Are divorce legal fees tax deductible?

Unfortunately, most of the fees associated with your divorce are not tax-deductible. However, some portions such as those related to any tax advice related to your divorce are deductible.

Fees for Tax advice. The time and fees your attorney charges for any type of tax planning research or advice to you on items related to property transfers, retirement plan issues and dependency exemptions for the children, are deductible. For example, there are tax considerations related to the division and distribution of monies from retirement accounts. The time your attorney spends analyzing the tax ramifications and advising you, would be deductible. Important tip – make sure you have your attorney specify in his bill which portion is deductible and what portion is nondeductible (typically this is one third to one half of the total cost)- most attorneys will not make this allocation if you don’t ask.

Another avenue for deduction is fees incurred to collect alimony. This deduction is available for the original proceeding to secure alimony, as well as later proceedings to increase alimony or to collect past-due alimony