How to divide our tax refund between spouses (we got married last year)?

[kristinwyn9]

did you ever find out what happens when spouse pockets the whole refund 

[Critter-3]

The IRS/state will not intervene in this situation once the refund check is issued ... now it is a civil matter. 

That is between you and your spouse.  Or if you are being represented by a lawyer in a separation/divorce situation, speak with your attorney.

[nnj4x4trails]

@Burny For the couple that jointly is getting a $3800 refund, it may seem logical to proportion the refund according to their relative income, however...this approach doesn't account for how much they withheld during the year.

For example, if the lower earning partner overpaid their taxes all year, and the higher earning partner underpaid (or broke even), then that should effect how the refund is allocated.

I don't have a good answer for this "how to equitably share tax liability" question, which is why I'm reading these questions.  🙂  We split our shared expenses according to income, but handling taxes is tougher. We're trying to base it on tax liability, but the fact that we have different deductions makes it harder. (MFS, they owe more if we go standard, I owe more if we itemize.)