If I marry

What is the name of your state? california. do I in any way become responsible for my boyfriends irs debts . Would the irs come after my income because of his unresolved previous tax mess. thankyou

[abezon]

If you file a joint return with him, the IRS will take any refund to pay off his debts unless you file an injured spouse claim.

It may be cheaper not to marry, depending on your incomes, whether there are any kids, education credits, etc. For example, if you're both in the $10,000-20,000 income range, you'll lose any EIC (assuming there are kids). For a really specific answer, we'd have to see past returns/income statements.

What if she were to file married filing separately? Just curious. Hubby had IRS debt with ex wife - they came after him and took our joint return - dummy me! Hubby asked IRS why they didn't go after is ex - their response was, "Because you answered our letter". Aghhh!

If one spouse files as Married Filing Separately (MFS), then the other one must also file as MFS. Earned Income Credit (EIC) and education credits are not allowed for MFS. The tax rates are much higher when you reach a certain income level.

However, it should safeguard a spouse's refund, so in some cases it may be the thing to do. My only concern is that each spouse must list the other spouse's soc/sec number on the 1040. Once the IRS has that, they may still try to collect past taxes from either spouse.
Unless, of course there's a regulation or code prohibiting them from doing so.

we both make over ninety thousand. my boyfriend owes fifty thousand for some time when his ex-wife, who was the bookkeeper in his business, did not file . we both have children. the debt he has is from five years ago. i would like to know if there is a regulation prohibiting the irs from applying his previous debts to me. if we were married, it may completly change the irs' opinion of his ability to pay off the debt. he cannot do it at this point and they know that . thankyou for the feedback every one.

[abezon]

Well, MFS will cost you both a bunch of money (higher tax brackets) but will protect your refund. You do not become responsible for his debts just because you marry him. However, since CA is a community property state, you should check with a local attorney or law school prof to see if community assets (wages, houses, etc) can be attached by the IRS to pay off separate debts. Washington allows that attachment only for child support debts.

Instead of MFS, think about filing MFJ and declaring yourself an injured spouse. Or, adjust your W-4s so that together you owe $100 - $1000. Then the IRS can't take your refund because you don't have one!

I assume one of you owns a house and your total itemized deductions would exceed your standard deductions (2 singles or 1 single + 1 head of household). If that's not the case, you're better tax-wise not to get married. An even better strategy is for you to put both names on the house, and then have the higher-income person claim head of household, and the lower income person claim single and take all the itemized deductions**************