Does Your Joint Tax Return Contain Evidence of Financial Infidelity?
Ruth Houston
April 10, 2007
Financial infidelity often accompanies marital infidelity. Since these two types of infidelity are closely linked, finding evidence of one usually reveals the existence of the other.
A significant amount of financial infidelity is discovered during the tax season by couples who file joint income tax returns. So if you’re married, filing jointly, and suspect your spouse of infidelity, now is the time to look for telltale signs.
Pay close attention to the information on your completed income tax return, and you might find evidence of financial infidelity. A line by line examination of your 1040 form could reveal hidden clues about your spouse’s financial affairs. Here are some things to be alert for:
Salary Discrepancies
Line 7 ( wages, salaries, tips, etc) will alert you to any salary discrepancies. Look at the figure on this line and compare it with your spouse’s attached W-2 Form.
Working overtime is an excuse commonly used by cheating spouses to hide their extramarital affairs. Does line 7 reflect all the overtime your spouse claimed to have worked last year? or is this figure substantially less than you would expect?
Max worked lots of overtime last year, often pulling a double shift. Instead of the sizeable increase in salary his wife Tammy expected to see, his salary was almost the same as the year before. Tammy later found out the “overtime story” was a just cover for the affair Max was having with a woman on his job.
Chad was surprised to see that Angela’s salary was considerably lower that he expected it to be. Especially since she constantly bought new clothing and jewelry, went to day spas to be pampered, and took expensive vacations (without him) 2 or 3 times a year. Looking closer into the matter, Chad discovered that Angela had a wealthy lover who was supplementing her income and showering her with expensive gifts.
Did your spouse make more money than he or she led you to believe? This could reflect a raise or bonus they neglected to tell you about. What happened to the excess funds? 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.
Transactions Made Behind Your Back
Cleaning out joint bank accounts is a common tactic used by cheaters who are planning to leave their spouse or ask for a divorce. Line 30 on the 1040 Form shows penalties incurred for early withdrawals from CD’s (Certificates of Deposit), money markets or similar accounts. The figure on this line prompted Dorothy to discreetly check the balance on all their joint accounts. Over 2/3 of the money was missing, yet Craig had never said anything to Dorothy about withdrawing funds from these accounts. Dorothy found this odd, but decided to say nothing and give Craig the benefit of the doubt. Six months later Craig left Dorothy for another woman.
Other Sources of Income
Unemployment compensation received during the year must be included on Line 19. Lenita was taken aback to see figures on this line because she had no idea her husband Tyrik had been unemployed for several months last year. Every morning he left the house at his usual time, and returned home as usual at the end of the day. This raised several questions in Lenita’s mind. If Tyrik had lost his job or had been laid off from work, where had he spent his time all day? Lenita hired a private investigator who found that that Tyrik, 31, had been spending time with a wealthy businesswoman, 20 years his senior. Tyrik had even accompanied this woman on a week-long vacation which he told Lenita was a business trip paid for by his job.
Secret Bank Accounts
Taxable interest earned by the two of you last year should be reported on Line 8a. If the figure exceeds $1500, schedule B must also be attached. Are you familiar with each interest-bearing account that appears on Schedule B? Or did you find a secret bank account listed here that you didn’t know your spouse had?
Linda was furious at how she’d had to pinch pennies all year to make ends meet. Checking Schedule B, she found that Stanley had not one, but three substantial bank accounts he’d never told her about. She was even more outraged to find out later that one account was reserved exclusively to buy gifts for Stanley’s mistress.
Carefully Check Your 1040 Form
This is just a sample of what you can find if you scrutinize your 1040 Form. If you’re filing jointly, you should be familiar with everything on your joint income tax return. Nothing that appears there should come as a surprise. If you find unfamiliar information that contradicts what your spouse has told you about his or her financial affairs, the two of you need to have a serious talk.
Question Your Spouse
Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. If the answers are not forthcoming, consider it a warning sign. If your spouse becomes angry, defensive, evasive, or gives you a lot of double talk, you have reason to be concerned.
Other Signs of Financial Infidelity
If you find signs of financial infidelity while filing your joint income tax return, be aware that these signs seldom appear in isolation. Where there’s one sign, there are usually several others just waiting to be found. Knowing what to look for is the key. Familiarize yourself with the dozens of non-tax-related signs of financial infidelity. If you want to safeguard your finances, you can’t afford to be the last to know.
In Is He Cheating on You? – 829 Telltale Signs, the chapter on Financial Affairs lists 52 financially-related signs of infidelity. Despite the title, most of the signs apply to cheating women, as well as cheating men. For a FREE tip sheet which lists 9 signs of financial infidelity taken from this chapter, e-mail InfidelityInfo@gmail.com with “Financial-xac” in the subject line. For more information see the two articles on financial infidelity posted at www.InfidelityAdvice.com
About Ruth Houston:
Infidelity expert Ruth Houston is the founder of Infidelity Advice.com and the author of Is He Cheating on You? – 829 Telltale Signs, which documents practically every known sign of infidelity. Frequently called on by the media to comment on infidelity issues in the news, Ruth has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan, the New York Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the National Post, Macleans, iVillage, MSN Money, FinanceVisor.com, UPI, Reuters, and numerous other print and online media. Ruth has appeared as a guest on The Today Show, Good Day New York, 1010WINS, CNN, CN8, BBC, CBC, Ireland’s Late Late Show and over 320 other radio and TV talk shows worldwide. To interview infidelity expert Ruth Houston about financial infidelity call 718 592-6039 or e-mail InfidelityExpert@gmail.com
For more information about financial infidelity, visit http://www.InfidelityAdvice.com
A significant amount of financial infidelity is discovered during the tax season by couples who file joint income tax returns. So if you’re married, filing jointly, and suspect your spouse of infidelity, now is the time to look for telltale signs.
Pay close attention to the information on your completed income tax return, and you might find evidence of financial infidelity. A line by line examination of your 1040 form could reveal hidden clues about your spouse’s financial affairs. Here are some things to be alert for:
Salary Discrepancies
Line 7 ( wages, salaries, tips, etc) will alert you to any salary discrepancies. Look at the figure on this line and compare it with your spouse’s attached W-2 Form.
Working overtime is an excuse commonly used by cheating spouses to hide their extramarital affairs. Does line 7 reflect all the overtime your spouse claimed to have worked last year? or is this figure substantially less than you would expect?
Max worked lots of overtime last year, often pulling a double shift. Instead of the sizeable increase in salary his wife Tammy expected to see, his salary was almost the same as the year before. Tammy later found out the “overtime story” was a just cover for the affair Max was having with a woman on his job.
Chad was surprised to see that Angela’s salary was considerably lower that he expected it to be. Especially since she constantly bought new clothing and jewelry, went to day spas to be pampered, and took expensive vacations (without him) 2 or 3 times a year. Looking closer into the matter, Chad discovered that Angela had a wealthy lover who was supplementing her income and showering her with expensive gifts.
Did your spouse make more money than he or she led you to believe? This could reflect a raise or bonus they neglected to tell you about. What happened to the excess funds? 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.
Transactions Made Behind Your Back
Cleaning out joint bank accounts is a common tactic used by cheaters who are planning to leave their spouse or ask for a divorce. Line 30 on the 1040 Form shows penalties incurred for early withdrawals from CD’s (Certificates of Deposit), money markets or similar accounts. The figure on this line prompted Dorothy to discreetly check the balance on all their joint accounts. Over 2/3 of the money was missing, yet Craig had never said anything to Dorothy about withdrawing funds from these accounts. Dorothy found this odd, but decided to say nothing and give Craig the benefit of the doubt. Six months later Craig left Dorothy for another woman.
Other Sources of Income
Unemployment compensation received during the year must be included on Line 19. Lenita was taken aback to see figures on this line because she had no idea her husband Tyrik had been unemployed for several months last year. Every morning he left the house at his usual time, and returned home as usual at the end of the day. This raised several questions in Lenita’s mind. If Tyrik had lost his job or had been laid off from work, where had he spent his time all day? Lenita hired a private investigator who found that that Tyrik, 31, had been spending time with a wealthy businesswoman, 20 years his senior. Tyrik had even accompanied this woman on a week-long vacation which he told Lenita was a business trip paid for by his job.
Secret Bank Accounts
Taxable interest earned by the two of you last year should be reported on Line 8a. If the figure exceeds $1500, schedule B must also be attached. Are you familiar with each interest-bearing account that appears on Schedule B? Or did you find a secret bank account listed here that you didn’t know your spouse had?
Linda was furious at how she’d had to pinch pennies all year to make ends meet. Checking Schedule B, she found that Stanley had not one, but three substantial bank accounts he’d never told her about. She was even more outraged to find out later that one account was reserved exclusively to buy gifts for Stanley’s mistress.
Carefully Check Your 1040 Form
This is just a sample of what you can find if you scrutinize your 1040 Form. If you’re filing jointly, you should be familiar with everything on your joint income tax return. Nothing that appears there should come as a surprise. If you find unfamiliar information that contradicts what your spouse has told you about his or her financial affairs, the two of you need to have a serious talk.
Question Your Spouse
Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. If the answers are not forthcoming, consider it a warning sign. If your spouse becomes angry, defensive, evasive, or gives you a lot of double talk, you have reason to be concerned.
Other Signs of Financial Infidelity
If you find signs of financial infidelity while filing your joint income tax return, be aware that these signs seldom appear in isolation. Where there’s one sign, there are usually several others just waiting to be found. Knowing what to look for is the key. Familiarize yourself with the dozens of non-tax-related signs of financial infidelity. If you want to safeguard your finances, you can’t afford to be the last to know.
In Is He Cheating on You? – 829 Telltale Signs, the chapter on Financial Affairs lists 52 financially-related signs of infidelity. Despite the title, most of the signs apply to cheating women, as well as cheating men. For a FREE tip sheet which lists 9 signs of financial infidelity taken from this chapter, e-mail InfidelityInfo@gmail.com with “Financial-xac” in the subject line. For more information see the two articles on financial infidelity posted at www.InfidelityAdvice.com
About Ruth Houston:
Infidelity expert Ruth Houston is the founder of Infidelity Advice.com and the author of Is He Cheating on You? – 829 Telltale Signs, which documents practically every known sign of infidelity. Frequently called on by the media to comment on infidelity issues in the news, Ruth has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan, the New York Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the National Post, Macleans, iVillage, MSN Money, FinanceVisor.com, UPI, Reuters, and numerous other print and online media. Ruth has appeared as a guest on The Today Show, Good Day New York, 1010WINS, CNN, CN8, BBC, CBC, Ireland’s Late Late Show and over 320 other radio and TV talk shows worldwide. To interview infidelity expert Ruth Houston about financial infidelity call 718 592-6039 or e-mail InfidelityExpert@gmail.com
For more information about financial infidelity, visit http://www.InfidelityAdvice.com