Definition of Injured Spouse
Don’t confuse joint taxpayer relief (innocent spouse) with an injured spouse claim. The two are very different. A taxpayer is an injured spouse if his/her share of a refund on a joint return was (or may be) applied against his/her spouse’s legally enforceable separate past-due debts such as:
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Federal and/or state income taxes
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State unemployment compensation
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Child or spousal support payments, or
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Student loans
Eliminate the Risk
Where appropriate, clients might consider filing separate returns so that the non-liable spouse’s refund is protected, and therefore that spouse would no longer be “injured.”
Conditions for Injured Spouse Relief
Injured spouse relief is available if all three of the following apply:
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Taxpayer (injured spouse) isn’t required to pay the past due amount.
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The injured spouse received and reported income on the joint return.
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The joint return had withholding, estimated tax, or a refundable credit (e.g., EIC) attributable to the injured spouse.