Innocent Spouse Relief

It often occurs in a divorce that once the financial data is exchanged that one spouse discovers that he/she had signed a tax return which was fraudulent. There are things that can be done. The person should advise the other party they will file for “innocent spouse” relief with the IRS unless the situation is immediately remedied by cash or other comparable property. If not, the party will proceed and file the appropriate motion with the IRS to hold themselves harmless.

To qualify for “innocent spouse” relief, you must show the following:

1. That you had filed a joint tax return

2. That the return is incorrect

3. That your spouse took deductions that they were not entitled to or failed to report income (in other words, a fraudulent return)

4. That you did not know that the return was fraudulent when filed

If you can show all of the above, you may be able to avoid paying any tax on the tax return