IA-CPA LLC
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Services
  • Contact us
  • Links
    • Pay
  • Entity Services

Injured or Innocent Spouse Tax Relief

3/29/2012

1 Comment

 
Injured or Innocent Spouse Tax Relief 

You may be an injured spouse if you file a joint tax return and all or part of your portion of a refund was, or is expected to be, applied to your spouse’s legally enforceable past due financial obligations.

Here are seven facts about claiming injured spouse relief:

1. To be considered an injured spouse; you must have paid federal income tax or claimed a refundable tax credit, such as the Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit on the joint return, and not be legally obligated to pay the past-due debt.

2. Special rules apply in community property states. For more information about the factors used to determine whether you are subject to community property laws, see IRS Publication 555, Community Property.

3. If you filed a joint return and you're not responsible for the debt, but you are entitled to a portion of the refund, you may request your portion of the refund by filing Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.

4. You may file form 8379 along with your original tax return or your may file it by itself after you receive an IRS notice about the offset.

5. You can file Form 8379 electronically. If you file a paper tax return you can include Form 8379 with your return, write "INJURED SPOUSE" at the top left of the Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ. IRS will process your allocation request before an offset occurs.

6. If you are filing Form 8379 by itself, it must show both spouses' Social Security numbers in the same order as they appeared on your income tax return. You, the "injured" spouse, must sign the form.

7. Do not use Form 8379 if you are claiming innocent spouse relief. Instead, file Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief. This relief from a joint liability applies only in certain limited circumstances. However, in 2011 the IRS eliminated the two-year time limit that applies to certain relief requests. IRS Publication 971, Innocent Spouse Relief, explains who may qualify, and how to request this relief.

1 Comment

    Ivan Alvarez, CPA

    Ivan is a certified public accountant and sole practitioner in the North Texas area. Ivan draws on his expertise from a variety of positions including as an external auditor with a large national firm and from his personal experiences helping small businesses lower their taxes, improve their profits, and manage their cash flow.

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Evie Alvarez, EA

    Evie is an enrolled agent and tax practitioner with a passion for individual taxation. 

    Archives

    January 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011

    Categories

    All
    Audit
    Business Deduction
    Business Expenses
    Business Taxation
    Business Use Of Home
    C-Corp
    Charitable Contributions
    Charitable Deductions
    Construction Contractors
    Corporate Policy
    Deductions
    Employee Reimbursement
    Entertainment Expense
    Estimated Taxes
    Fraud
    Individual Taxation
    Innocent Spouse Relief
    Internal Controls
    Irs
    Irs Audits
    Meal Expense
    Non-Taxable Income
    Refunds
    S-Corp
    Self-Employed
    Small Business
    Sole Proprietor
    Taxable Income
    Taxation
    Tax Credits
    Tax Deductions
    Tax Payments

    RSS Feed

Home

Who We Are

Services

Free Tips

107 N. Lakeview Drive, Lake Dallas, TX 75065 
​8330 LBJ Freeway, Suite B692, Dallas, TX 75243