Virtually no American wants to receive unexpected mail from the Internal Revenue Service. It's never good news, and it can be scary. If you have gotten a notice that the IRS is reviewing your tax returns because they are suspicious that you and your spouse underestimated your tax obligation, you have a few options. First you have to understand the basics of the innocent spouse relief Houston TX husbands and wives apply for.
You may qualify for this option when you and your husband filed jointly, and he is believed to have knowingly underestimated the amount of money he earned and the taxes he's responsible for. You can petition the IRS so as not to be liable yourself for any of his additional taxes, penalties, and interest. Laws change periodically, but the three classic requirements must be established. You must show that it was your partner who filed incorrect information about his own earnings.
Next you have to prove that, when you signed the tax returns, you didn't know anything about earnings being misreported. You also have to prove that there would have been no reason for you to know. If there is doubt about this, you will not qualify.
Lastly, the IRS will determine, based on information they can obtain, that it would not be fair to hold you responsible for the taxes owed. They base their decision on a number of factors. These include whether or not you directly benefited from the underestimate. They will check your marital status to find out if you are divorced or legally separated. They will also take it into account if your spouse has abandoned you.
If you believe you are a good candidate for this exception, you have to file form 8857. You must be very thorough in the information you give. Questions that require explanations should be filled out in meticulous detail. Providing documentation for your explanations is a very good idea. The more details you can substantiate, the more likely the IRS will make an exception for you.
The answers you give need to be pertinent to the type of relief you are filing for. Adding a letter along with the form outlining the facts and citing examples is a good idea. You need to provide as much proof as possible for the examples you give. If other people have information that would be useful to your case, it needs to be notarized and included with your letter and form.
Although the IRS has changed the deadline to file one of these petitions, the sooner you do it the better. The deadline was two years, but has been increased. You may get an indication that something is wrong if you get a notice that your tax returns are being investigated. This notice will tell you that the IRS suspects taxes have been underestimated.
The IRS can deal harshly with someone who deliberately misleads them. You don't want to be in the middle of this kind of situation when you can help it. Filing as an innocent spouse is a good way to indicate you had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.
You may qualify for this option when you and your husband filed jointly, and he is believed to have knowingly underestimated the amount of money he earned and the taxes he's responsible for. You can petition the IRS so as not to be liable yourself for any of his additional taxes, penalties, and interest. Laws change periodically, but the three classic requirements must be established. You must show that it was your partner who filed incorrect information about his own earnings.
Next you have to prove that, when you signed the tax returns, you didn't know anything about earnings being misreported. You also have to prove that there would have been no reason for you to know. If there is doubt about this, you will not qualify.
Lastly, the IRS will determine, based on information they can obtain, that it would not be fair to hold you responsible for the taxes owed. They base their decision on a number of factors. These include whether or not you directly benefited from the underestimate. They will check your marital status to find out if you are divorced or legally separated. They will also take it into account if your spouse has abandoned you.
If you believe you are a good candidate for this exception, you have to file form 8857. You must be very thorough in the information you give. Questions that require explanations should be filled out in meticulous detail. Providing documentation for your explanations is a very good idea. The more details you can substantiate, the more likely the IRS will make an exception for you.
The answers you give need to be pertinent to the type of relief you are filing for. Adding a letter along with the form outlining the facts and citing examples is a good idea. You need to provide as much proof as possible for the examples you give. If other people have information that would be useful to your case, it needs to be notarized and included with your letter and form.
Although the IRS has changed the deadline to file one of these petitions, the sooner you do it the better. The deadline was two years, but has been increased. You may get an indication that something is wrong if you get a notice that your tax returns are being investigated. This notice will tell you that the IRS suspects taxes have been underestimated.
The IRS can deal harshly with someone who deliberately misleads them. You don't want to be in the middle of this kind of situation when you can help it. Filing as an innocent spouse is a good way to indicate you had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.
About the Author:
If you are looking for information about innocent spouse relief Houston TX residents can come to our web pages online today. More details are available at http://znbcpa.com/accounting-services/ now.
