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Question: I’m currently separated from my spouse, who owns his own business, and we are in the process of getting a divorce. I have always filed jointly with my husband and now the IRS is sending me notices stating I owe $65,000. I have no idea how they are coming up with this amount as my spouse said he was always taking care of this and paying the IRS what was owed.
Answer: You may be able to avoid this liability entirely under the IRS’s Innocent Spouse Relief rules. Under federal law if an income tax return is signed by both husband and wife, both spouses are 100% responsible for the taxes owed. However, the law permits special consideration where a spouse cannot be held responsible for the underreporting of income or the understatement of tax that are attributable to the other spouse.
If you meet the criteria, you may be able to apply for innocent spouse relief. If you feel you were deceived by your spouse or tricked into signing a return you thought was correct this will help your case too. There are many other ways you may be eligible for relief under the IRS’s innocent spouse rules, and we can help sort this out and determine the proper path forward for a permanent resolution.
