Receiving Benefits for Innocent Spouse Relief

Filing for joint taxes with your spouse is a somewhat murky area in terms of determining who is liable for each particular obligation. Because you often share a mixture of common assets as well as personal assets, your taxes might be different from those of your spouse. In the event of a divorce, those obligations can become even more complicated.

According to Investopedia, innocent spouse relief is “a measure of relief built into the tax code that allows a person, if eligible, to avoid paying his or her spouse’s tax if it was reported incorrectly. The innocent-spouse rule applies to a spouse that can prove that he or she did not incur the tax bill and did not somehow benefit from the failure to pay.”

What Are the Qualifications for Innocent Spouse Relief?

In order to qualify for spousal tax relief, the non-delinquent spouse must be able to prove to the IRS that he or she was not the person that signed off on evasive tax maneuvers or was not the one to fail to comply with his or her tax obligations. In addition to providing the appropriate documentation to evidence their innocence, innocent spouses must be able to establish with reasonable certainty that they neither benefitted from the failure to pay taxes nor were they aware that such actions were taking place at the time.

The IRS list three different types of spousal tax relief from jointly filed returns. These are innocent spouse relief, separation of liability relief, and equitable relief.

Innocent Spouse Relief

This type of relief applied when a spouse or former spouse has incorrectly reported his or her income, claimed deductions or credits improperly, or failed to report his or her income altogether.

Separation of Liability Relief

If you and your spouse are currently separated or divorced but there was an improperly filed item in your former joint tax return, this relief will distribute the liability between you and your former spouse based on the amount for which you are responsible. To qualify for separation of liability relief, you must be legally separated or divorced from the spouse of the joint return, living in a different household from the spouse for at least a calendar year leading up to filing your application, or be a widow or widower.

Equitable Relief

If you submitted a correct tax report for a joint return but your spouse made an error on the joint return and the tax was not paid, you could qualify for equitable relief with the IRS.

There are some exceptions to the qualifications according to the state in which you reside. For residents of Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, you do not necessarily need to have filed jointly with your spouse to receive relief on community property taxes.

What is the Time Frame for Relief?

Generally speaking, starting from the date that the IRS has attempted to make a tax collection from you, there is a two year period during which you can apply to receive separation of liability relief, equitable relief, or innocent spouse relief. According to Forbes, the time frame for spousal relief may be subject to change in the future, “This issue of timing has become controversial. The statute itself seems to state the rule flatly, and the IRS regulations echo it. But the U.S. Tax Court has said the claims for equitable relief under Internal Revenue Code Section 6015–a kind of subset of innocent spouse claims–are different, and not so constrained. The IRS has gone on record to its attorneys instructing them to keep fighting this issue. That means there will probably be additional fisticuffs about timing and what claims are barred.”

Utilizing Outside Assistance

Marriage undoubtedly renders financial arrangements more complex, but finding a professional service to help you navigate the complexities associated with innocent spouse relief like 800Tax.com can be a helpful method of keeping your tax obligations in order. In the event of domestic violence or domestic abuse, requests for innocent spouse tax relief still require the IRS to contact the spouse being charged. While the innocent spouse’s personal information such as place of employment, address and current name are withheld, the IRS is under obligation to speak with the other spouse to verify any claims that are being made. In such cases, having outside assistance from a personal service to act as an intermediary is a way to ensure cases are handled swiftly and with the least possible interruption to the life of the spouse submitting the request.

How to Apply for Spousal Relief

If you meet the qualifications for spousal tax relief, you should submit IRS Form 8857 along with an attached statement which explains your particular situation and why it qualifies you for innocent spouse relief. For Spanish speakers, the IRS website includes a form in Spanish for your convenience. The completed form can be submitted by sending it to the IRS office via mail or faxing the materials to 855-233-8558. If you have any questions about how to apply for spousal relief then you should always contact an attorney that specializes in these matters.