David Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU wrote:
- quote -

See the responses in another post on this, David. The
definition of alimony does not include a requirement that
the two parties be divorced. Or... look below:

For purposes of this section--
(1) In general
The term "alimony or separate maintenance payment" means any
payment in cash if--
(A) such payment is received by (or on behalf of) a spouse under
a divorce or separation instrument,
(B) the divorce or separation instrument does not designate such
payment as a payment which is not includible in gross income
under this section and not allowable as a deduction under section
215,
(C) in the case of an individual legally separated from his
spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance, the
payee spouse and the payor spouse are not members of the same
household at the time such payment is made, and
(D) there is no liability to make any such payment for any period
after the death of the payee spouse and there is no liability to
make any payment (in cash or property) as a substitute for such
payments after the death of the payee spouse.

(2) Divorce or separation instrument
The term "divorce or separation instrument" means--
(A) a decree of divorce or separate maintenance or a written
instrument incident to such a decree,
(B) a written separation agreement, or
(C) a decree (not described in subparagraph (A)) requiring a
spouse to make payments for the support or maintenance of the
other spouse.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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David Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU wrote:
- quote -

True...... ; but court ordered separate maintenance is,
and many use the terms interchangeably in early stages of
marital disengagement.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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"A.G. Kalman" <glendale202-mtm[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
- quote -

They aren't even divorced yet, so alimony isn't even an
option.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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David Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU wrote:

- quote -

Sure you can, David. You don't necessarily have to be divorced to
pay alimony or collect alimony. Lot's of folks pay alimony as
soon as they separate from their spouses and well in advance
before finality of the divorce.

--

Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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Khirurg wrote:

- quote -

Your $22,000 distribution is taxable to you and subject to
early withdrawal penalties if you were under age 59 1/2 at
the time of withdrawal. The only conceivable way a payment
to a separated or divorced spouse can be deductible is if it
was alimony. This payment does not sound like alimony. It
sounds like a property settlement.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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"Khirurg" <fs_khirurg[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

The next time you get divorced ask these questions before
you act, not after. You could have made a nontaxable
transfer of IRA assets as part of your divorce agreement.
If your ex then chose to use it, the tax liability would
have been hers. However, the way you did things, you are
stuck with the tax, and since the payment wasn't alimony,
you have no deduction.

Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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Khirurg wrote:

- quote -

You gave your estranged wife (the divorce is not final) a
GIFT of $10,000. This neither taxable to her nor deductible
by you. To compound your problems you have to file as
Married Filing Separate if she does not want to file a Joint
return with you. You CANNOT file as Single until your
divorce is final.

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Khirurg wrote:

- quote -

Unfortunately, the deed is done, and so will be the tax
consequences.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
Sun 30 Jan 2005

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"Khirurg" <fs_khirurg[at]yahoo.com> wrote

- quote -

It's too late for that.

- quote -

The horse is already out of the barn. You should have
researched that issue long before you took out the SEP-IRA
funds.

--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia

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"Khirurg" <fs_khirurg[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Not unless you were required to as part of a divorce decree.
And if you were, you botched it royally as it SHOULD have
been a tax-free transaction.

- quote -

Well she's not your ex-wife if you're still married to her,
is she? You can't deduct alimony to someone you're still
married to.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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"Khirurg" <fs_khirurg[at]yahoo.com> wrote

- quote -

First, this is one more classic example of "after the fact"
tax planning. The time to have dealt with this was in March
of 2004.

Second, there is no deduction for transfers of assets while
married.

Remember: After-the-Fact tax planning is an exercise in
futility!

Dick

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My wife and I separated in December 2003, and she and my son
moved back to Europe. She is a permanent resident in the US.

In March 2004, I voluntarily withdrew $22,000 from my
retirement SEP-IRA account to give her $10,000 in cash. My
investment compnay withheld the required federal and state
withholdings and now when I file my taxes for 2004 I have to
pay the penalty and taxes on it.

I wanted to know if I can report the $10,000 as income given
to my ex-wife so I won't have to pay taxes on it. Is this
possible? Any other ideas on how to reduce my tax burden?

We filed for divorce in Virginia in Dec 2004 and it should
be finalized by the end of February 2005.

My earned income for the year otherwise was about $32,000.
Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Charles

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