Must one spouse pay the tax resulting from a fabrication or omission by another spouse on a jointly filed tax return? It depends. If the spouse qualifies, he or she may be able to avoid personal tax liability under the "innocent spouse" rules.
Joint filing status
Generally, married taxpayers benefit overall by filing a joint tax return on the federal level. This is particularly the case when one spouse earns significantly more than the other. Filing jointly may also help the couple maximize certain income tax deductions and credits.
But joint filing status comes with a catch. Each spouse is "jointly and severally" responsible for any tax, interest and penalties attributable to the return. And this liability continues to apply even if the couple gets a divorce or one spouse dies. In other words, the IRS may try to collect the full amount due from one spouse, even if all the income reported on the joint return was earned by the other spouse.
Basic rules
However, the tax law provides tax relief for an "innocent spouse." Under these rules, one spouse may not be liable for any unpaid tax and penalties, despite having signed the joint return.
To determine eligibility for relief, the IRS imposes a set of common requirements. The spouses must have filed a joint return that has an understatement of tax, and that understatement must be attributable to one spouse's erroneous items. For this purpose, "erroneous items" are defined as any deduction, credit or tax basis incorrectly stated on the return, as well as any income not reported.
From there, the other ("innocent") spouse must establish that, at the time the joint return was signed, he or she didn't know -- or have reason to know -- there was an understatement of tax. Finally, to qualify, the IRS needs to find that it would be unfair to hold one spouse liable for the understatement after considering all the facts and circumstances.
Additional notes
For many years, innocent spouse relief had to be requested within two years after the IRS first began its collection activity against a taxpayer. But, in 2011, the IRS announced that it would no longer apply the two-year limit on collection activities.
In addition, by law, when one spouse applies for innocent spouse relief, the IRS must contact the other spouse or former spouse. There are no exceptions even for victims of spousal abuse or domestic violence.
Help available
Historically, courts haven't been particularly generous about upholding claims under the innocent spouse rules. State laws can also complicate matters. If you're wondering whether you'd qualify for relief, please contact us for help.
Sidebar: What does the IRS consider?
The IRS considers "all facts and circumstances" in determining whether it would be inequitable to hold an "innocent" spouse liable for taxes due on a jointly filed tax return. One factor that may increase the likelihood of relief is that the taxes owed are clearly attributable to one spouse or an ex-spouse who filled out the errant return.
If one spouse was deserted during the marriage, or suffered abuse, it may also improve the chances that innocent spouse relief will be granted. In some cases, the IRS may examine the couple's situation to determine whether the spouse applying for relief knew about the erroneous items.
Send your kids to day camp and you may get a tax break
Among the many great challenges of parenthood is what to do with your kids when school lets out. Do you keep them at home and try to captivate their attention yourself or with the help of sitters? Or do you send them off to the wide variety of day camps now in operation? There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but if you choose the latter option, you might qualify for a tax break!
Dollar-for-dollar savings
Day camp -- but, to be clear, not overnight camp -- is a qualified expense under the child and dependent care tax credit, which is worth 20 percent of qualifying expenses (more if your adjusted gross income is less than $43,000), subject to a cap. For 2019, the maximum expenses allowed for the credit are $3,000 for one qualifying child and $6,000 for two or more.
Remember that tax credits are particularly valuable because they reduce your tax liability dollar-for-dollar -- $1 of tax credit saves you $1 of taxes. This differs from deductions, which simply reduce the amount of income subject to tax. For example, if you're in the 24 percent tax bracket, $1 of deduction saves you only $0.24 of taxes. So, it's important to take maximum advantage of the tax credits available to you.
Qualifying for the credit
A qualifying child is generally a dependent under age 13. (There's no age limit if the dependent child is unable physically or mentally to care for him- or herself.) Special rules apply if the child's parents are divorced or separated or if the parents live apart.
Eligible costs for care must be work-related. This means that the child care is needed so that you can work or, if you're currently unemployed, look for work.
If you participate in an employer-sponsored child and dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), also sometimes referred to as a Dependent Care Assistance Program, you can't use expenses paid from or reimbursed by the FSA to claim the credit.
Determining eligibility
Additional rules apply to the child and dependent care credit. If you're not sure whether you're eligible, contact us. We can assist you in determining your eligibility for this credit and other tax breaks for parents.
To learn more, contact Prince & Tuohey CPA Ltd., 2836 Malvern Ave. Suite D, Hot Springs, AR 71901. Call 501-262-5500 or visit website http://www.princetuohey.com for more information.
Business on 05/13/2019