Innocent Spouse Relief Houston TX Partners Claim Must Pass These Basic Requirements

By Ann Wallace


When the Internal Revenue Service contacts you, it's usually because there is a problem of some sort. If you've gotten a notice that the joint returns you and your husband sent in are being reviewed, it is scary. When the notice also reads that the IRS suspects your taxes have been underestimated, it may be time to review your options. If you have an inkling that your husband has deliberately misled the IRS, you need to look into the innocent spouse relief Houston TX spouses can file.

This exception can be made for spouses when a couple files jointly and one of the filers deliberately underestimates the amount of money he earned and the taxes he owed. In order to avoid having to pay for someone else's misrepresentation, the IRS allows the other partner a chance to prove she was not a party to any wrongdoing. There are three basic requirements. You will have to prove that you were not the party who reported the incorrect information.

Secondly, you must prove that, when you signed the returns, you had no knowledge that your partner was underestimating his taxes. There must have been no underlying reason for you to know. If you had knowledge, then your won't qualify for relief.

Lastly, the IRS will determine, based on information they can obtain, that it would not be fair to hold you responsible for the taxes owed. They base their decision on a number of factors. These include whether or not you directly benefited from the underestimate. They will check your marital status to find out if you are divorced or legally separated. They will also take it into account if your spouse has abandoned you.

If you believe you are a good candidate for this exception, you have to file form 8857. You must be very thorough in the information you give. Questions that require explanations should be filled out in meticulous detail. Providing documentation for your explanations is a very good idea. The more details you can substantiate, the more likely the IRS will make an exception for you.

The answers you give need to be pertinent to the type of relief you are filing for. Adding a letter along with the form outlining the facts and citing examples is a good idea. You need to provide as much proof as possible for the examples you give. If other people have information that would be useful to your case, it needs to be notarized and included with your letter and form.

Although the IRS has changed the deadline to file one of these petitions, the sooner you do it the better. The deadline was two years, but has been increased. You may get an indication that something is wrong if you get a notice that your tax returns are being investigated. This notice will tell you that the IRS suspects taxes have been underestimated.

An IRS investigation is scary. If your partner has misled you, along with the IRS, you should not be held responsible for penalties, interest, and back taxes. You have to prove to the Internal Revenue Service that you didn't know anything about it, and didn't benefit from it, though.




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