What is an Innocent Spouse?
Married couples frequently file taxes together. Occasionally one spouse knows nothing about the tax filings and finds himself responsible for the tax liability of the other spouse. In this case, he may be able to claim innocent spouse relief.
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Married Filing Jointly Liability
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Married couples generally file their tax returns as married filing jointly to take advantage of the benefits of filing together. The downside, however, can be that each spouse is then liable for the entire amount owing to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) even if they earned none of the money and did not prepare the tax return.
Innocent Spouse Relief
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The Internal Revenue Service allows a spouse to be relieved of the tax liability for a joint return under very limited circumstances. One type of relief is called the "innocent spouse relief". Aside from filing a joint return, you must also prove that at the time you signed the tax return you did not know, and had no reason to know, that there was an understatement of tax. The IRS must also decide that under the circumstances it would be unfair to hold you responsible for the money owed.
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Filing
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An innocent spouse claim for relief must be filed within two years of the tax becoming due. You must file IRS Form 8857 as well as a statement explaining why you feel you qualify for the relief. The form can downloaded from the IRS website.
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References
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