IRS Injured Spouse Relief
IRS Injured Spouse Relief allows a married taxpayer to get their portion of a joint tax refund which the IRS would normally seize due to the past debt of their spouse.
What is IRS Injured Spouse Relief?
IRS Injured Spouse Relief is a provision that allows a married taxpayer to recover their portion of their spouse’s debt, which the IRS would normally seize to pay down past debt their spouse is solely liable for, such as child support arrears, unpaid taxes, or other federal and state offsets. This legal claim for the married injured partner’s relief operates under IRC Section 6402.
What You Need to Know About IRS Injured Spouse Relief
Injured Spouse Relief aids you in getting your portion of your federal tax refund if your IRS tax refund was taken (or is in jeopardy of being taken) due to your spouse’s past debts – aiding you in recovering your share of the IRS refund. IRS Injured Spouse Relief ensures that the IRS doesn’t allocate your portion of a joint refund to debts that are solely your spouse’s liability, such as child support arrearage, government debts, or student loan debt.
Benefits of IRS Injured Spouse Relief
- Get Your Refund: Your portion of the refund is prohibited from offsetting your spouse’s debts.
- Less Financial Stress: This relief ensures that your refund portion is returned to you so that the IRS does not confiscate your entire refund.
- Legal Security: The IRS will follow a transparent and lawful process to allocate your refund portion fairly.
Who Can Apply for IRS Injured Spouse Relief?
- Joint Filer Who Was / Would Be Injured: You must have filed a joint return where your portion of your refund either was or could be applied to obligations that are solely your spouse’s.
- Injured Income Earners: The injured married partner must have income AND paid taxes through withholdings or estimated tax payments.
- Affected by Spouse’s Debt: The debts must be the sole-responsibility of your spouse.
How Do I Apply for IRS Injured Spouse Relief?
- Submit Form 8379: You must file IRS Form 8379, either proactively when filing your tax return or within three years of the return date or two years from when the tax was paid.
- Include Supporting Documentation: Attach necessary documents which support the claims made on Form 8379.
- File Electronically or By Mail: You can e-file the form with the tax return from which you expect the refund to be seized or file it separately by mail.
IRS Injured Spouse Tips for Success
- Be Proactive: If you know your married partner has debts that the IRS may seize the refund to satisfy, file the form with your joint return.
- Complete the Allocation Carefully: Accurately allocate the maximum allowable IRS withholdings, credits, and deductions to the injured partner.
- Consult a Tax Professional: If you're unsure about the process, work with a tax expert like Pink Harbor, CPA, to ensure everything is accurate.
Who Can File IRS Injured Spouse?
A married partner who filed a joint tax return with their solely indebted spouse can file for IRS Injured Spouse Relief. The non-liable married partner must have earned income or paid taxes through withholdings, estimated tax payments, or refundable credits. The injured married partner cannot be co-liable for their partner’s offsetting debt.
What is the Difference Between IRS Injured Spouse and IRS Innocent Spouse?
What is IRS Injured Spouse Relief?
The difference between IRS Injured Spouse Relief and IRS Innocent Spouse Relief is that IRS Injured Spouse Relief allows the non-liable married partner to obtain their share of a joint refund, while IRS Innocent Spouse Relief holds harmless an innocent married partner from liabilities due to errors or fraud which was committed solely by their spouse on the married couple’s jointly filed tax return. Some examples of IRS Innocent Spouse Relief could be when a spouse, to no knowledge of the other spouse, fraudulently underreports income, takes erroneous deductions or credits, or forges the signature of their married partner.
What is the IRS Injured Spouse Rule?
There is no specific IRS Injured Spouse Rule in either the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) or the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM). The legal claim for the married injured partner’s relief operates under IRC Section 6402.
Who is the Injured Spouse (For IRS Purposes)?
The Injured Spouse, for IRS purposes, is the spouse who does not owe any debt that would have a potential federal offset and who would be subject to their portion of the IRS refund on a joint return being seized to satisfy their married partner’s debt.
How is IRS Injured Spouse Refund Calculated?
What are the IRS Injured Spouse Allocation Requirements?
The IRS Injured Spouse refund is calculated by the IRS using the allocations presented in the filed IRS Form 8379. To legally maximize the injured spouse’s refund, accurately allocate the maximum allowable IRS withholdings, credits, and deductions to the injured partner.
What is the IRS Injured Spouse Form?
The IRS Injured Spouse form to be used to complete the Injured Spouse Allocation is IRS Form 8379.
Where to Send Injured Spouse Form?
You should send the Injured Spouse Form IRS Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, either proactively by attaching it to the tax return that is being filed or to the specific IRS Service Center, which is either handling your active case or processing your joint tax return.
How Long Does Injured Spouse Take to Get Approved?
Where’s my IRS Injured Spouse Refund?
The IRS estimates that it takes them the following time frame to properly process the Injured Spouse Allocation Form 8379: 11 weeks if filed electronically and 14 weeks if filed by paper. You can use the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool to check the status of your refund.
Does Injured Spouse Apply to State Taxes?
The IRS Injured Spouse Allocation Form 8379 only applies to federal taxes. Some states may have their own individual way of determining a way to preserve an injured married partner’s State tax refund. You should inquire with your individual state’s Taxation (or Revenue) department if you feel that your portion of your state tax refund is being seized to satisfy your married partner’s solely liable offsetting debt.
Can I file Injured Spouse if I Had No Income?
You can file for IRS Injured Spouse Relief if you had no income, provided that you made estimated tax payments or were solely entitled to refundable credits.
What Other IRS Tax Resolution Options Are Available?
Pink Harbor, CPA can assist you with many other measures the IRS has in place to satisfy your IRS tax debt. They are: IRS Offer-in-Compromise, IRS & State Installment Plans, Filing Back Taxes, IRS Innocent Spouse Relief, IRS & State Penalty & Interest Abatement and https://pinkharbor.com/currently-not-collectible/IRS Currently-Not Collectible Status.
