[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-302314-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":80,"doc-detail-302314-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","a-quick-start-guide-to-reading-tax-returns-read-online-free","A Quick Start Guide to Reading Tax Returns - read online free","","A practical quick-start guide explains how family lawyers can read IRS tax returns, especially Form 1040 and its related schedules, to uncover clues relevant to divorce-related financial determinations. It emphasizes reviewing multiple years to spot trends and changing income or deduction patterns, cross-referencing disclosures, and detecting potential hidden assets or unreported income. It also highlights how inconsistencies between loan applications and tax returns can affect case strategy and settlement outcomes, with a pro tip on obtaining documentation through subpoenas.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/a-quick-start-guide-to-reading-tax-returns-read-online-free/302314/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-quick-start-guide-to-reading-tax-returns-read-online-free/302314.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Alex Sinclair","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-25","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why does the guide compare reading tax returns to eating a live frog?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It stresses that tax returns should not be avoided or stared at; instead, they should be approached directly so the reader can extract useful information quickly.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What is the benefit of reviewing multiple years of tax returns?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"It helps identify trends, changes, and deviations in income and deductions that may signal when divorce preparation began and whether patterns shifted over time.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What conflicts should family lawyers look for when comparing loan applications and tax returns?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The guide recommends finding discrepancies between a spouse’s 1040 and financial statements provided for loan or mortgage applications, since differences in disclosed income or net worth can have major courtroom impact.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},302314,1790193473,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,88,93,98,103,108,113,117,122],{"id":84,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":89,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},18,30,"letters",{"id":118,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":123,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":125},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":127},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":128,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":22,"category_id":114,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":140,"read_time":26},1099523882182,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","A Quick Start Guide to Reading Tax Returns  \nBY MILES MASON SR.  \nM  \nark Twain once said,“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest ofthe day.” Reading tax returns is like eating a live frog. Don’t stare at it. Just take a bite.  \nWhy should a family lawyer love reading tax returns? Because doing so wins divorce cases. (Promise. Cross-examination is the best!) Divorcing spouses expect us to know a fair amount about tax returns.  \nIn homage to Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer,” reading tax returns is great fun even for the math averse. Like Sawyer whitewashing the fence, this author asked a few friends for help.  \nLearn to spot the most obvious ways of hiding assets. Fit the puzzle together by reviewing Form 1040s line-by-line. Spend the time to extract clues to hidden income in every tax form, schedule, and report. The return on this investment can be huge. Not all income is taxable, but all income is needed for child support determinations as well as for spousal support purposes.  \nReview Multiple Years of Tax Returns  \nKarolina Calhoun, CPA, ABV, CFF, vice president of Mercer Capital, Memphis, Tennessee, explains: “Reviewing multiple years of tax returns and accompanying supplemental schedules may provide helpful information on trends and/or changes and could indicate the need for potential forensic investigations.”  \nUse the tax returns to gain insight into the couple’s married lifestyle. Taxpayer patterns may have a self-serving function, but deviations from those patterns can be equally useful to the family lawyer. Changes over time tell a more detailed story than any single year snapshot. Is there a change of pattern with income and deductions in the period leading up to the divorce? Did a spouse’s income decrease while expenses increased? A spouse’s divorce preparation could begin years before a petition is filed, possibly long before the other spouse becomes aware of an imminent breakup.  \nIRS Form 1040. Start with the filed Form 1040 income tax returns. Note the tax status (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, qualified widower with dependent children) .  \n18 FAMILY ADVOCATE [www.shopaba.org](www.shopaba.org)  \nCalhoun adds:  \nForm 1040 provides a general understanding of a taxpayer’s financial status and can be a guide to finding additional information about one’s finances. It can serve as a starting point to get a picture of an individual’s (or couple’s) income(s), assets and liabilities, and lifestyle. Form 1040 is supplemented with additional schedules and documentation which lend detail and insight into one’s lifestyle and financial matters.  \nAlong with 1040s are additional forms, schedules, worksheets, records, and notes. Look for hidden incomegenerating assets, undisclosed transactions, unreported and underreported income, deflated asset valuation, and all sorts of shenanigans, especially in anticipation of divorce.  \nConflicts Between Loan Applications and Tax Returns  \nPeople sometimes make honest mistakes on their taxes and with recordkeeping. Other times, people embellish and manipulate to hide income. Some taxpayers utilize every possible way to transfer income back and forth between their individual 1040s and their business returns. Some manipulations are lawful, others are illegal.  \nHere’s the best-case scenario. The opposing party’s 1040 notably conflicts with the personal financial statement she provided to a bank or mortgage company as part ofa loan application. The motives are opposing. The taxpayer’s motive is to pay no more tax than legally required, which means recording as little income as possible and deducting as much as possible. On a financial statement’s income and net worth disclosures, the debtor’s motive is to list every last dime of income to show as high net worth as possible and obtain the desired loan or mortgage at the best interest rate.  \nThere is always a reason for why those differ. With conflictin","cbCaiqFImDrPGytb","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqFImDrPGytb","pdf",336475,6,"English","# Review Multiple Years of Tax Returns\n## Use IRS Form 1040 as the Starting Point\n# Conflicts Between Loan Applications and Tax Returns\n## Examine All 1040 Schedules\n## Look at Schedule A—Itemized Deductions","[{\"question\":\"Why does the guide compare reading tax returns to eating a live frog?\",\"answer\":\"It stresses that tax returns should not be avoided or stared at; instead, they should be approached directly so the reader can extract useful information quickly.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the benefit of reviewing multiple years of tax returns?\",\"answer\":\"It helps identify trends, changes, and deviations in income and deductions that may signal when divorce preparation began and whether patterns shifted over time.\"},{\"question\":\"What conflicts should family lawyers look for when comparing loan applications and tax returns?\",\"answer\":\"The guide recommends finding discrepancies between a spouse’s 1040 and financial statements provided for loan or mortgage applications, since differences in disclosed income or net worth can have major courtroom impact.\"}]","A Quick Start Guide to Reading Tax Returns - read online free | PDF",1789791789]