Am I responsible for my new husband's back taxes?

[sweetshooter]

What is the name of your state? Florida

Upon marrying my fiance will I be responsible for his back taxes?

If we marry and file jointly and I have a refund due will they keep it because of $ he owes?

Can I be penalized and made to pay his debt? All of our incomes are kept completely separate and we do not co-mingle $

 

[abezon]

If you file jointly, the refund is his & yours, not just yours, & the IRS will keep it unless you file an injured spouse form, which will delay your refund by at least 2 months & you won't know how much you're getting until the check arrives.

The IRS can go after any asset with his name on it, so any jointly owned assets (like a house) are fair game. The IRs can't garnish your wages, but they can take his, which will force you to support the family.

Have you considered living in sin? It's legal now.

 

[sweetshooter]

Thanks for the information! We have been living in sin and I think we will just continue. He is self employed so we were mostly going to get married so he would benefit from my medical insurance but I think I'll just make him wait until his issues are resolved. Thank you!

 

[irsos]

The IRS can and does levy the wages of the non-liable spouse in a community property state.

 

[abezon]

The IRS can and does levy the wages of the non-liable spouse in a community property state.

Florida is not a community property state.

Does your employer offer domestic partner benefits? The health insurance subsidy would be taxable income, but he could still get coverage that way.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Technically, it is illegal to 'live in sin' here in Florida. Wait, duck! No, I too live in sin, so I am NOT going to be the first one to cast a stone here.

IF you decide to get married, you also have the option of filing 'married, filing separately', but it tends to be the highest tax rate. I did for the last two years of my marriage because I KNEW my ex falsified expenses on the business and I wasn't going to get entangled in that mess. It was cheap insurance as far as I was concerned.

 

[abezon]

It's not technically illegal. The laws saying it is illegal were vacated by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Florida may still have such a law on the books, but it's no more enforceable than the laws or covenants making it illegal to sell your house to a "colored" family. Those laws were struck down by the Supreme Court decades ago, but many remain on the books because they are too difficult to repeal.