ex husband | robergtaxsolutions.com

Ex-spouses may claim Social Security based upon their exes' earnings.

If you’re divorced, but were married for more than 10 years to your ex-spouse, you may be able to claim Social Security benefits based upon his income.

This may come as a surprise to you, but your ex-husband could turn out to be good for something after all. If you were married for at least 10 years, you may be entitled to Social Security benefits based upon your ex’s income—that is, if he’s entitled to Social Security benefits.

Here’s how it works: let’s say you’re thinking about retiring. You go to the Social Security website and find out what your benefits would be if you retire at 62, if you retire at your full benefit age, and if you retire at age 70. Then you call Social Security to find out what your benefits would be if you used your ex’s Social Security benefits. The number is (800) 772-1213. If you retire at 62, you can get 35% of his benefit; at full retirement age, you can get 50% of his benefit.

Let me show you with an example: Jane is 60 years old and she’s contemplating what she wants to do about retiring, whether to start taking benefits at 62 or hold out until later. She runs the numbers on the Social Security website ( www.ssa.gov ) and gets the following information:

Retire at 62, monthly benefit: $ 585
Retire at 66, monthly benefit: $ 820
Retire at 70, monthly benefit: $1,040

Those aren’t great numbers. Jane didn’t always work because she was raising a family, and when she did work, well, she didn’t make all that much money. But Jane’s ex-husband, Tom, made plenty of money. Using the Quick Retirement Calculator at ssa.gov: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/quickcalc/index.html.

Jane estimates Tom’s Social Security earnings will be $2,586 per month at retirement. Now she’s going to want to actually talk to the Social Security folks to get the real numbers, but the calculator will give her a rough idea.

So, if Jane retires at 62, she can qualify for 35% of Tom’s money which would be $905 per month. If she waits until her full retirement age, she can qualify for 50% of Tom’s money which would be $1,293. For Jane, she can make more money retiring using Tom’s benefits than she can make on her own.

This is really important to know:

Your ex-husband will not lose his Social Security benefits if you use them
You cannot be currently remarried and qualify for your ex’s benefits
If you have had more than one marriage that lasted for over 10 years; you may use the spouse that gives you the greater benefit

If you claim Social Security based upon your ex-husband’s benefits before you reach full retirement age you will not be able to switch back to your full benefit at age 70. You really want to think long and hard about those numbers before you retire early.

What you’re eligible to receive from Social Security is very personal. It’s all based upon your individual contributions, you can’t make any assumptions based upon what your friends or neighbors get. You can learn what you’re eligible for by creating your own account at the Social Security website. It only takes about 10 minutes. Finding out about benefits from an ex-spouse will take a bit longer because it involves a phone call and the hold times can be pretty long. Isn’t it worth finding out?

Photo by Dr. John Bullas

You wouldn’t believe how often I am asked, “How can I stick it to my ex?” People going through a divorce or breakup are so angry and hurting that it’s natural to want to strike back. While I feel deeply for peoples’ pain and suffering, the best advice I can give to that question is don’t. Here’s why.

The easiest way to mess up someone else’s tax return is to claim their children on your tax return before they can file theirs. It’s that simple. Once the children’s social security numbers have been claimed on a tax return, they can’t be used on another return. That means your ex can’t e-file a return and can’t get the refund she’d get with the kids. It sounds pretty nasty, but there’s a very important downside.

First, if don’t have custody of the children and they haven’t lived with you for at least six months, well then you’d be committing tax fraud. Depending upon the severity of the fraud (especially if you received an Earned Income Credit) it’s even possible that you could see some jail time. How badly do you want to mess with your ex?

But let’s forget the possible jail time. Let’s examine what would happen in a regular dependency dispute. Your ex, if she were smart (or had at least hired someone like me), would still submit her tax return claiming the children. She’d have to mail the return in, because e-file would no longer be available to her. Then because there would be two returns claiming the same children the IRS would issue dependency audits to both of you. That audit letter is around eleven pages long listing several items that you’re going to have to come up with to prove that you are really the custodial parent. The information is fairly easy for a custodial parent to access, downright impossible if you’re not.

So, although you’ve dealt your blow and messed up her refund temporarily, in the end she’ll get the money and you’ll lose the audit. Not only will you have to pay back the tax money you received from the IRS, there will be fines, penalties, and you’ll probably be forbidden from claiming and Earned Income credit in the future (even if you would really be entitled to it.)

So, back to the original question, “Is there a way to stick it to my ex?” The answer is yes, but it will hurt you worse.

Tag: ex husband

How to Stick it to My Ex with the IRS – divorce issues