The Internal Revenue Service IRS has the power to seize income tax refunds when a taxpayer owes certain debts, such as unpaid taxes or overdue child support. Sometimes, a married couple's joint tax refund will be seized because of a debt for which only one spouse is responsible. When that happens, the other spouse is said to be "injured" and can file Form to get at least some of the refund. In general, federal tax refunds can be intercepted only to pay debts to the government or to satisfy court-ordered support obligations for:.
The IRS can intercept the entire refund from a married couple's joint tax return even if only one of the spouses was legally liable for the debt. This can happen, for example, when one spouse owes child support. The responsibility for that debt is his alone, but his spouse will suffer—be "injured," in other words—when the IRS seizes the refund. The same thing can happen if one spouse has defaulted on a federal student loan for which only she is responsible for repayment, and the couple's refund is seized as a result.
Form essentially asks the IRS to release the injured spouse's portion of the refund. A couple can file Form along with their joint tax return if they expect their refund to be seized. Alternatively, the injured spouse can file it separately from the return if they find out after they file that a refund was seized. The form has four parts:. Form is not for use by so-called innocent spouses. The terms "injured spouse" and "innocent spouse" are so frequently confused that the first page of the Form instructions specifically address the matter.
Innocent spouses are people who find themselves facing back taxes, civil penalties, and even criminal prosecution because of a fraudulent tax return filed by a spouse without their knowledge.
Leave those questions blank if you only want to claim injured spouse relief. If you've already filed and your return has been accepted, you'll have to mail the form to the IRS using TurboTax to create the form. TurboTax Help Intuit. To file this form in TurboTax: Open or continue your return. In the search box, enter injured spouse and then select the Jump to link in the search results. Answer Yes to Do you want to claim innocent or injured spouse relief? Please be aware that when you get to the Tell Us More About Your Situation screen, in order to meet all qualifications to file the form, the box I am not required to pay the past due amount must apply to you.
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An injured spouse form can be filed with a joint tax return, amended joint tax return, or afterward by itself. If you live in a community property state, the rules may differ.
The IRS uses laws in these states to determine if—and how much—an injured spouse is entitled to. Article Sources. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work.
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