OnCourse Tax

The decree divides the assets. The tax code sets their value.

Joint liabilities the IRS will still collect from you. Retirement dollars that are worth less than they look. A refund taken for someone else's debt. We put numbers on all of it, before you sign if we can, after if we must.

Attorneys: send a matterI'm going through this

Same number, different money

Pre-tax 401(k)
Taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal. Nets about 65 to 75 cents per dollar.
Roth IRA
Already taxed. Nets a dollar per dollar.
Brokerage account
Original basis follows it. Embedded gain is taxed when sold.
The house
Up to $250K of gain excluded per person. Timing of the sale changes who gets the exclusion.

If you are the one going through it

Three things go wrong with taxes in divorce, and all three are preventable if someone looks before the decree is signed.

A joint balance you didn't know about

Transcripts show every joint year, every balance, and every notice, including the ones that went to an address you no longer live at.

Trading a taxed dollar for an untaxed one

The property division analysis shows the after-tax value of each asset so the split that looks equal actually is.

Being held to your ex's tax problem

Innocent spouse relief exists for exactly this. It is a real application with a real standard, and the IRS grants it far more often when it is prepared well.

For family law attorneys

You negotiate the settlement. We tell you what each piece is worth after tax, what the IRS will actually do with the joint liability, and what the decree has to say for the dependency and support provisions to hold up.

  • Pre-decree tax review

    Before the property settlement is negotiated: what joint tax liabilities exist, what is unfiled, and who the IRS will pursue.

    • Transcripts for both spouses for every open year (with each spouse's authorization)
    • Joint balances, unfiled years, and audit activity identified
    • Statute dates per year
    • Written summary for the attorney with allocation and payment options the IRS will honor

    This is the diagnostic, run for a divorce. The IRS is not bound by a decree that allocates a joint liability, so the summary says what the IRS will actually do.

    $1,697

  • Property division tax analysis

    Two assets with the same value on the balance sheet are rarely worth the same after tax. This is the after-tax comparison before anyone signs.

    • After-tax value of each major asset: pre-tax retirement, Roth, brokerage with embedded gain, the home under the 121 exclusion, business interests
    • Basis carryover under section 1041 explained per asset
    • QDRO and retirement-split tax treatment
    • Dependency, filing status, and support-payment tax effects for the year of divorce and after

    $1,697

  • Innocent spouse relief

    A joint return created a liability you did not know about or cannot fairly be held to.

    • Form 8857 with full supporting statement
    • Relief type chosen and argued: innocent spouse, separation of liability, or equitable relief
    • IRS correspondence and the non-requesting spouse's response handled
    • Appeal where warranted

    $3,297

  • Injured spouse allocation

    Your refund was taken for a debt that belongs only to your spouse or former spouse.

    • Form 8379 prepared and filed
    • Refund share calculated and documented

    Priced as one hour. Does not require the diagnostic.

    $497

Direct-bill at the partner rate or client-bill at retail; both are explained on thereferral desk page. We work for one spouse. If both need help, we refer the second to another practitioner.

Bring the tax question in before the numbers are final.

Two weeks from authorization to a written review the attorney can negotiate from. Fixed fee, published above.

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Divorce and tax questions

The decree says my ex pays the tax debt. Why is the IRS still coming after me?
Because the IRS was not a party to your divorce. A joint return makes both spouses fully liable for the whole balance, and a state court order allocating it between you binds only the two of you. The IRS can collect all of it from whichever spouse is easier to reach. Your remedy against your ex is in family court; your remedy against the IRS is innocent spouse relief, if you qualify, or a resolution of the balance.
Is $300,000 in a 401(k) worth the same as $300,000 in home equity?
No. The retirement account has never been taxed, so the recipient nets roughly 65 to 75 cents on the dollar when it comes out. Home equity up to $250,000 of gain (or $500,000 for a couple selling before the divorce is final) can be excluded from tax entirely. A brokerage account carries its original basis to the recipient under section 1041, so embedded gains come with it. The property division tax analysis puts an after-tax number on each asset before anyone signs.
What is the difference between innocent spouse and injured spouse?
Innocent spouse relief (Form 8857) asks the IRS to relieve you of a liability on a joint return, because of your former spouse's unreported income or improper deductions, or because holding you to it would be inequitable. Injured spouse allocation (Form 8379) gets back your share of a refund that was applied to a debt that is only your spouse's, such as their back child support or their pre-marriage tax balance.
Who claims the children?
The custodial parent by default, measured in overnights, regardless of what the decree says, unless the custodial parent signs Form 8332 releasing the claim. A decree that alternates years works only if that form is actually signed each year. We put this in writing for the attorney so the decree language matches what the IRS will accept.
When should the attorney bring you in?
Before the financial disclosures are final. A pre-decree tax review ($1,697) finds joint liabilities, unfiled years, and audit activity while they can still be negotiated. The property division analysis ($1,697) belongs in the same window. Innocent spouse ($3,297) is usually after.