Innocent Spouse Relief
Qualify for Innocent Spouse relief under IRS law & found out what IRS innocent spouse rule is to get tax relief if your spouse did wrong on your taxes.
Have you always relied on your spouse to prepare your tax returns? Have you received a letter from the IRS about back taxes due that surprised you? Were you aware of a windfall of income but your spouse didn’t tell you the correct amount?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, you may be able to get relief from the penalties and the taxes due by your spouse so that your credit is not ruined and you can get on with your financial life.
Provisions for Innocent Spouse Relief & Injured Spouses
Sometimes life is full of surprises. You just got a letter from the IRS demanding additional taxes from your last year’s tax return.
You have always relied on your spouse to prepare your returns. After all, your spouse has an important job in finance.
Worst of all, you do not understand how the IRS thinks you did not report an additional $50,000 of income. Now the IRS wants $20,000 for back taxes, penalties, and interest.
In this situation and many others, you can apply for innocent or injured spouse relief. (Injured spouse means financially injured, not physically injured, in this case.)
First, you must meet certain conditions to qualify for this relief.
We can help you determine if innocent spouse relief will work for you.
We will review your situation to determine if there was an unreported income item that you didn't know existed.
Your spouse might have hidden additional income from you.
Or the situation just might not be fair to hold you responsible for the additional tax.
The IRS will review your application for innocent spouse relief and will determine if there were situations where:
- There was an erroneous deduction claimed by your spouse.
- You had no actual knowledge of the erroneous deduction or item when you signed the return.
- It would be unfair to hold you liable for the tax once the facts & circumstances are known.
- You have not transferred or received property from your spouse to avoid payment to a third party or to pay taxes.
We understand that is a difficult time for you. There are many things to consider.
We are here to help you determine if you meet the requirements for innocent spouse relief.
How We Can Help With Innocent Spouse Relief
If you feel you might be in a situation where the IRS is trying to collect money from you and it is your spouse that should have the debt, then we may be able to help.
Here are ways we can help an innocent spousal relief or injured spouse with tax debt:
- We can consult with you to assess your situation.
- We can explain the options you have for applying for tax relief.
- We can act as your representative to the IRS to handle your case.
- We can complete the forms necessary to apply for relief.
- We can access your IRS file to understand the records they have about your situation.
- We can negotiate your case with the IRS officer.
To get started with us, please contact us to arrange a convenient time to discuss your specific situation.
We will handle your situation in a discreet and confidential manner.
Your privacy is important to us.
WHAT IS INNOCENT SPOUSE RULE?
It is said, the IRS holds each spouse responsible to pay the tax. If no one pays the tax debt, the IRS proceeds to find after each of you individually for the entire tax debt.
It does not matter if you experience the middle of a divorce proceeding or are already divorced, you are still liable for the tax debt.
Does the IRS let you off the hook if a state court says you are not responsible for the tax debt? Unfortunately, no.
The IRS is federal jurisdiction. It ignores state proceedings when collecting or assessing federal income tax.
You must meet all of the following conditions and complete the innocent spouse form to qualify for innocent spouse relief.
You filed a joint return which has an understatement of tax due to erroneous items, defined below, of your spouse (or former spouse).
You establish that at the time you signed the joint return you did not know and had no reason to know, that there was an understatement of tax.
Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the understatement of tax.
You and your spouse (or former spouse) have not transferred the property to one another as part of a fraudulent scheme.
A fraudulent scheme includes a scheme to defraud the IRS or another third party, such as a creditor, ex-spouse, or business partner.
