Innocent Spouse Relief

Married taxpayers often file joint tax returns with their spouse due to the tax benefits for filing jointly versus filing separately. When you file jointly, you become both jointly and individually responsible for the tax and any interest or penalty due on the joint return even if you were to later divorce. Even if your divorce decree states that your former spouse is responsible for past taxes, the IRS will ignore this and will collect from whichever spouse they can.

The IRS does allow a spouse to be relieved of the amount due in certain circumstances. One of these is Innocent Spouse Relief.

TurboTax can guide you through the process of filing for Innocent Spouse Relief. Follow these steps to get started:

Here's how to get to the Innocent Spouse screens in the TurboTax Online:

1. Select the Tools button in the upper right-hand portion of the screen. 
2. Select Topic Search. 
3. When the window opens, type "innocent spouse" into the box, select the item that best describes your situation, and then select GO. 
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter your information.

Here's how to get to the Innocent Spouse screens in the TurboTax desktop or CD/download version:

1. Enter your cursor into the search box in the upper right-hand portion of the screen. 
2. Type "innocent spouse " into the box, click on the item that best describes your situation. 
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter the information from your 1099-R.

Visit the IRS website Innocent Spouse pages to learn more about Innocent Spouse Relief and to find out about other relief available from the IRS.