Innocent Spouse Relief: When Your Ex's Tax Problems Become Yours
If the IRS is trying to collect tax from a joint return after a divorce, Section 6015 may let you escape liability through innocent spouse relief, separation of liability, or equitable relief, depending on what you knew, your marital status, and the fairness factors involved. These claims are time‑sensitive—especially the two‑year deadline for traditional relief—so identifying the right category and filing Form 8857 promptly is critical.
TAXTAX RESOLUTION
3/14/20262 min read
You filed a joint tax return with your spouse during the marriage. Now you're divorced, and the IRS is coming after you for taxes your ex failed to pay, or worse, for income they never reported in the first place. It doesn't seem fair, and in many cases, the tax code agrees with you.
When you sign a joint return, both spouses are jointly and severally liable for the entire tax due on that return. That means the IRS can collect the full amount from either spouse, regardless of who earned the income or who made the mistake. This rule survives divorce, your divorce decree might say your ex is responsible for the taxes, but the IRS isn't bound by that agreement.
IRC Section 6015 provides three forms of relief for spouses caught in this situation. The first is traditional innocent spouse relief under Section 6015(b). To qualify, you must show that there was an understatement of tax on the joint return due to erroneous items of your spouse, that when you signed the return you didn't know and had no reason to know about the understatement, and that it would be inequitable to hold you liable.
The second option is separation of liability under Section 6015(c), available to spouses who are divorced, legally separated, or haven't lived together for at least twelve months. This essentially divides the tax liability as if you had filed separate returns. The understatement gets allocated to the spouse whose income or deductions caused it.
The third option is equitable relief under Section 6015(f), which is the broadest and most flexible. If you don't qualify for the first two categories, the IRS can still grant relief if, considering all the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you responsible. The IRS looks at factors like whether you received a significant benefit from the unpaid tax, whether your ex controlled the finances, whether you've since suffered economic hardship, and whether you've made a good faith effort to comply with the tax laws.
Timing matters. For traditional innocent spouse relief and separation of liability, you must file Form 8857 within two years of the IRS beginning collection activity. Equitable relief doesn't have the same hard deadline, but filing sooner is always better.
These cases come up constantly in the context of divorce, and family law attorneys are often the first professionals to spot the issue. If you signed joint returns during your marriage and your former spouse had unreported income, overstated deductions, or simply stopped paying the tax due, you may have a path to relief. The key is understanding which provision applies and getting the request filed before the window closes.