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In most cases, this means that the debt is premarital—your spouse incurred it before you were married—but they might have incurred student loans for their own benefit while you were married. 100% Accurate Calculations Guarantee – Business Returns. If you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, we’ll pay you the penalty and interest. You are responsible for paying any additional tax liability you may owe. Note that you only need to complete and attach Form 1040-X if you’re amending your original return in an attempt to claim a joint refund.
- A jointly-owed debt is one that both partners are responsible for repaying.
- This is because most of these states dictate that any debts and assets that spouses acquire during their marriage should be shared, or jointly owned.
- These forms are very important since they can provide you money or allow you to save money.
- By default, the alternative minimum tax, Form 8621 interest and taxes, Form 8960 net investment income tax and Form 8962 excess advance premium tax credit repayment are split, half to each spouse, for Form 8379, Page 2, line 18.
- The understated tax stems from under-reported income or improperly applied deductions, credits, or cost basis.
- This form essentially requests that the IRS relieve that spouse of the tax obligations related to the other spouse.
Some of these providers have free versions of their software for very basic returns. You have up to three years after the original joint tax return was due to do so, including any extensions you applied for in that tax year, or two https://quick-bookkeeping.net/ years from the date you last paid any taxes due on the return, whichever is later. Send it to the IRS address where you submitted your original tax return if you mail in a paper copy. You can download the form from the IRS website.
Instructions for Filling Out Form 8379
Only the injured spouse needs to sign the form and be sure you include your tax forms (W-2, W-2G, 1099, etc.) to show federal income tax withholding for both spouses if applicable. You do NOT need to attach the previously filed tax return. You can request or claim your portion of a tax refund back from the IRS if you e-Filed or filed a married filing joint tax return and you are not responsible for your spouse’s debt.
Who is an innocent spouse?
The innocent spouse rule is a provision of U.S. tax law, revised most recently in 1998, which allows a spouse to seek relief from penalties resulting from underpayment of tax by a spouse. The rule was created partly due to spouses not telling their partners the entire truth about their financial situation.
Yes, the IRS may determine that someone filing Form 8379 is ineligible for an injured spouse allocation, or that they are not entitled to as much as they believe. When the IRS receives a claim, they will calculate the injured spouse’s share of the tax return, based on state laws and the circumstances surrounding each case. Injured spouse relief is not the same as innocent spouse relief. This is a separate form that can be filed if one spouse has been made responsible for back taxes, interest, or penalties from improperly reported tax filings. This form essentially requests that the IRS relieve that spouse of the tax obligations related to the other spouse.
What Is IRS Form 8379: Injured Spouse Allocation?
This section of Form 8379 is used to share information about you and your spouse’s joint tax return. On Line 10, enter each person’s name and social security number, exactly as it is shown on the original return. By default, payments allocated to the injured spouse are based on the filing status optimization married filing separate allocations. Payments for the other spouse are the difference between the amount shown on the joint return and the amount allocated to the injured spouse. Whether you check “Yes” or “No,” you should go to line 2 to find out if you should file another form to request injured spouse relief.
H&R Block Free Online is for simple returns only. Terms and conditions apply; seeAccurate Calculations Guaranteefor details. There is an understated tax on the return that is due to erroneous items of the person with whom you filed the joint return.
Who Does the Term Injured Spouse Apply to on IRS Form 8379?
Past-due federal tax, state tax, child support, or federal non-tax debt are a few examples of these responsibilities such as a student loan. The spouse who has been harmed and is not responsible for the debt is referred to as the “injured” spouse. If you’re filing a paper Form 8379, you’ll send it to the IRS service center for the area where you live, unless you file the form by itself after you’ve filed your original joint return on paper.
These obligations might include child support payments, past-due student loan payments, or overdue state tax payments. This provision in the tax code is called “injured spouse allocation,” where the “injured spouse” is the one who does not What Is Irs Form 8379 owe the debt. Illinois does not provide a specific form to request injured spouse relief. If you file Form 8379 by itself, you must write or enter both spouses’ social security numbers in the same order as they showed on your joint return.
Processing Timeline
By default, itemized deductions allocated to the injured spouse are based on the filing status optimization married filing separate allocations. Itemized deductions for the other spouse are the difference between the amount shown on the joint return and the amount allocated to the injured spouse. Enter the injured spouse’s address if the refund should be mailed to an address different than the joint tax return.If this is a temporary address change, it may delay the refund. If this is a permanent address change, submit Form 8822, Change of Address, with Form 8379. For line 13, show the income allocation for the three columns.
A jointly filed tax return injured spouse has the option to file Form 8379 in order to claim their share of a joint refund that was taken in order to satisfy the other spouse’s past-due debt. It can take up to 14 weeks for the IRS to process an injured spouse allocation form, although processing is faster if the form is submitted electronically. If Form 8379 is filed separately from a joint tax return, it will take around 8 weeks. If the tax offset affects an injured spouse for more than one tax year, then that spouse must file a new Form 8379 each year. This will apply to any year that they want their portion of the offset to be refunded. If you anticipate that the IRS might seize your joint refund for any reason, you can go ahead and attach this form to your joint tax return when you file it.