Law Offices of Maryam M. Golbarg, P.C.
Your Tax Relief Attorney
Tax Solutions
Injured Spouse Relief
“Injured” spouse should not be confused with “innocent” spouse.
An injured spouse is someone whose share of a joint refund from a joint tax return was or will be applied against the separate past-due obligation of his or her spouse or ex-spouse.
Typically, an injured spouse can ask the IRS to get back his or her share of the joint refund when he or she becomes aware that all or part of a share of a joint refund was, or is expected to be, applied to a past-due obligation of the other spouse.
A clear example is when your spouse has some tax debts before marrying you. If and when you file a joint return and expect to have any refund, the joint refund will be applied to your spouse’s tax debt.
Note that if you live in community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin) different rules may apply, and the IRS uses each state’s rules to determine the amount, if any, refundable to the injured spouse.
Who can qualify for Injured Spouse relief?
To qualify for the Injured Spouse Allocation, all of the following must apply:
- You must file or have filed a joint tax return;
- The IRS will use or have used the joint refund to pay a legally enforceable past-due debt owed by the spouse such as federal or state taxes, student loans, child support, spousal support, or certain unemployment compensation debt;
- Injured Spouse is not the one obligated to pay the past-due debt;
- Injured Spouse had earned income;
- Injured Spouse made and reported federal income tax withholding or estimated tax payments.
How to get your portion of a joint Refund?
An Injured Spouse Allocation Form must be filed for each year that the injured spouse is seeking to recover his or her share of a joint refund. The Injured Spouse Allocation Form can be filed with a joint tax return, with an amended joint tax return, or it can be filed afterwards by itself. It takes the IRS about 14 weeks to process a paper version of an Injured Spouse Allocation Form and 11 weeks if it was filed electronically.
Call us if the IRS has seized or will seize your refund to satisfy your spouse’s debt.
