Joint Tax Returns Can Expose Financial and Marital Infidelity
Ruth Houston
April 08, 2009
A significant amount of financial infidelity is usually exposed during the tax season when couples file their joint income tax returns. So if you suspect your spouse of infidelity, and the two of you file jointly, be alert for hidden clues while filing your joint income tax return. Your 1040 Form, the attached schedules, and the financial documents used to prepare you taxes may contain numerous signs of financial or marital infidelity. But knowing what to look for is the key.
Salary Discrepancies Can Expose an Affair
For example, line 7 on your 1040 Form will alert you to any salary discrepancies. Wages, salaries, and tips are recorded here. Compare the figure on this line with your spouse´s attached W-2 Form.
Since overtime is a common excuse used by cheating spouses to account for the time they spend on their extramarital affairs, salary discrepancies here can be a major telltale sign.
Does the figure on line 7 reflect the amount of overtime your spouse claims to have worked last year? Or is this figure a lot less than you expect? Consider the three cases below.
The Case of Tammy and Max
Max worked lots of overtime last year, often pulling a double shift. But Tammy noticed Max´s salary was almost the same as his salary the year before. Tammy later found out the "overtime story" was a just cover for the affair that Max was having with a woman on his job.
The Case of Chad and Angela
Chad was surprised to see that Angela´s salary was considerably lower than he thought it would be. She was always shopping for new designer clothing and jewelry, going to day spas for pampering, and she took expensive vacations with her girlfriends 2 or 3 times a year. A $26,000 salary couldn´t possibly cover all those things. Looking deeper into the matter, Chad discovered that Angela had a lover who was supplementing her income and showering her with expensive gifts.
The Case of Elaine and Angela
Did your spouse make a lot more money than he or she led you to believe? This could reflect a raise or bonus they didn´t tell you about. What did they do with the extra money? On what – or on whom was the money spent? Elaine found that her husband Dan used his year-end bonus to buy his mistress a diamond ring.
Other Information Your Tax Forms Can Reveal
Your tax forms can reveal all kinds of other incriminating financial information -- transactions made without your knowledge or consent, hidden sources of income, property or other assets you didn´t know your spouse had, secret bank accounts, and more.
Has your spouse been liquidating assets behind your back in preparation for a divorce? Is he paying alimony to an ex-wife you didn´t even know he had? Is his business really doing as poorly as he led you to believe? Or is it showing a healthy profit? Careful scrutiny of your tax forms may yield other important financial clues.
FREE Tip Sheet on Where and What to Look for on Your 1040 Form
This is just a sample of the kind financial information you can find if you closely examine the documents associated with filing your joint income tax form. A line-by-line review of your 1040 Form can reveal other hidden clues about your spouse´s financial affairs. However, knowing what to look for is the key. To find out where to look, and what to look for on your 1040 Form, request a FREEcopy of the tip sheet entitled "The Telltale 1040 Form." E-mail InfidelityAdvice@gmail.com with "Telltale 1040 – ac" in the subject line.
Other Signs of Financial Infidelity
Telltale signs of infidelity will never appear in isolation. Where there´s one sign of financial infidelity, there are usually corroborating signs of all kinds just waiting to be found. Again, knowing what to look for is the key. Not every sign of financial infidelity is tax-related. Is He Cheating on You? – 829 Telltale Signs has a chapter on Financial Affairs that lists 52 financially-related signs of infidelity. For a FREE tip sheet with 9 signs of financial infidelity taken from this chapter, e-mail InfidelityInfo@gmail.com with "9 financial signs-ac"in the subject line.
To interview infidelity expert Ruth Houston about other ways joint income tax returns can expose both financial and marital infidelity, call 718 592-6039 or e-mail InfidelityExpert@gmail.com
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