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Innocent Spouse RelieF
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mballa1999
Level 1
04-02-2026
11:34 AM
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A wife and husband filed a joint return and got a huge tax amount payment due to an early withdrawal of 401K. The wife didn't know about the withdrawal at the time of filing the tax return. They still have tax liability. Now, they are separated but they haven't filed for divorce yet. The wife wants to file a separate tax return and use the Innocent Spouse Relief form in order to be waived of the tax liability and get her full refund.
Please let me know whether the steps above will help her or she has to follow another venue and how she can be relieved from the old liability.
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BobKamman
Level 15
04-02-2026
11:46 AM
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It's not clear what years are involved here, but let's say the return with tax owed was 2024 and now she wants to file separately for 2025, which will result in a refund being applied to 2024 debt.
First -- she signed the 2024 joint return without looking at it? Where did the 401(k) distribution go -- did she benefit from it? In any case, she can request innocent-spouse relief from 2024, but that takes a while, and the result "depends" on many factors you can find with some research.
For 2025, she is neither an "innocent spouse" or an "injured spouse." IRS is going to keep the refund as long as she owes for 2024. Best choice might be to file an extension and try to work out the problem by October. Does the spouse intend to pay the tax debt?
