Every year many people decide to break up. A drastic decision that requires you to arrange a lot together. Especially if you are getting a divorce and have children living at home. Although it may not be on your mind, it is also important to consider the tax matters and allowances that you have to arrange. To help divorced parents with this, the Tax and Customs Administration has listed five frequently asked questions and answers.
Many parents who are divorcing or separating struggle to manage their tax affairs based on their new situation. The tax authorities can help you with this. 'Do you want to move on, but not with each other' is the campaign that helps parents with children during their divorce. With the personal divorce checklist, you can clearly identify which taxes and allowances you should consider. Also for divorcees with children living at home. The Tax and Customs Administration answers five frequently asked questions on this subject.
Table of Contents
Of course, tax is not the most important thing to arrange properly when you get a divorce. If you have children, it is important that you manage to arrange the divorce in a good way so that your children have as little grief and burden of the divorce as possible.
If you want to read up on divorce and children, the books below are a good idea!
If you take care of the children after the divorce, you may be entitled to a discount on your income tax and allowances. Think of the income-related combination discount, childcare allowance, rent allowance and the child budget.
In order to be eligible, you often have to meet a number of conditions. For example, with the income-related combination discount, your child is younger than 12 years old, you have to work and you will earn more than 5,153 euros in 2021.
The benefits to which you are entitled depend, among other things, on your income, whether you are a co-parent and whether you pay or receive spousal maintenance. The Tax and Customs Administration recommends that you carefully check which allowances you are or are not entitled to.
Do you want to apply for or change benefits after the divorce and do you have children? First arrange that your ex-partner is no longer an allowance partner and therefore no longer counts towards your allowance.
Do you opt for co-parenting? In that case, the children live alternately with you and your ex-partner after the divorce and you share the costs for upbringing and living expenses. More than a quarter of parents with children living at home opt for co-parenting.
See here what you need to arrange when you become a co-parent and what this means for your allowances.
Will your financial situation change as a result of the divorce? Then it is wise to adjust your provisional assessment and allowances on time. For example, consider a change in your income, a new (allowance) partner, the number of childcare hours and your new living situation. This prevents you from paying too much every month or getting too much back. You should therefore notify us of any changes to your provisional assessment as soon as possible. You can adjust your provisional assessment online in My Tax Authorities in four steps. You can do this for your allowances via My allowances.
Former partners may be obliged to support each other after the breakdown of a marriage or registered partnership. This is called partner alimony. Do you receive alimony? Then you pay tax on this. Do you pay alimony? Then you can deduct this on your tax return. The deduction of spousal maintenance will be reduced in the coming years. For incomes from € 68,507, the partner alimony paid is deductible from 1 January 2021 at a maximum of 43%. Have you applied for a postponement and do you still have to file a tax return for 2020? The partner alimony paid was deductible in 2020 at a maximum of 46%.
In the event of a divorce, spousal maintenance can have consequences for your provisional assessment and allowances for the children, such as the childcare allowance. You should therefore report changes in your financial situation in good time via My Tax Authorities and My Allowances. Another tip:engage an advisor and record the agreements made properly.
Are the children going to live with you alone? Then your ex-partner pays child support. If the children go to live with your ex-partner alone, you pay child support. It is also important in the case of child maintenance that the agreements made about this are properly recorded. Consider the amount of alimony and when the payment will be made. This can be done in a parenting plan. Good to know:child support is not a deductible item. It is also not seen as income. This means that you do not declare the amount you receive or pay for child support in your tax return.
Often people break up over the course of a year. You can choose to file your tax return as tax partners that entire year. This has the advantage that you can divide the income and deductible items one last time favorably. Any division is also allowed if you get divorced and have children, as long as the total comes to 100%. Keep in mind that the distribution of the assets and the deductible items can influence the amount of the allowances and other income-related schemes.
Do you decide to remain tax partners in the year of the divorce? Then it is advisable to file a digital tax return together. This prevents you from forgetting to fill in something or from entering the details of, for example, your ex-partner incorrectly. Most of the details of both of you are already known in the online declaration. For example, data about the home, mortgage and savings.
Are you unable to file a tax return together while you are tax partners? No problem, then you can also file a declaration on your own. You will then still need your ex-partner's income data and deductible items.
Do you choose not to file your tax return as tax partners? Then you can file the tax return on your own after the divorce, even if you have children. Please note:in that case you can no longer apportion the income and deductible items.
Want to know more?
For more information about tax matters and divorce, go to belastingdienst.nl/scheiden and complete the personal divorce checklist.
