income tax info

[davidnlanie@win]

What is the name of your state? Georgia
Me and my husband started living together in april 2007, we married in august 2007. i have a son who turned 18 in november but he is also still in high school. we got my husbands son on may 31 2007, he is 14. my ex husband owes taxes from when we were married and last year they took 1700.00 of my taxes because he and i were married when those taxes were aquired. this year i only worked from feb until late june due to my health. my husband is disabled and draws ssi and disability. would he be able to file him and the boys and get earned income credit if i file seperate so that our taxes will not be seized again this year because all my taxes are paying off my ex's debts?????What is the name of your state?

[CourtClerk]

It is my understanding that you can't claim earned income credit if you file married, filing separately, but hold on, there are some tax guru's on here that can answer you definitively.

[irsos]

You cannot claim EIC if you file separately. Even if you could - your husband has no earned income.

[abezon]

File an injured spouse form for 2006 and 2007. The IRS will split the refund into his & hers, keep his, & send you yours. Do this every year until the debt is gone.

BTW, the IRS can't have kept $1700 of your refund for his debt unless you were married & filed a joint return. Since you married in August 2007, you could not have filed jointly. Dig out your paperwork & find out what really went on back then. If you filed jointly & weren't married, you need to amend your return to file single or head of household.

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

my ex husband owes taxes from when we were married

You mention that your X owes, but that you filed a joint return. could you explain?

[irsos]

Originally Posted by abezon

File an injured spouse form for 2006 and 2007. The IRS will split the refund into his & hers, keep his, & send you yours. Do this every year until the debt is gone.

BTW, the IRS can't have kept $1700 of your refund for his debt unless you were married & filed a joint return. Since you married in August 2007, you could not have filed jointly. Dig out your paperwork & find out what really went on back then. If you filed jointly & weren't married, you need to amend your return to file single or head of household.

There is no basis for an injured spouse claim for 2006. Perhaps there is basis for an innocent spouse claim since the poster refers to the liability as her "ex's" taxes. She may not realize that they are her taxes too unless innocent spouse relief is granted.

There is also likely no basis for an injured spouse claim for 2007 since there was probably no withholding on the new husband's ssi or disability. It is possible, just not likely. You may have a basis in a community property state by splitting her withholding, but I doubt it would be worth it. The long-term solution is to adjust withholding so no refunds are generated until the old taxes are paid.

There was nothing to suggest that the poster filed a joint 2006 return with the new husband, but if she did, generally she cannot amend a MFJ return to another status. I am not aware that there are exceptions even if the original status was in error. May there is.

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

my ex husband owes taxes from when we were married and last year they took 1700.00 of my taxes because he and i were married when those taxes were aquired.

The problem was from when she was married previous; hence, my question. She states that it was her X's problem. I question since she filed a joint return. She could have the basis of an innocent spouse. But, without further clarification from the OP, we cannot guess.

Now, if they took her return, but the debt was the X's responsibility, she'll have to go back to court and file contempt. Again, just guessing.

[LdiJ]

Everyone is ignoring the fact that her husband's disability pay may be taxable income. The SSI (or SSDI) certainly isn't, but the disability may be. Its even possible that if the disability income is taxable, that there is withholding.

They should probably see a tax pro this year.

[davidnlanie@win]

Ok last year i filed single head of household, claiming my son, and due to the fact that i was married to my ex when he over drew disability and aquired a debt to the irs so they tell me that i am liable to pay back this debt also. and yes they did take 1700.00 of my taxes last yr for that debt. i am now married to my 2nd husband since 8-1-07 i have a 18 yr old still in school and we have a 14 yr old we have had since 5-31-07, i am just trying to figure out how to file and be able to get back a return without them taking it for what my ex owes. my new husband draws disability and ssi.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by davidnlanie@win

Ok last year i filed single head of household, claiming my son, and due to the fact that i was married to my ex when he over drew disability and aquired a debt to the irs so they tell me that i am liable to pay back this debt also. and yes they did take 1700.00 of my taxes last yr for that debt. i am now married to my 2nd husband since 8-1-07 i have a 18 yr old still in school and we have a 14 yr old we have had since 5-31-07, i am just trying to figure out how to file and be able to get back a return without them taking it for what my ex owes. my new husband draws disability and ssi.

Please explain exactly what you mean by "over drew disability". If this is not a tax debt, but rather a debt due to the SSA for collecting benefits he was not entitled to collect, its possible that your tax returns are being garnished incorrectly.

If so, a sit down talk with a local SSA office might correct the problem.

[abezon]

Adjust your withholding so that you don't have a refund. Then there's nothing for the IRS to take every year. A tax pro can help you figure out how to fill out your new W4.