• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

? regarding back taxes and divorce

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

H

howelady

Guest
What is the name of your state? IA

I was wanting to try to get some understanding of what is going on right now. My husband recieve a letter from the IRS about a year that he didnt file. He was married to his ex during this year. We made contact with her, asked her if she filed for that year already. She said no. So husband filled out all papers needed and did it where the staus was married filing jointly and added in her income too. She had no problem with this. When it came time for her to sign papers, again she had no problem and she signed them. Unfortunally there is going to be quite the bill after interest and penalties are added to it. The ex wife is now telling us that she isnt liable for any of the bill and if we want her to help out with it to take it out of the child support that we recieve for the kids. My question is... with them being divorced now, and she agreed to include her income and she signed the papers...is she liable for the bill? If she is....are the the ones that need to get the money from her to pay and if she chooses not to, there is nothing that we can do....or, will they send us part of the bill and her part of the bill? And also, not sure if anyone could answer this but..... when my husband and I filed this year, of course, they are going to keep all of our refund so that when they figure out what is owed by this back tax, I am sure they are going to use our refund to pay it all. But I dont understand why they are keeping our refund for this when the ex wife filed and recieved her refund in full....is there anyone that MIGHT beable to answer that one?? TIA
 


abezon

Senior Member
When a couple files jointly, they are jointly & severally liable for any taxes/penalties/interest on the balance owed. That means the IRS can collect the entire amount from whoever it wants to go after. If the IRS takes your refund, you can file an injured spouse claim to get some of it back. If the entire debt is not paid off, change your W-4s at work so there is no refund! Then the IRS will take her money.

If you want to make her contribute to the taxes, you'll have to go back to divorce court & get a court order listing how much she has to pay. She cannot just expect her child support to drop until she pays her 1/2 of the taxes.
 
THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED to my husband. The ex refused to give us the needed papers to file '93 income taxes. Told us instead SHE would file if she could have the refund. My (stupid) hubby agreed. Then we got a letter saying they owed 700.00 in taxes, again my (stupid) hubby agreed, and sent a check for the 700.00. SUDDENLY- though no surprise to ME-- we got a notice from the IRS... 1993 taxes were never filed, and since whether or not the ex actually filed was "confidential", the nice lady from the tax office completed the 93 returns for my hubby. WE OWED almost 8,000. WE HAD TO PAY THE 8,000. When they were married there were 7 dependents, that he could not claim 6 years later, thus, the huge tax bill.

Their advice? Sue HER. PAY US. and pay us NOW.

Good luck to ya!!!! Been there, done that.....
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top