Innocent Spouse Issue Tax Attorneys in Fairfax, VA

Joint returns

You filed a joint return with your spouse, but the tax isn’t paid. Or you filed jointly and later the IRS determines that there was an understatement of income or erroneous deductions, and you now owe more tax. And to make it worse, you are separated, divorced, or widowed. The innocent spouse rules can help.

Joint liability — and possible relief

Generally, when married taxpayers file jointly, they are “jointly and severally” liable for the full amount of any tax due for that year. However, because of a change in the Internal Revenue Code in 1998, there are three different kinds of “innocent spouse relief” that may be available. Two forms of relief apply only to tax resulting from subsequent changes to your joint return, not to the amount of tax shown on the return when it was filed. However, the third form of innocent spouse relief, the so-called “equitable relief,” may apply even to the amount originally shown on the return. It is even possible under the right circumstances for a spouse who is still married to get relief under the rules if the facts conform to the statutory requirements.

The analysis of whether you are entitled to one of the three forms of innocent spouse relief is complicated. But we can help.

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Tara Revisited — The New “Innocent Spouse” Rules

The New “Innocent Spouse” Rules — An Update on “Equitable Relief”, published by the Maryland Society of Accountants in “The Freestate Accountant” as part of Mr. Haynes’ series “Dealing with the IRS Collection Division.”

IRS – Information for Innocent Spouses