Filing IRS Innocent Spouse Relief

If you are going to receive Innocent Spouse Tax Relief, you must be sure your filing is done absolutely in compliance to Internal Revenue Service requirements.  If your request is turned down, you will not be able to apply for innocent spouse relief again in that tax year.  You need to understand all the implications of filing for innocent spouse relief and be able to document that you meet the qualifications.

There is now only one Internal Revenue Service form that you need to file for separation of liability, equitable relief, and innocent spouse relief.  That is Internal Revenue Service form 8857.  Internal Revenue Service form 1250 is not required any longer.  You can apply for more than one type of relief, so apply for every relief category for which you feel you qualify.  Even if you do not meet the qualifications for one category, the Internal Revenue Service may approve you for another.  Applying under all the categories you can gives you an option for denial in the others, since you might not be able to apply in that tax year again.

Form 8857 will have some personal questions to which you need to respond honestly.  Some of the questions may be uncomfortable, but you must answer all as thoroughly as possible if you wish to have a chance to qualify.  In making your application, be certain to emphasize why, specifically, you qualify

It is also important to include a letter with form 8857, explaining any details that you felt were left out by the format of the questionnaire.  This is no clear-cut process for granting innocent spouse relief, so you need to take the opportunity to expound upon why you qualify for this assistance.  Be thorough and articulate and you can do yourself some real good.

Innocent spouse relief is handled on a case-by-case basis.  So the pretext of simple circumstances may not be enough.  The Internal Revenue Service likes as much detail as possible when deciding these cases.