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Recapture Worksheet

California Differences - Divorce and Separation

California conforms to federal law as it existed on January 1, 2015, with specific significant differences, so most of the TCJA changes, including the treatment of alimony as nondeductible by the payer and nontaxable to the recipient for post-2018 divorce decrees, won’t apply for California purposes absent conforming California legislation. For the years California continues to treat alimony from post-2018 decrees as taxable/deductible, adjustment to federal income is made on California Schedule CA.

ALIMONY RECAPTURE WORKSHEET

Use only if divorce or separation agreement was entered into before 2019 and has not been modified to adopt the TCJA provision that alimony is not taxable and not deductible.

Recapture only applies to the first three post-separation years. Recapture may apply to part of the payments made in the first two post-separation years that are more than $15,000. Post-separation years begin the year alimony payments begin. Excess alimony payments are defined as the total of the excess payments in the first and second post-separation years. The excess amounts are reported as income (or deducted) in the third post-separation year.

CHECK ANY BOX THAT APPLIES:

  • Either spouse died in the first 3 years of alimony payments.
  • The alimony recipient remarried in the first 3 years of alimony payments.
  • The payments were "temporary support payments."
  • Payments fluctuate due to conditions beyond the payer’s control because the payments are based on a fixed part of business income.

IF ANY OF THE ABOVE BOXES IS CHECKED, THE TAXPAYER MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE RECAPTURE PROCESS.

TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION:
1. Payer:_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Payer's taxpayer ID number:....................      ______________________________________________________

3. Recipient:_________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Recipient's taxpayer ID number:..............                ________________________________________________

5. Date of first payment:..........................................................................................____/____/____

ALIMONY PAYMENTS:
6. Payments in first year...............................................……....................................... ________________

7. Payments in second year.........................................…….…...................................._________________

8. Payments in third year..............................................……......................................._________________

COMPUTATION OF RECAPTURE:
9. Statutory floor amount........................................………......................................         15,000

10. Add line 8 plus line 9............................................…….…...........................................       _____________

11. Line 7 less line 10, but not less than zero........................……….............................. __________________

12. Add lines 7 and 8...........................................…............................................ _________________________

13. Average payment 2nd and 3rd years - line 12 divided by 2.. _________________________

14. Line 9 plus line 13................................................…........ ________________________________

15. Line 6 less line 14, but not less than zero...........................………............. __________________________

16. ALIMONY RECAPTURE - line 11 plus line 15.....................……………........ __________________________

REPORTING:
PAYER: Report on alimony "received" line, but cross out word "received" and write in
              "Recapture." Enter social security number of recipient.

RECIPIENT: Report on alimony "paid" line, but cross out word "paid" and write in
               “Recapture.” Enter social security number of payer.

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