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When a married couple files a joint tax return, each spouse is \u201cjointly and severally\u201d liable for the full amount of tax on the couple\u2019s combined income. Therefore, the IRS can come after either spouse to collect the entire tax \u2014 not just the part that\u2019s attributed to one spouse or the other. This includes any tax deficiency that the IRS assesses after an audit, as well as any penalties and interest. (However, the civil fraud penalty can be imposed only on spouses who\u2019ve actually committed fraud.)<\/p>\n
Innocent spouses<\/strong><\/p>\n In some cases, spouses are eligible for \u201cinnocent spouse relief.\u201d This generally involves individuals who were unaware of a tax understatement that was attributable to the other spouse.<\/p>\n To qualify, you must show not only that you didn\u2019t know about the understatement, but that there was nothing that should have made you suspicious. In addition, the circumstances must make it inequitable to hold you liable for the tax. This relief is available even if you\u2019re still married and living with your spouse.<\/p>\n In addition, spouses may be able to limit liability for any tax deficiency on a joint return if they\u2019re widowed, divorced, legally separated or have lived apart for at least one year.<\/p>\n Election to limit liability<\/strong><\/p>\n If you make this election, the tax items that gave rise to the deficiency will be allocated between you and your spouse as if you\u2019d filed separate returns. For example, you\u2019d generally be liable for the tax on any unreported wage income only to the extent that you earned the wages.<\/p>\n The election won\u2019t provide relief from your spouse\u2019s tax items if the IRS proves that you knew about the items when you signed the return \u2014 unless you can show that you signed the return under duress. Also, the limitation on your liability is increased by the value of any assets that your spouse transferred to you in order to avoid the tax.<\/p>\n An \u201cinjured\u201d spouse<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to innocent spouse relief, there\u2019s also relief for \u201cinjured\u201d spouses. What\u2019s the difference? An injured spouse claim asks the IRS to allocate part of a joint refund to one spouse. In these cases, an injured spouse has all or part of a refund from a joint return applied against past-due federal tax, state tax, child or spousal support, or a federal nontax debt (such as a student loan) owed by the other spouse. If you\u2019re an injured spouse, you may be entitled to recoup your share of the refund.<\/p>\n Whether, and to what extent, you can take advantage of the above relief depends on the facts of your situation. If you\u2019re interested in trying to obtain relief, there\u2019s paperwork that must be filed and deadlines that must be met. We can assist you with the details.<\/p>\n Also, keep \u201cjoint and several liability\u201d in mind when filing future<\/em> tax returns. Even if a joint return results in less tax, you may choose to file a separate return if you want to be certain of being responsible only for your own tax. Contact us with any questions or concerns.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2019<\/em><\/p>\n <\/body> When a married couple files a joint tax return, each spouse is \u201cjointly and severally\u201d liable for the full amount of tax on the couple\u2019s combined income. Therefore, the IRS can come after either spouse to collect the entire tax \u2014 not just the part that\u2019s attributed to one spouse or the other. This includes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-individual-tax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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