IRS letter is identical for Primary and Spouse

[strongsilence]

Tp and spouse received an identical letter with the same late payment penalty.  Does that mean each must pay that amount? IOW, is the penalty X + X, or doubled?

[BobKamman · Accepted solution]

Have you read the entire notice?  They usually have language like this at the end (from an online example of CP503):

Additional information     We’re required to send a copy of this notice to both you and your spouse. Each copy contains the same information about your joint account. Please note: Only pay the amount due once.

[IRonMaN]

Yup, they send them to both so nobody can play the game of I never saw it.  "He or she must have received it and never told me about it."

[BobKamman]

They send it to both because IRS has no way of knowing whether they are still married.  But, they expect the spouse that moved out to have left a forwarding address.  

[Accountant-Man]

They send them complete to each MFJ taxpayer because each of the TPs are JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY LIABLE for the tax and penalties and interest.

Jointly and severally liable is a legal doctrine where multiple parties are independently responsible for the total amount of a debt or liability. A plaintiff can recover the full judgment from any one party, regardless of their individual fault. This often applies to lawsuits involving multiple defendants (torts) or contractual agreements like leases and loans.