Income Tax Questions Regarding Innocent Spouse Relief

If your spouse has received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service informing them that all or part of their income tax refund may be withheld to fulfill the obligations of a financial debt, you may have some income tax questions regarding innocent spouse relief. The actual Department of Treasury has a particular unit referred to as the “Financial Management Service” which is directly responsible for issuing tax refunds. In conjunction with the Congress of the United States, a program was developed call the “Treasury Offset Program”.

This program may intercept a refund to cover child support obligations, state taxes, and even debts from a Federal agency. Many often have several income tax questions when they find that their spouse is subjected to this type of withholding. In this helpful and informative guide, you will receive answers to the most common income tax questions regarding innocent spouse relief.

If you file an income tax return that is considered to be “Joint”, Federal law states that both you, as well as your spouse, hold a responsibility in paying the debt. Many have income tax questions that surround the topic of accountability and the previous debt owed by their spouse.

There are actually many different types of relief that a spouse with no previous debt can qualify for. The first type of relief is called “Equitable”. This immediately followed by “Separation of Liability” and as mentioned in this guide, “Innocent Spouse Relief”.

If you have found that your income tax return will be or has been affected by Federal withholding related to your spouse, it is important to know that there are answers to all of your income tax questions. If you do not have an accountant, and do taxes yourself, you may find the answers to your income tax questions at the website that the IRS has online.

The most common income tax questions surrounding innocent spouse relief is directly related to the qualifications that make an individual free from being held responsible for the debt. In order to qualify for this relief option, there are three specific requirements. These are:

You must have filed a return that is considered to be “Joint” with your spouse.

Upon filing the income tax return, you claim the debt was unknown to you.

The last requirement may void out the claim that the debt was unknown to you. You may know about the debt that your spouse has, but it would not be considered to be “fair” to hold you accountable for that particular debt. An example includes past due obligations directly related to child support.

If you have further income tax questions regarding innocent spouse relief, you may refer to the publication on file through the IRS that is identified as number “971” and is actually called “Innocent Spouse Relief”. Many individuals confuse “Innocent Spouse Relief” with “Injured Spouse Relief”.

It is common for many who qualify as an “Injured Spouse” to discover their income tax questions are not answered with the “971” publication. If you have income tax questions that you feel pertain to “Injured Spouse Allocation”, please refer to the topic on the IRS website named “203”, or the form number “8379” for more information.

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Income Tax Questions Regarding Innocent Spouse Relief

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