Innocent spouse is under section 6015 of the Internal Revenue Code. If a married couple files a joint return, and then that return is audited at a later time and one of the spouses has underreported income or overstated deductions, and the other spouse is innocent in that they didn't know about and did not benefit from the additional income and tax savings, then the innocent spouse can be relieved of that additional liability.

Qualifications Of The Innocent Spouse Rule

A married filing joint tax return must have been filed, and they have to have no actual knowledge and no reason to have known of the understated income or overstated deductions. Also, they cannot have benefitted from the tax savings. Typically this is a case where the couple is either now divorced or living separate, but the tax return in question must have been filed as married filing joint at the time of filing for innocent spouse relief to be available.

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Innocent Spouse vs. Injured Spouse

As opposed to the qualifications of "Innocent Spouse" as noted above, "Injured Spouse" is where there happens to be a refund check that one of the spouses negotiated on behalf of both individuals and then spent the money.

The Injured Spouse Claim Process

The process to file an injured spouse claim consists of filing with the IRS and enclosing the documentation necessary to prove your case. It is about setting up the case to show that you comply with the rules and regulations of injured spouse.

The Benefits Of IRS Innocent Spouse Relief

The biggest benefit is that the innocent spouse is truly not going to be liable for the taxes, penalties and interest arising from the underreported income or overstated deductions that they were innocent of, didn't benefit from and did not have reason to know about.

A History Of Successful IRS Innocent Spouse Cases

This firm has been very successful in innocent spouse cases because we spend a great deal of time having you organize the books and records necessary in order to keep the attorneys fees down, and then we present the case to the IRS in order to get the innocent spouse claim granted. We are very familiar with the rules, regulations, procedures and presentation strategies that lead to success in innocent spouse relief cases.