My ex-husband sold the home he bought before we married in his name. After our divorce, he decided to give me some of the proceeds from the sale. Do I get taxed on this?

[april-lmt]

I was not on the deed or loan of this home.  We had a smaller portion of the sale of this home in our divorce decree but it sold for more than he thought so he gave me more than the divorce listed.  I am not sure how to list this in taxes and if it is considered income or something I need to claim.  I read on another site that it was considered a cash gift but I am not sure about that.  It was wired to me through his bank.

[Carl]

You don't say what state or states are involved here. This is more of a legal question, than a tax question. You should seek guidance from your divorce lawyer. Since I would not expect a divorce lawyer to be knowledgeable on tax matters, I would expect you to be referred to a tax attorney or similar.

Basically, how it's handled on the tax front depends on the tax laws of the state, as well as how things may be worded in the divorce decree.

[AmyC]

A cash gift can be a check, bank wire, Venmo deposit, Visa gift card, etc. Money or an asset was given to you with no expectation of receiving anything for it.

The giver is responsible for any tax - not the recipient.

I agree with Carl that each state has its own laws. The divorce decree may state what it considered alimony vs what is income. There could be an argument that the extra income outside of the decree was a gift- which is limited to $16,000 per person for 2022. If you have children, it can be extended to them. 

Perhaps the sale of the house was in lieu of retirement income or something else, there are way too many unknowns here.