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Tax Blog

Do I qualify for IRS Innocent Spouse Relief?

Many married taxpayers choose to file a joint tax return because of certain benefits this filing status allows them. When filing jointly, both taxpayers are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to tax, interest, or penalties that arise from the joint return even if they later divorce. Joint and several liability means that each taxpayer is legally responsible for the entire liability. Thus, both spouses on a married filing jointly return are generally held responsible for all the tax due even if one spouse earned all the income or claimed improper deductions or credits. This is also true even if a divorce decree states that a former spouse will be responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint returns. In some cases, however, a spouse can get relief from being jointly and severally liable. This relief is know as IRS innocent spouse relief.

Types of Relief

There are three types of relief from the joint and several liability of a joint return:

  1. Innocent Spouse Relief provides you relief from additional tax you owe if your spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly or claimed improper deductions or credits.
  2. Separation of Liability Relief provides for the separate allocation of additional tax owed between you and your former spouse or your current spouse you’re legally separated from or not living with, when an item wasn’t reported properly on a joint return. You’re then responsible for the amount of tax allocated to you. Refunds aren’t available under separation of liability relief.
  3. Equitable Relief may apply when you don’t qualify for innocent spouse relief or separation of liability relief for something not reported properly on a joint return and generally attributable to your spouse. You may also qualify for equitable relief if the amount of tax reported is correct on your joint return but the tax wasn’t paid with the return.

Note: You must request innocent spouse relief or separation of liability relief no later than 2 years after the date the IRS first attempted to collect the tax from you. For equitable relief, you must request relief during the period of time the IRS can collect the tax from you. If you’re looking for a refund of tax you paid, then you must request it within the statutory period for seeking a refund, which is generally three years after the date the return is filed or two years following the payment of the tax, whichever is later. See Publication 971, Innocent Spouse Relief for additional restrictions on refunds available under innocent spouse relief, equitable relief, and relief based on community property laws.

Innocent Spouse Relief

You must meet all of the following conditions to qualify for innocent spouse relief:

  • You filed a joint return that has an understatement of tax that’s solely attributable to your spouse’s erroneous item. An erroneous item includes income received by your spouse but omitted from the joint return. Deductions, credits, and property basis are also erroneous items if they’re incorrectly reported on the joint return. Sometimes this is a result of an IRS audit.
  • You establish that at the time you signed the joint return you didn’t know, and had no reason to know, that there was an understatement of tax; and
  • Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the understatement of tax.

Erroneous Items

Erroneous items are either of the following.

  • Unreported income. This is any gross income item received by your spouse (or former spouse) that is not reported.
  • Incorrect deduction, credit, or basis. This is any improper deduction, credit, or property basis claimed by your spouse (or former spouse).

The following are examples of erroneous items.

  • The expense for which the deduction is taken was never paid or incurred. For example, your spouse, a cash-basis taxpayer, deducted $10,000 of advertising expenses on Schedule C of your joint Form 1040 or 1040-SR, but never paid for any advertising.
  • The expense does not qualify as a deductible expense. For example, your spouse claimed a business fee deduction of $10,000 that was for the payment of state fines. Fines are not deductible.
  • No factual argument can be made to support the deductibility of the expense. For example, your spouse claimed $4,000 for security costs related to a home office, which were actually veterinary and food costs for your family’s two dogs.

Separation of Liability Relief

To qualify for separation of liability relief, you must have filed a joint return and must meet one of the following requirements at the time you request relief:

  • You’re divorced or legally separated from the spouse with whom you filed the joint return
  • You’re widowed, or
  • You haven’t been a member of the same household as the spouse with whom you filed the joint return at any time during the 12-month period ending on the date you request relief

You must also not have had actual knowledge of the item that gave rise to the deficiency at the time you signed the joint return, unless you can show that you signed the return under duress.

Equitable Relief

If you don’t qualify for innocent spouse relief or separation of liability relief, you may still qualify for equitable relief. To qualify for equitable relief, you must establish that under all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the deficiency or underpayment of tax. In addition, you must meet the other requirements listed in Publication 971, Innocent Spouse Relief. See Revenue Procedure 2013-34 PDF for information about how the IRS will take into account abuse and financial control by the nonrequesting spouse in determining whether equitable relief is warranted.

If you have a tax liability and do not think you should be liable but that your spouse should, you may qualify for IRS innocent spouse relief. Contact a tax attorney to discuss your case.