If you filed a joint return with your deceased spouse, you are responsible for the tax debt. This is true whether you're dealing with a final return or a return filed several years ago. To give you an example, imagine that you filed a return in 2020 jointly with your spouse.
If my spouse dies, am I held responsible for their unpaid taxes? Since each spouse is held individually liable for taxes based on filing a joint return, the death of one spouse will not theoretically affect the surviving spouse's liability for unpaid taxes.
If there's no money in their estate, the debts will usually go unpaid. For survivors of deceased loved ones, including spouses, you're not responsible for their debts unless you shared legal responsibility for repaying as a co-signer, a joint account holder, or if you fall within another exception.
If you file jointly and your spouse has a debt (this can be a federal, state income tax, child support, or spousal support debt) the IRS can apply your refund to one of these debts, which is known as an “offset.” The agency can also take a collection action against you for the tax debt you and your spouse owe, such as ...
Innocent spouse relief can relieve you from paying additional taxes if your spouse understated taxes due on your joint tax return and you didn't know about the errors. Innocent spouse relief is only for taxes due on your spouse's income from employment or self-employment.
The innocent spouse rule is a provision of U.S. tax law, revised most recently in 1998, which allows a spouse to seek relief from penalties resulting from underpayment of tax by a spouse. The rule was created partly due to spouses not telling their partners the entire truth about their financial situation.
The non-liable spouse's share of a tax refund may be withheld and require filing of a request for injured spouse relief. Some joint assets such as joint bank accounts can be reached by the IRS, and in the case of bank accounts they can seize the entire account (because either spouse can access the entire balance).
Tax debt can be divided up between the spouses just like other assets and debts in a divorce. However, it's important to realize that the IRS does not need to comply with your divorce decree when seeking payment of back taxes from a joint tax return.
Joint and Several Liability
If you filed joint tax returns when married, both parties are jointly and severally liable for the tax, penalties and interest. If you were liable to the IRS for tax debt before your divorce, you will still be liable after the divorce.
If you don't proactively make a plan to deal with the tax debt, the IRS may try to forcibly collect the debt. If applicable, the agency will pursue the estate for the tax bill. If the surviving spouse is liable for the tax debt, the IRS can go after them.
Additional examples of unsecured debt include medical debt and most types of credit card debt. If you die with unsecured debt, repayment becomes the responsibility of your estate. Your legal estate refers to all the assets, property and money left behind by you or another deceased person when they die.
If you live in a community property state, you probably will be responsible for debts accumulated by your spouse during the marriage. (These states are California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Louisiana, while Alaska, South Dakota, and Tennessee make it optional.)
You can protect yourself from your spouse's debt by signing a prenuptial agreement before you get married and avoid taking out joint credit. It's especially important to protect equity in your home during a divorce to ensure you get your fair share, since this is likely the largest asset you have.
Debts are not directly passed on to heirs in the United States, but if there is any money in your parent's estate, the IRS is the first one getting paid. So, while beneficiaries don't inherit unpaid tax bills, those bills, must be settled before any money is disbursed to beneficiaries from the estate.
If a deceased person owes taxes the Estate can be pursued by the IRS until the outstanding amounts are paid. The Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) for tax collection is roughly 10 years -- meaning the IRS can continue to pursue the Estate for that length of time.
Again, the executor or surviving spouse is usually responsible for paying any outstanding taxes owed by the decedent, as indicated on their tax returns. Keep in mind that the IRS has up to three years to determine if the correct amount of taxes was paid with the final income tax return.
If your spouse had tax debt before you got married, only they are responsible for that debt and you are not liable. However, if you file a joint return and receive a refund, it may be intercepted to pay off part of the debt. Your spouse cannot receive any money back from the IRS until their debt is paid.
If you filed tax returns jointly when married, both spouses are liable to the IRS. That means they can collect 100% of the debt (tax, penalties, and interest) from either spouse. This is true after divorce, even if the spouse that is obligated per the divorce decree, fails to pay.
Separation of liability can relieve you from having to pay your spouse's share of understated taxes from a joint tax return if you're no longer married or living together. The additional taxes due are divided between you and your spouse based on your own incomes and assets.
The Judge is also required to report any inconsistencies to the IRS under their ethical requirements. In essence, the Judge is legally required to report these facts to the IRS for a tax audit. After a divorce, the IRS has three years to audit your finances during the marriage.
Alimony taxation
Today, alimony or separate maintenance payments relating to any divorce or separation agreements dated January 1, 2019 or later are not tax-deductible by the person paying the alimony. The person receiving the alimony does not have to report the alimony received as taxable income.
The IRS no longer accepts a copy of a divorce decree to show who has the right to claim a child as a dependent if the decree was executed after December 31, 2008.
A silent divorce, often referred to as a “quiet divorce” or “secret divorce,” is a term used to describe a separation or divorce process that occurs discreetly, away from the public eye and often even from close friends and family.
Willful neglect is the neglect of the husband to provide for his wife the common necessaries of life, he having the ability to do so; or it is the failure to do so by reason of idleness, profligacy, or dissipation.
Filing an alienation of affection lawsuit requires proof that your marriage was a happy and loving one and that the third party intentionally destroyed your marriage. Unfortunately, only a handful of states still recognize this type of lawsuit, and California is not one of them.