Discussion:Innocent Spouse situation?
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Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> Innocent Spouse situation?
| 29 April 2008 | |
| Just had a spouse (wife) leave my office. Ugly scene. Need to check my understanding of innocent spouse relief.
Husband is self employed. Wife has W-2 income with lots of tax withheld. Now about $12K in tax is due--all from his contracting business. Wife wants to file jointly and claim innocent spouse relief, since none of the remaining liability is from her income. She refuses to file separately. Question: Can she file for innocent spouse relief now, with the return? Or does this innocent spouse only apply after the fact where the return is filed but not all the facts (child support, past bankruptcy, etc) were not known when the return was filed. Answer and / or other recommendations please. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| I think they can be filed with the return, and even efiled with it. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 29 April 2008 |
| I believe the correct term is 'Injured' spouse and the form is 8379. Innocent spouse can only happen after separation. IRSFixer will set me right if I am wrong. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| Form 8379 can be filed with the return when the injured spouse expects there is a refund which might be snagged by the IRS for back taxes, child support which the uninjured spouse is responsible for.
Form 8857 can be filed "after the fact", ie., the return is filed and later there is a subsequent audit or the IRS finds additional taxes due. In my opinion, neither situation applies in this case. Hence, the reason for my original post. I've researched but lack experience and am looking for someone experienced is these situations that can help me further. Any recommendations? Thanks much. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| I just had experience with the Injuried Spouse Allocation Claim Form 8379 efiling with the 1040. It can be done but inform your clients that it does take up to 12 weeks to get the refund. My efiling was accepted and the refund did arrive but it took 11 weeks. Hope this helps. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| Anchorman, you are absolutely correct, injured means "was not responsible" for the original debt, "innocent means "was not responsible for or did not know of" the additional income. Clearly this person does know and, if files a joint return, acknowledges responsibility for the income and thus the taxes by their signature. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| My bad. I didn't read the title closely enough, and was thinking of injured spouse, not innocent spouse. | |
| 29 April 2008 | |
| You must meet all of the following conditions to qualify for "innocent spouse relief."
(1) You filed a joint return, which has an understatement of tax, directly related to your spouse's erroneous items. Any income omitted from the joint return is an erroneous item. Deductions, credits, and property bases are erroneous items if they are incorrectly reported on the joint return. (2) You establish that at the time you signed the joint return you did not know, and had no reason to know, that there was an understatement of tax. (3) Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the understatement of tax. (4) You request relief no later than 2 years after the date the IRS first attempted to collect the tax from you. By definition, the spouse is NOT innocent. | |
| 30 April 2008 | |
| Agree that injured spouse and innocent spouse would not apply here. Why not file separately? | |
| 30 April 2008 | |
| Filing a Joint Return is the wrong decision at this point in the Divorce - I've been there and filed for relief as an "Innocent and Injured' spouse. | |
| 30 April 2008 | |
| WP might be jumping the gun a bit as Anchorman never mentioned a divorce. We had 3 wives ask to file for injured spouse this year due to their husbands' tax debt prior to marriage. None have any interest in a divorce - they just want their money. Different situation than this, but there might not be a pending divorce. | |
