’s all blunt and it all may sound obvious, sure, but it’s backed up by many examples of unions gone awry. Besides, if everyone followed the obvious, Sexton wouldn’t have a job.
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Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in a Long Term Marriage by Stephen Snyder
Props to Dr. Stephen Snyder’s editor, who gave this book a very enticing title. That’s not to say the substance isn’t there, as it is. Snyder, a leading sex and relationship therapist and an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, has first-hand knowledge of how married couples can fall into sexual ruts, where sex drives — and general interest — fall out of whack. His book details all the reasons this might happen (stresses of modern society, unspoken resentments, feeling more like roommates or, in the case of many busy parents, shift workers rather than lovers) and supplies actionable, research-backed ways in which couples can get their marriage and sex lives back on the right track.
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The Rough Patch: Marriage and the Art of Living Together by Daphne de Marneffe
Every marriage hits the occasional rough patch, something that sets things slightly off-balance. It can be money issues, in-law problems, or stress over raising the kids. The rough patch itself isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s how a couple navigates their way through it that can either make or break a marriage. That’s what psychologist Dr. Daphne de Marneffe, Ph.D.’s, new book explores, and offers a framework for avoiding the speed bumps that stall many relationships. It covers how modern life can reroute a marriage — stress, technology, etc. — and provides a roadmap for returning to not only where you once were but maybe even a better place. It’s smart, genuinely helpful, and enthusiastically optimistic.
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Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts by Susan Pileggi and James Pawelski
Suzann Pileggi Pawelski and James O. Pawelski are married. In fact, they’re also social psychologists who teach romance and love workshops around the world and study both marriage and positive psychology every day (James is Director of education at the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center). So, yeah, they’re pretty all in on marriage. They also genuinely want to arm couples with the skills to be in happy, fulfilling relationships. Through exercises and explanations, their book walks couples through ways in which they can extract more joy from their marriage. As they discussed with us, this includes such things as prioritizing positive emotions, really, truly complimenting one another, and working through bumpy patches without losing sight of the positive aspects of their relationship. Positivity, it turns out, can go a long way.
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The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work by Eli Finkel
A professor of psychology at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the director of the Relationships and Motivation Lab, Eli Finkel understands marriage. He has spent years sorting through the literature on in the institution — the psychological, yes, but also the sociological and historical. The result of that research is a paradoxical understanding of the institution and his new book The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work. It’s a thoughtful, impressive work that charts the history of marriage and the in which ways marriage has evolved over the years while boiling the wealth of data into simple, attainable advice.
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