IRS taking my refund for taxes due from marriage

I was divorced in 1999. I filed with the IRS for tax year 1998 as "married filing separate return"...and was due a refund. The IRS took the refund and applied it to an outstanding tax bill for the year 1996 (when I had filed jointly with my then husband). But my divorce papers clearly state, and I quote, "Neither party is entitled to seek financial renumeration from the other party for any debt not covered in this Judgment of Divorce". The IRS tax bill was not mentioned in the divorce...nor did my then husband ever bring it up during any proceedings. The IRS told me they were doing what they had to do....and that I should take this to Civil Court....to get the money back from my exhusband. Can I get the money back this way? Can I ever get the money back? Does the divorce paper's statement give me a right to this money? Or am I caught between the IRS and my ex? That statement was included in the divorce papers at my request...to avoid just such a situation as this. Was it of any value?

If you get help for this problem,I am interested in the results.The IRS took half of my refund for a backtax my ex husband owed from before I ever even met him.Considering what this man put me through during our brief marriage,this adds insult to injury.The rich can slip through countless loopholes,yet a working class single mom is treated this way!I really needed that refund back!

If the IRS took the money for taxes owed while the two of you were still married then they are correct in going after you (as unfair as it seems). Your best bet is to take your ex to civil court or small claims (if less than $5000) if you want to recover the money. The IRS is not bound by your divorce agreement -- only the two of you are! On this website there are names of attorneys at if you haven't any idea who to call; typically a lawyer will not charge for a brief consultation so go ahead and talk to one.

If anyone finds a solution to this problem, I would also be interested. I filed for divorce in 1995. Each and every year since my divorce, the IRS has seized all my refunds and not even bothered looking for my ex. It was his self employment taxes, and I even stipulated that he was responsible for his own taxes in the divorce... (IRS doesn't care). The ex went for three years without paying a dime in child support, I have had about 13,000 seized (which I could have used), and to top it off, he just married someone who works for the IRS.... I have written Problem Resolution Department, had an accountant try to resolve the problem... IRS says that I am the path of least resistance... they can get their money back without spending a dime or lifting a finger.... At the rate this is going, I will never see another refund as long as I live.



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Diane Welch

I am also interested to hear what happens. I've been living with someone for the past 7 years and we're thinking of getting married. But he owes the IRS $$ from previous years. I own a house. If I marry him, does his debt become mine, and can the IRS put a lien on my house to collect his debts?

In answer to your problem: You will have to file an injured spouse form if the IRS tries to get you to pay for his back taxes. You can be happily married and still file an injured spouse claim. Basically, you lose the exemption for your spouse if you are the majority income earner.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jcordel:
[b]I am also interested to hear what happens. I've been living with someone for the past 7 years and we're thinking of getting married. But he owes the IRS $$ from previous years. I own a house. If I marry him, does his debt become mine, and can the IRS put a lien on my house to collect his debts?[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll tell you what I did. Right or wrong it works. Forget about the money that the IRS took. You will never see that. Now, from now on, file Single, head of household and pretend he doesn't exist. The proper way to do it is to file the injured spouse thing. I only use my income and let him worry about his. I claim my children on mine and let him worry about his. It got to be too much of a hassle and I never got a portion of the refund, they took all of his and mine too even with an injured spouse return. I said the heck with that, if this thing keeps going, I will never get a refund for all the money I worked. Let the IRS prove that we are or not together. I truely considered getting a divorce because of these money problems so if you are seperated, you can honestly say you are single head of household. Bending the edges a little, but they never did anything to repair the damages and I deserved my money.

Here's a thought... why not change your withholding so less is taken out of each paycheck and you have to pay a little on April 15th instead of losing a big refund that the IRS confiscates.