Home     Law Advice     Insurance Advice     Community    
Tax Law : Federal, State and Local Income Taxes, Sales Taxes, etc. For Estate, Gift and Inheritance Taxes, Please Post Under Will, Trusts & Estate Planning
Go Back   FreeAdvice Legal Forum > TAX LAW > Tax Law

Powered by Attorney Pages


  Find An Attorney In Your Area    
 

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-04-2005, 09:08 PM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 2

unpaid taxes from spouse's unknown income!!


What is the name of your state? KY

This is a SERIOUS TAX question... I hope anyone can help.. PLEASE! I am a US Citizen, and have been married to a legal mexican immgrant for 2.5 yrs with no children. He has recently received approval status as permanet resident and now has his green card. He received his workers permit a year ago. When we first met he said he was self employed. Although he said that any amount he made was so small it was irrelavent, because I knew he was not allowed to work in the US at the time. Since then, I have filed jointly with him for the past 2 years of marriage. On each joint return he has been listed as a dependent with 0 income. I have been paying ALL of the bills and expenses. During this time, things were finacially tight for me, I even had to file bankruptcy 6 mos. ago due to issues from a previous marriage. He was not affected by this. Over the past 2 years his business started to grow, and he also received his workers permit. He wanted a separate bank account, even while I still paid the bills. He did help out with some expenses, such as vacations, and maintenance repairs, etc., but I was always unaware of the amount of income he made. In fact, I had no idea how much money he has really earned in the last 3 years. He said any money he made from his business would be filed on separate tax returns for the business under the tax id. He said it was ok to show his income as 0 on our joint tax return. Recently, I have found out that he has yet to file any returns and has very little paper work on his business income for the last 3 years, as he was not finacially organized. After researching, I know now that he should have been filing his income from his business on our joint return. His business was legal, but not managed and organized very well. One day this past year, I found a company's W2 form showing they paid him a 6 figure amount during just 1 year in his business. Then I found many other w2's from many companies showing very large amounts of income during the year. I could not believe this was happening. Obvoiusly, we began to have marriage issues, and I moved out of our apartment. I will be transferring out of state soon for a work promotion at my job to get on with my life. 4 months ago, he finally agreed he would pay his taxes that he has made from the last 3 years, but still nothing has been done. He says he cannot divorce me right now, because it will look like marriage fraud (i just think he's scared it will affect his legal status here). I have recently heard from friends that he may flee out of the state or country after I move because he has no money now and his business is almost dead. Do I have any options to protect myself from his tax fraud? He has no money left, no assets, and nothing to show for his income. He has blown every bit of income he has ever made, and never paid the IRS a dime. As his wife, I am aware that I am also responsible for any of his unpaid taxes, and for misrepresenting his income on our tax returns. I have no assets due to my recent bankruptcy. Will a tax attorney be helpful in this situation? Is there any way I can protect myself from possible federal offense or crimes from this? I will certainly seek a divorce attorney. I have always been a law-abiding US citizen, and I am desparate to find only legal means to clean up the tax mess he may leave behind for me to deal with. Any advice will help. Thanks!
  #2  
Old 01-05-2005, 08:00 PM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Washington
Posts: 3,484
1. File for legal separation NOW, even if you don't file for divorce. Actually, I recommend you file for divorce immediately, regardless of his immigration concerns. His green card can be revoked for fraud on the application -- he had to swear that he'd filed all tax returns accurately.

2. Talk to a tax attorney about whether you should approach the IRS or wait for them to approach you. At the appropriate time, file for innocent spouse relief for the years you filed jointly. To qualify, you have to show that you had no reason to know of his income & did not benefit from it. Depending on your proof, you probably qualify.

3. DO NOT file jointly with him for 2004. File married separate & claim the kid yourself. Claim all the itemized deductions if it benefits you.

4. An even better solution would be for you to get the marriage annulled, but I don't know if you can.
__________________
This post does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Postings are based only on the information provided and you should consult an attorney in your area before relying on information contained in this post.
  #3  
Old 01-05-2005, 09:26 PM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 2
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. It's such a relief to know that I CAN take action to get things headed in the right direction. Your response has been more helpful than you will ever know.
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:46 PM.



IMPORTANT NOTICE
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE WERE NOT REVIEWED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OR ATTORNEYS AT FREEADVICE.COM. Thousands of professionally prepared and reviewed questions and answers in 130 legal categories are to be found at the Question and Answer pages at FreeAdvice.com.

F
reeAdvice Forums are intended to enable consumers to benefit from the experience of other consumers who have faced similar legal issues. FreeAdvice does NOT vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any posting or the qualifications of any person responding. Use of the Forums is subject to our Terms and Conditions which prohibit advertisements, solicitations or other commercial messages, or false, defamatory, abusive, vulgar, or harassing messages, and subject violators to a fee for each improper posting. All postings reflect the views of the author but become the property of FreeAdvice. Information on FreeAdvice or a Forum should not be relied upon and is not a substitute for advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction who you have retained to represent you. To locate an attorney visit AttorneyPages.com. Copyright since 1995 by Advice Company. All Rights Reserved.