Taxes and Divorce in Indiana

What is the name of your state? Indiana

I was seperated in May 2006 and the Divorce was final in November 2006. In the final decree, it was stated that my ex wife would pay the 2005 Federal Taxes.

In March 2007 I find out that she never filed the taxes and to this date refuses to file them (Married Filing Jointly).

We/She owned a business that she took control of during the divorce with income of less then $60,000 a year. Jointly with her deductions we would come out owing very little (less then $2,000).

Question: if I file married filing single, I'll owe almost $5,000.00 in taxes. Do I have any recourse in getting this money back? Is small claims court the way to go?

Just a note, in regards to the Innocent Spouse Rule, I've spoken to the IRS and they said that I would not qualify. Also, obviously, the IRS does not care about the Divorce Decree.

Question: If I get a judgement in Small Claims Court, how do I go about collecting?

Thanks, Joseph Lee

This is not a small claims issue; it's a contempt of court issue. Have your divorce lawyer write her a letter saying that if she does not file returns & pay the taxes, you'll ask the divorce court to reimburse you for any extra taxes you have to pay due to filing married separate, plus costs & attorney fees.

I'm curious, how did you not know your joint return was unfiled? Did you fill out & sign a joint return expecting her to file it & she didn't? Why didn't you follow up with this before the decree was finalized?

Have you consulted a tax pro about your 2005 taxes? Your figures don't sound right -- if she has the self-employment income, you might save by not having her income on the return.

abezon said:

This is not a small claims issue; it's a contempt of court issue. Have your divorce lawyer write her a letter saying that if she does not file returns & pay the taxes, you'll ask the divorce court to reimburse you for any extra taxes you have to pay due to filing married separate, plus costs & attorney fees.

I'm curious, how did you not know your joint return was unfiled? Did you fill out & sign a joint return expecting her to file it & she didn't? Why didn't you follow up with this before the decree was finalized?

Have you consulted a tax pro about your 2005 taxes? Your figures don't sound right -- if she has the self-employment income, you might save by not having her income on the return.

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I agree that the figures sound way off....unless he has to claim the business income himself because the 1099's are in his name.

If the business income was not in her name for 2005. She may have already filed a tax return.