INNOCENT SPOUSE RELIEF

Responsible for tax burden you never knew you had?

In a marriage, you trust your spouse with your finances; you file your taxes jointly. When he or she says that you do not owe anything, or you owe very little, you believe it. Then, when the IRS sends demands for unpaid taxes, interest and penalties, you are devastated. Now you are in the desperate situation where you are held responsible for tax burden caused by a spouse, or ex-spouse, or you never even knew you had. In such a case, you may be an “Innocent Spouse” and may not be liable for those taxes if you meet the following criteria:

If you filed your taxes jointly.
If your spouse or former spouse did not report all of your income and deductions correctly.
If no fraud was committed between you and your spouse.
If you could not know that there was an issue.
Your spouse left you in a position where you cannot fairly be held responsible for his or her actions.

The first thing you should know about these relief options is that you must file for relief within 2 years of the date when the IRS first attempted to collect tax from you. There are three types of filings under this program:

Innocent Spouse Relief – Provides relief from additional taxes you owe if your spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly or claimed improper deductions or credits.
Separation of Liability Relief – Provides an allocation of additional taxes owed by you and your spouse, or ex-spouse, because items were not reported properly on a joint return.
Equitable Relief – Applies when you do not qualify for innocent spouse relief or separation of liability relief. You may qualify for equitable relief if the correct amount of tax was reported on your joint return but the tax remains unpaid and was due to your spouse’s, or ex-spouse’s, income.
If you want to learn more about the relief options available to you, reach out to us at the Tax Solutions Attorneys. We are excited to help you.