My husband and I are currently in the middle of a divorce. He had a previous wife in which he filed his 2009 taxes with. We were married in June 2010. He received a notice saying he never filed his 2010 or 2011 taxes. In an effort to avoid whatever.. he filled forms out with random numbers for 2010 and 11 and mailed them in. I now have received notice that I now currently owe about $2500 to the IRS and he over $20,000. I have never owed any taxes in my life, and have not worked since approximately 2009 anyway. Is there any way that this can be cleared up without me paying anything? I don not owe it, and it is no fault of myself==========>>>>>>>>>>>In reality, many married taxpayers choose to file a joint tax return because of certain benefits this filing status allows that generally reduce the income taxes you are required to pay. When you file a joint return, the law generally makes both you and your spouse responsible for the entire tax liability even if you later divorce or separate. However, luckily, the IRS created certain provisions for innocent spouse tax relief where it would be unfair to hold one spouse liable for the tax debt created by another which may allow you to escape the tax, penalties and interest acquired from a joint tax return that you filed with your spouse or ex-spouse. For injured spouse relief provision, if you filed a joint return and all or part of your share of the overpayment was, or is expected to be, applied against your spouse’s past-due debts, you may be able to obtain relief when you have made, or reported tax payments, claimed a refundable tax credit or you are not legally obligated to pay the past-due amount. In the case of innocent spouse relief provision, you can be relieved of responsibility for paying tax, interest, and penalties if your spouse or former spouse improperly reported items or omitted items on your tax return. Generally, the tax, interest, and penalties that qualify for relief can only be collected from your spouse or former spouse.You must meet all of the following conditions to qualify for innocent spouse relief; you filed a joint tax return; there is an understated tax on the return that is due to erroneous items of your spouse / former spouse; you can show that when you signed the joint return you did not know, and had no reason to know, that the understated tax existed;Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the understated tax. Under equitable relief situation, this is a mechanism of the innocent spouse provisions where you can qualify if you meet neither the innocent spouse relief nor separation of liability relief provisions. If you do not qualify for relief under the innocent spouse relief or separation of liability provisions, the IRS will then determine if you qualify for tax relief under this final provision. |