Innocent Spouse Claim Had Merit

Tax Court Rules Husband’s Innocent Spouse Claim Had Merit.

After the IRS audited a jointly filed tax return, it found that $15,000 in retirement distributions weren’t reported and assessed additional taxes. The husband filed an innocent spouse claim arguing that he didn’t have actual knowledge about the distribution and that his ex-wife had deceived him by not telling him about the distributions from her retirement account. The court held that even though the husband should have known about the distribution, the absence of actual knowledge meant that his innocent spouse relief claim should be accepted. Bishop, TC Summ. Op. 2018-1.