My ex never paid taxes. Do I have to pay them?

If your spouse never paid taxes then this does not necessarily mean you have to pay for your ex-spouse unpaid taxes. Even if you filed joint taxes when you were married and there is a tax issue subsequently, it does not mean you are going to be left holding the hot potato. You can still pass this off. Now that you are not living with your spouse anymore, the IRS may not know this, you can be declared the “innocent spouse.”

This is where innocent spouse relief comes in. This is not a unique situation, this situate arises normally. This is when it would be unfair to point the finger at one spouse when there is a tax liability. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers this financial relief favor, and some states do as well. It can undermine the liability you could have to deal with in terms of taxes, penalties, and the interest that developed from the joint tax return.

If you can verify you did not make any errors and honestly did not know about your spouse’s errors, you can absolve yourself from this issue. Normally, both spouses would be held responsibly on an equal footing if something like this occurred. It does not matter who made the mistake. But if your partner committed tax fraud behind your back or was careless and you were ignorant of his or her carefree attitude, you can escape this financial penalty via innocent spouse relief. You will have to pass some markers the IRS has in place to be allowed to walk through this door. Don’t jump up for joy yet, you will some intense paperwork to fill out.