Tax Withholding & Estimated Tax

When you become divorced or separated, you will usually have to file a new Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with your employer to claim your proper withholding allowances. If you receive alimony, you may have to make estimated tax payments.

If you do not pay enough tax either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you will have an underpayment of estimated tax and you may have to pay a penalty. If you do not pay enough tax by the due date of each payment, you may have to pay a penalty even if you are due a refund when you file your tax return.

For more information, get Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.

Joint estimated tax payments. If you and your spouse made joint estimated tax payments for 2001 but file separate returns, either of you can claim all of your payments, or you can divide them in any way on which you both agree. If you cannot agree, you must divide the payments in proportion to your individual tax amounts as shown on your separate returns for 2001.

If you claim any of the payments on your tax return, enter your spouse's or former spouse's social security number in the space provided on the front of Form 1040 or Form 1040A. If you were divorced and remarried in 2001, enter your present spouse's social security number in that space. Also enter your former spouse's social security number, followed by "DIV" to the left of line 60, Form 1040, or line 38, Form 1040A.

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