Alex and Andrew divorced in 2017 after a tumultuous 10-year marriage. They have four children – Abby, a 19-year-old student who is away at college, Daniel, who is 15, Jackson, who is 12, and Anna, who is 10. Alex and Andrew agree to shared joint custody of the children. Alex and Andrew live in Austin, and both anticipate living in Travis County for the foreseeable future because it is a requirement of the divorce.
The divorce decree was signed in 2017, and assigned Jackson and Anna to Alex for tax purposes; Andrew was assigned Abby and Daniel for tax purposes. In 2018, Alex earned a 24,000 salary from her job as a teacher and also received $36,000 in spousal support and $12,000 in child support. Alex spent $6,000 supporting Abby in college during 2018.
Alex and Andrew owned a home during their marriage that is currently valued at $750,000 and is subject to a $300,000 mortgage. The home was purchased 8 years earlier for $450,000. Alex was allowed to live in the home after the divorce, but can no longer afford to live there, so she would like to sell it, but is afraid she cannot pay the tax liability. This year, she paid $18,000 in property taxes on the home and had to take out a loan to make the payment. Alex also received some securities in the divorce. The securities were purchased 5 years ago for $15,000. She believes she could sell them for $45,000.
Alex is confused on the preparation of her 2018 taxes and would like to know how the divorce has affected her tax obligations, and specifically how each of the mentioned items should be treated for tax purposes.