Joint return = Joint liability

[ballblast]

What is the name of your state? California

My wife and I are divorcing and in her interrogatories, her lawyer has raised a question that will require me to admit that we inflated numbers on our 2004 tax return schedule C in order to get a tax refund. The interrogatory question focuses on my business, but there were many areas on the return where numbers were bogus about her business, miscellaneous deductions and charitable contributions.

Did she concent to joint and several tax liability by, in the least, by providing her unique pin number when we submitted the tax return electronically? Can she qualify for any exceptions?

Thank you for your prompt response.

 

[Snipes5]

Congratulations. You have both jointly and severally committed tax fraud.

What you should both do is amend the return so it contains the correct figures, and pay any tax due.

You cannot change a joint return into an MFS return after the due date, therefore, you are both stuck with each other's lies.

Sounds like both of you are in an equal amount of trouble. As to whether either of you qualifies for an innocent spouse claim, that is up to the IRS to determine after examining the circumstances.

Keep in mind that I am not an attorney. I would reply with an offer to amend the return together and pay the tax (and penalties) due.

Snipes

 

[ballblast]

Tax Fraud - What if she doesn't agree to amend taxes?

Hi,
Thanks for you reply. I'm in California.

So we are both jointly guilty of tax fraud. I want to amend the taxes, but she has written me an email saying that she doesn't want to do that.

Can I file without her participation? How do I proceed if her agreement is necessary to file the amended return?

Thanks again for your prompt response.

Ballblast

 

[Snipes5]

You should proceed through your attorney. You can't file without her consent in this instance, since it will have to be a joint return.

Snipes