A joint tax refund can sometimes go toward a debt that belongs to your spouse, leaving you without the portion of the refund you expected to receive. When that happens, you still have options available to help you recover your share when the debt belongs to your spouse rather than you.
Here are the key details you should know about injured spouse relief.
How it works
Injured spouse relief lets you ask the IRS to return your portion of a joint refund after they applied it to certain past-due debts. These debts can include:
- Past-due federal or state taxes
- Child support
- Certain federal debts
- State unemployment compensation debts
The amount you can recover depends on your share of the joint refund, which the IRS will calculate by investigating your financial and tax records.
Who qualifies for relief
You generally need to meet several requirements to qualify. You must have filed a joint return, the IRS must have applied your refund to your spouse’s legally enforceable past-due debt and you must not have been responsible for that obligation.
You also generally need to have contributed to the joint refund through income, tax withholding, estimated tax payments or certain refundable credits. Because Washington follows community property rules, special allocation rules can affect how the IRS calculates your share if you lived in Washington during the tax year.
How to claim your share
You generally request relief by filing Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, either with your joint return or separately after the IRS applies the refund to the debt. You need to file a separate form for each tax year for which you seek relief.
The IRS generally requires you to file within three years from the return’s due date (including extensions) or two years from the date you paid the tax that later got offset, whichever period ends later.
Take steps to protect your refund
If you believe your spouse’s debt reduced your joint refund, reviewing your tax return and the offset notice with an attorney can help you determine whether you qualify and what you need to file. Getting advice early can also help you avoid missing the applicable filing deadline.