Changing withholding status and what to do after a divorce becomes final

[Maxine2342]

My divorce just became final. My husband never had a job. Should I change my withholding status to Head of Household (my son is a full-time college student who lives with me) or single, or should I keep it as Married Filing Jointly.

[Opus 17]

I would change to HOH.  If you leave it as married and your spouse never worked, you are probably not having enough withheld.  You may also want to use the IRS withholding calculator to see if you need to make any additional adjustments on your W-4.

Remember that your tax return treats the entire year using the status on December 31 (single or HOH, in your case), even if you were married for part of the year. 

[Anonymous]

if you had a divorce attorney, it's that person who should be advising you on other steps to take.  they will know your situation better than we do. 

[Opus 17]

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@Anonymous wrote:

if you had a divorce attorney, it's that person who should be advising you on other steps to take.  they will know your situation better than we do. 

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Too many divorce attorneys are completely worthless on tax matters.  It's not that complicated anyway.  Alimony is not taxable, child support is not taxable, and a child over age 18 is not covered under the special rules for children of divorced parents, so the usual dependent rules about age and residency apply.  All the taxpayer needs to do is have the correct withholding for single or HOH.