What qualifies for injured spouse?

You may be an injured spouse if you file a joint return and all or part of your portion of the overpayment was, or is expected to be, applied (offset) to your spouse's legally enforceable past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, or a federal nontax debt, such as a ...

How do you qualify for injured spouse relief?

Who is considered the injured spouse?

An injured spouse is an individual who has filed jointly with a spouse and received no refund because their spouse owed a debt that is being collected by either IRS or the Bureau of Fiscal Service and some or all of their refund was applied to that debt.

What qualifies for innocent spouse relief?

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.

What's the difference between innocent spouse and injured spouse?

Answer: From the viewpoint of the IRS, an injured spouse and an innocent spouse are quite different. You may qualify as an injured spouse if your joint income tax refund was held back and applied toward your spouse's past due liability for certain debts, including defaulted student loans, taxes, or child support.

Injured Spouse Relief - When to Use it and How It Works

Can the IRS deny injured spouse?

Can the IRS Deny an Injured Spouse Claim? Yes, the IRS may determine that someone filing Form 8379 is ineligible for an injured spouse allocation, or that they are not entitled to as much as they believe.

Can the IRS come after me for my spouse's taxes?

Can the IRS come after you if your spouse owes taxes? Yes, but only if you filed a married filing jointly tax return. The status of your marriage also dictates whether you're liable for your partner's back taxes.

How far back can you file injured spouse?

You need to file the form for every tax year in which your refund was affected and for which you want to obtain injured spouse relief. You have three years from the due date of the original return (including extensions) or two years from the date that you paid the tax that was then offset, whichever is later.

What is a non liable spouse?

A spouse who filed a joint return, but was not responsible for the erroneous item that caused the tax debt, may be able to claim innocent spouse relief.

What is not a type of innocent spouse relief?

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.

Should I file injured spouse or married filing separately?

The injured spouse should file Form 8379 either with the married couple's jointly filed return (with "Injured Spouse" in the upper left corner), amended joint tax return, or by itself if the joint return has already been filed. A separate Form 8379 must be filed for each tax year.

Can you file injured spouse if you didn't work?

No, she cannot be an "injured spouse" if she has no income. The refundable credits are based on your earned income as well as your qualifying child, so they are not "her" credits or even partly her credits.

Why does injured spouse take so long?

Why does it take so long? Because injured spouse must be hand processed and anything hand processed in the IRS takes time - a lot of time.

Can the IRS take my refund if my husband owes child support?

Yes. His refund can possibly be garnished for past due child support. You may be able to file an Injured Spouse claim on Form 8379.

What happens if you marry someone who owes back taxes?

If you are married to someone who owes back taxes, you can file a Form 8379, which allows you to retain your own refund even if you filed jointly. If the IRS accepts your claim as an injured spouse, you will have access to your own tax refund without having it go toward your spouse's debt.

What is the innocent spouse rule for taxes?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) usually holds that both signers of a joint tax return are individually liable for the entire tax due, plus penalties and interest. Under the innocent spouse rule, a spouse may claim not to be jointly liable if he or she did not know about errors or erroneous items on a joint return.

Do I have to give my ex my tax returns?

A: The answer is “maybe” and the first thing to review would be your existing court order. If it calls for production of tax returns, etc., then that is the controlling order. If not, she has no per se right to your financial documents, and the court rules state that a party has to ask to open post-trial discovery.

What can offset my tax refund?

Your tax return may show you're due a refund from the IRS. However, if you owe a federal tax debt from a prior tax year, or a debt to another federal agency, or certain debts under state law, the IRS may keep (offset) some or all your tax refund to pay your debt.

Can I sue my ex for my stimulus check?

Did your spouse or ex-spouse take your COVID Economic Impact Payment in 2020? If so, you may be able to claim your economic impact payment (EIP) as a credit or refund on your 2020 federal tax return.

How long does it take to get a tax refund with an injured spouse claim?

Generally: If you file Form 8379 with a joint return electronically, the time needed to process it is about 11 weeks. If you file Form 8379 with a joint return on paper, the time needed is about 14 weeks. If you file Form 8379 by itself after a joint return has already been processed, the time needed is about 8 weeks.

Do you have to file injured spouse every year?

Yes - If you still owe money to the IRS and you want to protect your wife's part of any refund she needs to file a Form 8379 - Injured Spouse Allocation. The form can be included with the return or submitted separately.

How does Injured spouse Allocation Work?

Form 8379 is filed by one spouse (the injured spouse) on a jointly filed tax return when the joint overpayment was (or is expected to be) applied (offset) to a past-due obligation of the other spouse. By filing Form 8379, the injured spouse may be able to get back his or her share of the joint refund.

Can I file single if I am married?

If you are married and living with your spouse, you must file as married filing jointly or married filing separately. You cannot choose to file as single or head of household. However, if you were separated from your spouse before December 31, 2020 by a separate maintenance decree, you may choose to file as single.

Can you split IRS debt in divorce?

Tax Debt is Treated Like any Other Debt in a Divorce

If the divorce settlement or the state laws suggests that property and debt be divided equally among the separating couple, both the parties will also have to share the joint tax debt and must pay their share.

When I get married will my husband's debt become mine?

In common law states, debt taken on after marriage is usually treated as being separate and belonging only to the spouse who incurred them. The exception are those debts that are in the spouse's name only but benefit both partners.