Innocent Spouse Relief
An IRS provision that releases a spouse from joint and several liability for tax, interest, and penalties on a joint return when their spouse improperly reported items.
Detailed Explanation
Three forms of relief exist under IRC Section 6015: (1) traditional Innocent Spouse Relief (Section 6015(b)) for understatements due to a spouse's erroneous items, (2) Separation of Liability (Section 6015(c)) for divorced or separated taxpayers allocating individual items, and (3) Equitable Relief (Section 6015(f)) when the first two don't apply but it would be unfair to hold the requesting spouse liable. Filed on Form 8857 generally within two years of first IRS collection activity, though the equitable relief deadline was extended.
Key Points
- Releases a spouse from joint and several liability for tax caused by the other spouse's reporting.
- Three types under IRC §6015: traditional relief (b), separation of liability (c), and equitable relief (f).
- Requested on Form 8857, generally within 2 years of the first IRS collection activity.
- Equitable relief (6015(f)) has a more flexible deadline than the other two.
- The requesting spouse generally must show they did not know and had no reason to know of the understatement.
Practical Example
A divorced taxpayer learns the IRS is pursuing her for $40,000 owed on a joint return because her ex-husband hid self-employment income she never knew about. She files Form 8857 requesting innocent spouse relief, demonstrating she had no knowledge of the omitted income, and the IRS relieves her of the portion attributable to his unreported earnings.
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