Does Your Spouse Owe Back Taxes? You Just Might Be Liable
Wondering about tax liability?
If you have recently gotten married if you are like many you may have neglected to find out your partners IRS tax status. After all, it really isn’t the most romantic subject.
When two people wed, in the eyes of the IRS they become potentially one collectible entity. To avoid taking on your new wife or husbands’ old financial baggage you need to be proactive.
If you plan on filing as married filing jointly. Whatever tax is owed on either of your behalf’s will be taken from any tax refund due to you. That means regardless of which one of you owes the debt your taxes will both go to paying off the debt amount.
If you don’t want to pay your spouse’s tax bill there are some precautions, you need to take.
To avoid having your refund offset to pay your spouse’s back taxes, you may want to consider filing separate returns. With a married filing separate return, you and your spouse are only responsible for your own returns. There is no joint liability.
If you have gotten yourself into a situation where you did not agree to pay back these delinquent taxes, you may be considered under the innocent spouse rule. Those situations include:
- Receiving a notice that the IRS is increasing your taxes or demanding you pay back taxes due to your spouse’s unreported income or failure to file tax returns
- If you signed a tax return with your spouse thinking the taxes were being paid
- If your spouse forged your signature on tax returns
- If you received little/no benefit from your spouse’s income and fully supported yourself and or them
- You were separated from or divorced from your spouse during the tax year
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may qualify for an elimination or reduction of your taxes under the Innocent Spouse rule.
The IRS will likely be skeptical of your innocence from your spouse, so proving your innocence can be complicated, which is why you should work with Naples and Fort Myers tax relief attorney Todd D. Babbitt. Call him today to get a free consultation to see if you are eligible for the Innocent Spouse rule to get tax relief. www.babbittaxlaw.com 239-300-9492.