Need legal help with your Innocent or Injured Spouse Relief case?
Innocent spouse relief is something that we handle quite frequently. We are here to help you with your case. First, we need to discuss your tax debt case to see what are the best options for you.
What is Innocent Spouse Relief?
U.S. tax code and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations provide for relief from paying tax, penalty and interest if your spouse (or former spouse) improperly reported items or omitted items on your tax return. In general terms, the tax, interest, and penalties that qualify for relief can only be collected from your spouse (or former spouse). However, you are jointly and individually responsible for any tax, interest, and penalties that do not qualify for relief. The IRS can collect these amounts from either you or your spouse (or former spouse). Innocent spouse relief only applies to individual income or self-employment taxes. For example, Household Employment taxes, Individual Shared Responsibility payments, and business taxes and trust fund recovery penalty for employment taxes are not eligible for innocent spouse relief.
The IRS will calculate the tax you are responsible for after you file IRS Form 8857. You are not required to figure this amount. But if you wish, you can calculate it yourself. See How To Allocate the Understatement of Tax, within Publication 971 (PDF).
Qualifications for Innocent or Injured Spouse Relief
You must meet all of the following conditions to qualify for innocent or injured spouse relief:
- You filed a joint return which has an understatement of tax due to erroneous items, defined below, of your spouse (or former spouse).
- 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.
- Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the understatement of tax.
- You and your spouse (or former spouse) have not transferred property to one another as part of a fraudulent scheme. A fraudulent scheme includes a scheme to defraud the IRS or another third party, such as a creditor, ex-spouse, or business partner.
Who Filed and Prepared Your Joint Tax Returns?
In order to take advantage of tax savings, married couples usually file joint tax returns. Occasionally, the joint income tax return is prepared by either the husband or the wife and the other spouse just signs the tax return. Sometimes, the spouse who prepared the joint return, intentionally hides important financial facts from the other spouse and as a result the joint tax return understates the couple’s income or is otherwise inaccurate. Because each spouse signs the joint tax return, husband and wife are both responsible for any taxes owed on the joint return.
Which Spouse is Liable for the Tax Return?
Occasionally, years later and usually when the couple has already divorced, the spouse who was not involved in the preparation of the joint tax return receives a tax bill and learns from the IRS that he or she owes taxes relating to the joint tax return. All the usual tax debt collection tools at the disposal of the IRS including tax lien, tax levy or seizure and garnishment of wage, salary or bank account may be used by the IRS to collect on this tax debt.
The IRS Innocent or Injured Spouse Rule
The Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code) contains a provision known as the “innocent spouse” rule which provides relief to the spouse who was not involved in the preparation of the joint return and who did not know about the tax irregularity or any unreported income. This provision in the Tax Code is sometimes referred to as the “6015(b) relief” or “innocent spouse protection rule“. Proving to the IRS that you qualify for the innocent spouse relief is no easy matter. The Tax Code provides for specific conditions that must be satisfied before the IRS can provide liability relief under the “innocent spouse” rule.
How can Mehdiyoun Law Firm help you?
We will negotiate with the IRS on your behalf and help you reduce or eliminate your tax liability. If you recently received an IRS notice of tax delinquency and believe that you may qualify as an “innocent spouse”, contact Kamyar Mehdiyoun, IRS tax dispute attorney in Montgomery County Maryland; a tax law firm specializing in tax controversy.
Contact us right away for your FREE consultation with our tax attorney. We’re here to provide you with innocent or injured spouse tax debt help.