When married taxpayers file joint returns, both spouses are responsible for the tax liability on that return. What this means is that one spouse may be held liable for all the tax due on a return, even if all the income on that return was earned by the other spouse.

There are some exceptions to this, however, including the innocent spouse exception and the injured spouse exception.

An exception to the joint and several liability rules is allowed for an innocent spouse (not to be confused with injured spouse relief discussed next). For more about the innocent spouse rule, see Chapter 11.02.

If a taxpayer’s spouse has not paid child or spousal support payments or certain federal debts (e.g., student loans), the refund on a joint return may be used to pay the past-due amount even though the debt arose prior to marriage to the present spouse. An injured spouse may be able to get his/her share of any refund, however. A person qualifies as an injured spouse under the following circumstances:

An injured spouse can get his/her portion of a joint return refund by filing Form 8379, Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation. See also Chapter 11.01. Note: Taxpayers residing in community property states must divide refunds according to local law. If a taxpayer lives in a community property state in which all community property is subject to the debts of either spouse, the entire joint refund is subject to offset. Claims from California, Idaho, Louisiana, and Texas will usually result in no refund for an injured spouse.

Calmes v. U.S., (DC Tex, 05/21/96) - This case prevented the IRS from levying on an individual’s earnings to satisfy tax debts of her husband that occurred before their marriage.  Even though the couple resided in a community property state (see Chapter 1.10), they had entered into a prenuptial agreement where they agreed that the future earnings of each would be his/her own.