Costs of Getting a Divorce You cannot deduct legal fees and court costs for getting a divorce.But you may be able to deduct legal fees paid for tax advice inconnection with a divorce and legal fees to get alimony. In addition,you may be able to deduct fees you pay to appraisers, actuaries, andaccountants for services in determining your correct tax or in helpingto get alimony. TaxTip: Fees you pay may include charges that are deductible and chargesthat are not deductible. You should request a breakdown showing theamount charged for each service performed. You can claim deductible fees only if you itemize deductions onSchedule A (Form 1040). Claim them as miscellaneous itemizeddeductions subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit. For moreinformation, get Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. Fees for tax advice.You can deduct fees for advice on federal, state, and local taxesof all types, including income, estate, gift, inheritance, andproperty taxes. If a fee is also for other services, you must determine and provethe expense for tax advice. The following examples show how you canmeet this requirement. Example 1.The lawyer handling your divorce consults another law firm, whichhandles only tax matters, to get information on how the divorce willaffect your taxes. You can deduct the part of the fee paid over to thesecond firm and separately stated on your bill, subject to the 2%limit. Example 2.The lawyer handling your divorce uses the firm's tax department fortax matters related to your divorce. Your statement from the firmshows the part of the total fee for tax matters. This is based on thetime used, the difficulty of the tax questions, and the amount of taxinvolved. You can deduct this part of your bill, subject to the 2%limit. Example 3.The lawyer handling your divorce also works on the tax matters. Thefee for tax advice and the fee for other services are shown on thelawyer's statement. They are based on the time spent on each serviceand the fees charged locally for similar services. You can deduct thefee charged for tax advice, subject to the 2% limit. Fees for getting alimony.Because you must include alimony you receive in your gross income,you can deduct fees you pay to get or collect alimony. Example.You pay your attorney a fee for handling your divorce and anadditional fee that is for services in getting and collecting alimony.You can deduct the fee for getting and collecting alimony, subject tothe 2% limit, if it is separately stated on your attorney's bill. Nondeductible expenses.You cannot deduct the costs of personal advice, counseling, orlegal action in a divorce. These costs are not deductible, even ifthey are paid, in part, to arrive at a financial settlement or toprotect income-producing property. However, you can add certain legal fees you pay specifically for aproperty settlement to the basis of the property you receive. Forexample, you can add the cost of preparing and filing a deed to puttitle to your house in your name alone to the basis of the house. You cannot deduct fees you pay for your spouse or former spouse,unless your payments qualify as alimony. (See Payments to a thirdparty in the earlier discussion of the general rules foralimony.) If you have no legal responsibility arising from the divorcesettlement or decree to pay your spouse's legal fees, your paymentsare gifts and may be subject to the gift tax.