Are you an Injured Spouse?
You are considered to be an injured spouse if you file a joint return and your overpayment of taxes (tax refund) is expected or has been applied (offset) against your spouse’s share of past due federal income tax, student loan, child support, alimony (spousal support), or state income tax. This is different from claiming the innocent spouse relief which will be covered in a separate article.
For example, Spouse A and B file a joint return and have a potential federal tax refund of $ 1,000. Spouse A had been previously married and had an outstanding past due federal tax debt of $2,000 prior to marrying Spouse B. The IRS can offset the past due balance with the potential refund by applying the $1,000 against the $2,000 past due amount. Let’s assume Spouse B’s portion of the refund amounts to 60%. Spouse B could claim Injured Spouse relief (if they meet the requirements below) by filing IRS Form 8379. Spouse B would be entitled to a $600 ($1,000 x 60%) refund and Spouse A would have $400 ($1,000 x 40%) applied against the $2,000 past due federalo income tax.
How Do you Qualify for Injured Spouse Relief?
In the example above, Spouse B, could qualify for injured spouse relief, if they meet the following requirements:
Attached here is the IRS Form 8379 (Injured Spouse Allocation) for viewing or downloading.
If you are interested in additional information related to this topic or additional strategies, please download our eBook: The Financial Divorce – Your Guide to Financial Divorce Knowledge.
