If you want more innocent spouse relief information, call for a free consultation and see what options are best for your circumstances.
IRS Innocent Spouse Relief
What if the taxes due are not my fault? What if they are my ex’s tax problem?
Oftentimes married couples file a joint Income Tax return. Many people don’t understand that by signing a joint return, you become “Jointly and Severally Liable.” This means that regardless of who earned the money, both people on the return are 100% liable for the entire tax debt due. If something happens to either individual in the couple, IRS innocent spouse tax relief might be something you may need. For example, let’s say Becky is self-employed (1099 non-employee) and has good income but hasn’t paid any estimated taxes. Her husband, Bud is a wage earner (W-2 employee) and has plenty of withholding to offset his share of the total taxes due on the return, but signs a joint return. The tax return shows a large balance due solely because of the underpayment by Becky. Because they signed a joint return, both Bud and Becky are responsible for 100% of the tax balance due. If this sounds like your situation, you may be in need of serious IRS innocent spouse relief. The IRS can collect 100% of the taxes from either party. Unfortunately, even though Bud paid all his portion of the taxes, the IRS can go after him for 100% of the remaining balance due. Even worse for Bud, he is easier for the IRS to collect from than Becky, because he is a wage earner. All the IRS has to do is send a letter to his employer stating that the employer has to send Bud’s paycheck (most of it anyway) to the IRS. Because Becky is self-employed, she is a much tougher target for the IRS to track down her income streams. The IRS has an easier target with the wage earner, poor Bud. They will generally collect 100% from him. This is a very common scenario. If you are the innocent spouse in this type of situation, reach out to our Denver based firm for change to professional tax relief. We are here to help you get out of any situation with the IRS you find yourself in.
Getting help with IRS innocent spouse relief is difficult. Unfortunately, this Joint and Several liability continues even after a separation or divorce! Let’s say that after multiple domestic abuse situations, Bud decides to flee the relationship and gets a divorce. The bad news for Bud is that he is still on the hook for the entire liability, and he is still the easier collection target for the IRS. The IRS doesn’t care about his divorce or personal problems. That is why congress set up the opportunity to fix the problem through IRS Innocent Spouse tax relief.
While the fictional scenario above shows the potential financial destruction, hope is possible for situations like this because of rules called, “Innocent Spouse Relief.” This allows under certain circumstances for the non-liable party to not have to pay the taxes of the spouse. Working with our trained professionals, we will offer expert IRS tax relief help that will give you the best solution for your unique situation. Honestly, it’s not easy, but it can be a good solution if the circumstances are right. A myriad of rules apply depending on the facts and circumstances. However, one thing that is certain is that timing is everything. Innocent spouse tax relief is a very time sensitive type of solution, so as soon as you know you have a joint liability from a non-paying partner, it’s best to proceed very quickly! If you want more innocent spouse relief information, call our experts out of beautiful Denver, Colorado for a free consultation and see what options are best for your circumstances.
