Am I thinking about Innocent Spouse Relief correctly?

JHH1964
JHH1964 Member Posts: 1 Newcomer
in General

My situation in a nutshell (and let this be a cautionary tale to women everywhere):

I do NOT live in a community property state. My husband's income is 3-4 times mine. Over our decades of marriage he has worked hard to keep me in the dark regarding our finances.

For the 2019 TY we filed with as "married filing jointly" and we had a large tax bill due. As far I know our 2019 taxes were complete and accurate.

My husband went down his typical path: Drink more. Get angry at the world. Stick his head in the sand.

He told me he would "handle everything" but, as I am in the process of filing for divorce, when I pulled my IRS transcripts I found he had not filed 2020, 2021, 2022 or 2023 taxes.

In the last few weeks (October 2024) I've filed taxes as "married filing separately" for those 4 years. I did not itemize; however, I claimed 1 of our 2 children as an exemption (hopefully the IRS will agree with my approach).

Here are my questions:

  • Am I eligible for Innocent Spouse Relief? My interpretation is that I do NOT qualify given our 2019 taxes were accurate. Said differently, it appears I am liable for that tax bill.
  • When I left my husband in early 2024, I fear he may have filed 2020 - 2023 taxes as "married filing jointly" without my involvement. If his seemingly fraudulent returns got to the IRS first, will they reject mine? Is there a process for me to let the IRS know I did not sign the returns he sent in?

Thank you to anyone who has experience with similar issues and can lend assistance.

JH

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Answers

  • MatthewD
    MatthewD FreeTaxUSA Team Posts: 258

    Hello,

    Thank you bringing up this topic. Innocent Spouse Relief is used when:

    1. A joint return was filed
    2. Taxes were understated due to an error (intentional or not)
    3. You didn't know about the error
    4. And you live in a community property state

    So, you would not qualify for Innocent spouse relief on the 2020 - 2023 tax returns. You have protected yourself by filing married filing separate returns. On the 2019 return you said it was accurate, so that would not apply. However, you will want to work with your family attorney to make sure he is responsible for the "large tax bill" and you are not.

    https://www.irs.gov/individuals/innocent-spouse-relief

    When you looked up the tax records and found that 2020 - 2023 didn't exist, you can be confident he didn't file anything. Otherwise the IRS would have some record.

    If something was filed, the IRS will reject the Married Filing Separately returns you recently filed, since they would have a joint return on file for you.

    I recommend you continue to work with your family attorney about the tax returns. Debts and future debts can often be resolved with a divorce decree.

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