Am I eligible for relief from liability for the tax debts of my spouse?

When you are in a marriage, your financial life is merged with your spouses' in many ways. One way in which you probably have merged your finances is through the filing of a joint tax return. Many couples file joint returns because of convenience or because they hope to take advantage of tax breaks for married couples. This works out fine, unless and until your spouse does something wrong on the filing of the tax return. If your spouse ends up owing back taxes, it is possible that this could adversely affect you too - even if you are divorced at the time when it becomes known that the back taxes are due. Fortunately, the IRS does provide for a method of innocent spouse relief so you don't end up paying for the bad behavior that your spouse exhibited when filing your joint tax returns.

To qualify for innocent spouse relief, generally:

• You must have filed a joint return with your husband or wife for the time in question when the back taxes were accrued
• Your spouse must have erroneously omitted income or overstated or overestimated the deductions you were entitled to
• It must be clear that you were not aware of the error when you signed the tax return that has resulted in the back tax liability
• It must be judged as unfair to hold you responsible for the back or unpaid taxes. 

This is one example of a situation in which innocent spouse relief may be appropriate- there could also be others, depending on the circumstances. If you are being contacted by the IRS because of tax debt your spouse caused you to incur, you should consult with a lawyer to find out exactly what options you may have for dealing with the problem.