Divorce Judgement in October 22

[podturner]

My husband and I prepared a Divorce Agreement in which it states we file Jointly this year for taxes.  At that time, our divorce was not going to be finalized until 2023.  Due to a fast sale of our home, we went ahead and filed for Divorce in

August of this year, 2022.

A Judgement of Divorce was signed by a Judge in Michigan in October of this year. Our signed Judgement states we file for Federal Taxes Jointly and State taxes individually.

How do we proceed with filing Federal Taxes now?

[DanielleCPA]

Hi @podturner!

Because the divorce was finalized in 2022, you no longer have the option to file jointly, regardless of the Judgement of Divorce.

In the year that your divorce decree becomes final you lose the option to file as married joint or married separate.

Do you have any dependents? One or both of you may be able to file as Head of Household (and get the benefit of a bigger standard deduction and gentler tax brackets), if you had a dependent living with you for more than half the year, and you paid for more than half of the upkeep for your home.