RELIEF FROM IRS SPOUSAL LIABILITIES
INTRODUCTION
There are
three types of relief from joint and several IRS tax
liabilities that include innocent spouse, separation
of liabilities and equitable relief. This
discussion will explore each of these options and will
explain the IRS injured spouse provisions that allow
for the recovery of confiscated refunds that were
applied to an obligation that your spouse is solely
responsible for.
INNOCENT
SPOUSE
Those
pursued for IRS spousal liabilities related to a jointly
filed tax return may be eligible for innocent spouse
relief if all of following conditions are met.
-
You
must be an individual pursued for taxes resulting
form an adjustment in the liability due to an
understatement of income or the overstatement of
deductions or credits on a joint return and you
did not know or have reason to know of the error due to manipulations of
your spouse at the time you signed the return.
-
Taking
into account all the facts and circumstances, it
would be unfair to hold you liable for the
understatement of tax.
-
You
did not substantially benefit from the
understatement of income or overstatement of
deductions.
-
You
must request relief within 2 years after the date
on which the Internal Revenue Service first began
collection activity against
SEPARATION
OF LIABILITIES
With this
remedy the total spousal tax liability including
interest and penalties are allocated between both
spouses based on the income and deductions
attributable to each individuals personal earnings and
assets.
-
The
liability must be the result of an adjustment due
to an understatement of income or the
overstatement of deductions or credits on a joint
return and you must not have known of the error
due to the manipulations of a spouse.
-
You
must either no longer be married to, legally
separated from or widowed by the individual with
whom you signed the joint return or you must not
have been a member of the same household for the
prior 12 months or anticipate the return of the
spouse with whom you signed the joint return.
-
The IRS
must not be able to prove that you and your spouse
transferred assets for the purpose of avoiding
taxes.
EQUITABLE
RELIEF
With this
remedy the IRS takes into account the totality of your
situation at the time the return was signed including
physical health, mental health, abuse experienced
during marriage, current financial condition, current
compliance and any other criteria that may deem
collection against you as inappropriate.
-
The
liability must be the result of an adjustment due
to an understatement of income or the
overstatement of deductions or credits on a joint
return or due to an underpayment.
-
You
must not be qualified for either Innocent Spouse
or Separation of Liability relief.
INJURED
SPOUSE
If you
filed a joint return and all or part of your share of
an overpayment (refund) was applied against your
spouse's past due separate State or Federal tax
liability, child support, spousal support, federal
debt (such as student loans) you may seek to recover
your share of confiscated refunds. To be
considered an injured spouse the refunds must be
confiscated from a joint return where you:
-
Received
income from any source.
-
Made
payments through withholdings or estimated tax
payments.
-
Included
the income received and tax payments on the joint
spousal return.
Note: Many
States have comparable provisions
OUR
SERVICES
When
presenting an argument for innocent spouse, separation
of liability or equitable relief if you Say
the wrong thing, your done! Therefore,
we recommend that you seek the assistance of a
reputable and competent counsel and discontinue any
personal contact. We welcome the opportunity to
analyze your specific circumstances to determine
program eligibility and identify available alternative
courses of action, when required. Our fees are reasonable and
our initial consultation is free.
OUR
PRIVACY POLICY
Our
organizational policies guarantee that "only"
contact initiated by you and required to complete your
innocent or injured spouse or to provide guidance
sought will occur at any time, now or in the future (Privacy
and Security Policies).
