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Subject Author Date
Married filing Separately -- where to put shared items? CallMeZoot 02-02-2008
Posted by Alan on February 3, 2008, 4:37 pm
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 D. Stussy wrote:
>> D. Stussy wrote:
>> [...]
>>> If you live in a "community property state" (there are 15 of them), then
>>> your split is pretty much mandated at 50% each for every item mentioned
> per
>>> state law.
>> Wrong, there are nine. See Pub 555.
>
> Brain freeze here. You're right. I was thinking of "common law" states -
> of which there are 15.
>
If we want to get technical... the National Conference of State
Legislatures says:

"Currently, only 10 states (Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and
Texas) and the District of Columbia recognize common-law
marriages contracted within their borders. In addition, five
states have "grandfathered" common law marriage, allowing those
established before a certain date to be recognized. New Hampshire
recognizes common law marriage only for purposes of probate, and
Utah recognizes common law marriages only if they have been
validated by a court or administrative order."

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Posted by Bob Sandler on February 3, 2008, 2:11 pm
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>If you live in a "community property state" (there are 15 of them)

1. Arizona
2. California
3. Idaho
4. Louisiana
5. Nevada
6. New Mexico
7. Texas
8. Washington
9. Wisconsin

What are the other 6?

Bob Sandler

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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
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<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
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Posted by Frank S. Duke, Jr. on February 2, 2008, 10:01 pm
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CallMeZoot at CallMeZoot@gmail.com wrote on 2/2/08 4:00 PM:
> We have a few shared items in both of our names, including:
>
> -Mortgage Interest
If you are both on the loan, allocate it any way you wish.
> -Property Taxes
If you jointly hold title to the property, anyway you wish.
> -A small amount of 1099-misc income
If self employment it should be whoever owns the business. If gambling
winnings, it should go with the gambler.
> -A small amount of savings interest
If joint account it can go either way but you should report it under the SSN
that reported it to the IRS and then subtract it out with a comment
transferring it to the other SSN. Then report it on the other person's
return.
>
> What are our options for these items when filing separately?
> Specifically...
>
> -Can we put them on whichever return we prefer (depending on what
> works out to the least tax liabliity)?
yes
> -Can we "split them up" -- e.g. put half of the mortgage interest on
> mine, half on hers? or in a 60/40, etc. split?
yes
> -Are there any regulations for how to divide them (e.g. do property
> taxes and mortgage interest have to be on the same return?)
no
> -Do we have to somehow document on one return that the "missing items"
> are on the spouse's return?
Yes, if they were reported to the IRS on a 1099 type form. The IRS will
look for them where reported.

All freely provided advice guarantee correct or double your money back

Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA
Cincinnati, OH USA

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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>

Posted by Mark Bole on February 3, 2008, 4:28 pm
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Frank S. Duke, Jr. wrote:
> CallMeZoot at CallMeZoot@gmail.com wrote on 2/2/08 4:00 PM:
>> We have a few shared items in both of our names, including:
[...]
>> -Can we put them on whichever return we prefer (depending on what
>> works out to the least tax liabliity)?

> yes

>> -Can we "split them up" -- e.g. put half of the mortgage interest on
>> mine, half on hers? or in a 60/40, etc. split?

> yes

>> -Are there any regulations for how to divide them (e.g. do property
>> taxes and mortgage interest have to be on the same return?)

> no

The first problem with this is, since information on MFS returns is not
necessarily available to the other spouse, how could one arbitrarily
split up income and deductions and ensure they are not double-reported?

See Table 1 in Pub 504 (page 5, for 2007 tax year). There are indeed
rules for dividing Schedule A deductions on MFS returns.

-Mark Bole

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>

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