Divorce

[AS6851]

I am in the process of a divorce and it should be final around Dec 15th.  Are we able to file joint for the 2022 year??  Would there be a benefit to filing seperate?

[leeloo]

If you are divorced on December 31, 2022, you are considered to be divorced for the entire year. Your options are to file Single or if you have qualifying children, you may be able to file as Head of Household.

[JandKit]

Hi AS6851,

Thank you for your question today!

If it is your wish to file married, you would need to delay the decree until the new year. The IRS looks at the filing status as of 11:59 on december 31st. In other words, you must be married at that time to use that filing status. If it can be postponed until the new year, you would be considered married even though you are going through a divorce