J
jayke4
Guest
Someone else asked the question of fraudulent joint tax returns by a spouse, so I already have seen the answer that my spouse is liable, I am not.
Four more questions related to someone else's earlier post:
How long does it take before the IRS investigates? Should I report this to individual states as well? Should I send the various treasury departments certified letters, or is a phone call enough (both to report a crime and *to protect myself in any audits*)? Should I also mention investment accounts that were unreported, or would they discover this anyhow?
1) I called the IRS last summer to report that I had found drafts of my (now) estranged wife's tax returns for three years, suggesting that she had filed jointly (while I had filed separately) AND that she was claiming refunds due (while I had owed additional taxes in those years). (Indeed, one letter to her from the IRS mentioning a *joint* return is dated twenty months after our marriage, using a different address than where we lived - more than the mere suggestion of a draft copy of a return.) If the IRS had ever contacted her, I would certainly have heard from her by now (she has a violent temperment) -- I can only presume that they have not contacted her, or that she has somehow managed to talk her way through any audits.
How long can it take before the IRS investigates something like this? More than a year?
2) Last May I opened an envelope from the teasury people in New York with a check for over $800. Since I had filed singly and had owed over $100, it made no sense -- and then I noticed that it was addressed to my wife as well. I asked her what it was for (I didn't yet realize that she had been filing joint returns) and she said that it was for her return and was none of my business. That was my first hint that something was wrong. When I discovered her draft returns and called the IRS two months later, I was told that I did not need to call the individual states (PA and NY), but that any investigation by the IRS would also trigger individual states.
If she was in any sort of trouble for cashing the one check that I know about, I am certain that someone would have contacted me by now to verify my signature or ask about my involvement.
Should I call the individual states as well?
3) Although I know that I am not liable for any wrongdoing since I filed individual returns and owed tax at the ends of these years, I am still concerned about audits nonetheless.
Should I send letters, return receipt requested, to document an indication that I am aware of problems in her tax returns?
4) Since our separation last July, I have additionally discovered that my wife had been keeping some eight different investment accounts. There was a lot of activity in these accounts - it is not clear just what she was doing with all of the movements, but it all strikes me with the stick of a red flag. None of these had ever been reported on her taxes.
Should I indicate these to the IRS and states, or would they already have these anyhow IF they ever do an audit?
Additionally, she is an MBA with insurance licences in three states and has series-7 or some such licenses. That is, she can't claim ignorance from my perspective -- but would the IRS care -- is it my place to mention this?
Four more questions related to someone else's earlier post:
How long does it take before the IRS investigates? Should I report this to individual states as well? Should I send the various treasury departments certified letters, or is a phone call enough (both to report a crime and *to protect myself in any audits*)? Should I also mention investment accounts that were unreported, or would they discover this anyhow?
1) I called the IRS last summer to report that I had found drafts of my (now) estranged wife's tax returns for three years, suggesting that she had filed jointly (while I had filed separately) AND that she was claiming refunds due (while I had owed additional taxes in those years). (Indeed, one letter to her from the IRS mentioning a *joint* return is dated twenty months after our marriage, using a different address than where we lived - more than the mere suggestion of a draft copy of a return.) If the IRS had ever contacted her, I would certainly have heard from her by now (she has a violent temperment) -- I can only presume that they have not contacted her, or that she has somehow managed to talk her way through any audits.
How long can it take before the IRS investigates something like this? More than a year?
2) Last May I opened an envelope from the teasury people in New York with a check for over $800. Since I had filed singly and had owed over $100, it made no sense -- and then I noticed that it was addressed to my wife as well. I asked her what it was for (I didn't yet realize that she had been filing joint returns) and she said that it was for her return and was none of my business. That was my first hint that something was wrong. When I discovered her draft returns and called the IRS two months later, I was told that I did not need to call the individual states (PA and NY), but that any investigation by the IRS would also trigger individual states.
If she was in any sort of trouble for cashing the one check that I know about, I am certain that someone would have contacted me by now to verify my signature or ask about my involvement.
Should I call the individual states as well?
3) Although I know that I am not liable for any wrongdoing since I filed individual returns and owed tax at the ends of these years, I am still concerned about audits nonetheless.
Should I send letters, return receipt requested, to document an indication that I am aware of problems in her tax returns?
4) Since our separation last July, I have additionally discovered that my wife had been keeping some eight different investment accounts. There was a lot of activity in these accounts - it is not clear just what she was doing with all of the movements, but it all strikes me with the stick of a red flag. None of these had ever been reported on her taxes.
Should I indicate these to the IRS and states, or would they already have these anyhow IF they ever do an audit?
Additionally, she is an MBA with insurance licences in three states and has series-7 or some such licenses. That is, she can't claim ignorance from my perspective -- but would the IRS care -- is it my place to mention this?