My husband and I seperated June 2006. Should I file taxes myself or let an expert do it for me?

Question

I've always done the taxes myself. He isn't paying child support or anything like that, and I live in the marital house with 2 of our 3 kids. (the oldest is 18 and on her own) I'm working 2 jobs to make ends meet. I was going to file "head of household" There are divorce papers that were filed in January.

I should also add that the oldest just turned 18 in January, and still lived with me last year. I was supporting her AND her boyfriend until they found a place of their own, so I pretty much had my hands full as far as expenses. I just wanted to add that, because I will be filing using all 3 kids as exemptions.

Answer 1

If you have the time, visit irs.org and find a list of all companies that will do your taxes for free (your income will determine if you qualify). It's fast, easy, and you can have your refund electronically deposited into your savings account. If you owe taxes, you can print out your entire return and then mail a check with it. You might say this sounds too good to be true... but these companies, including HR Block, are being compensated by our federal government... so they're not exactly working for free afterall.

Answer 2

As long as you didn't live together at any time, even one night, after the end of June, you'd be allowed to file as head of household as long as you are providing over half the cost of keeping up the home where the kids are living with you. And yes, as the custodial parent, you can claim the kids as dependents.

Your return probably shouldn't be complicated, so if you've done your taxes before, you should be able to do them this year too.

Answer 3

You will have two options and you can still file taxes yourself. Even though you are separated, you are still considered married for the tax year of 2006. You could feasibly file as joint and if a refund is involved, then you and your ex could come to an amicable agreement and have it split between two banking accounts (new feature for 06). The other option is, if you were separated for at least six (continuous) months last year, you file as Head of Household, since you are supporting the two children; then he would be on his own to file.

Answer 4

You can file HoH if you lived apart from your estranged spouse for ALL of the last half of 2006 and maintained a home for one or more dependent children. If he moved out in June, you may well meet that test.

You can still file a joint return if you wish. That's your call, though.

Unless you have an unusually complex tax situation, there's no need for "expert" assistance. If you've always done them yourself, you already know how to do it; only your filing status has changed and that's not enough to waste $$$ on professional assistance.