When you sign a joint tax return with your spouse, you are signing a legal document that holds both signatories in “joint and several liability” for the information on the return. In other words, each of you can be held liable for the entire tax amount, including penalties and interest if you underpay or do not pay at all.
But what if your spouse underpaid your joint taxes without your knowledge? What if, when your spouse prepared the tax return, he or she did not report one or more items, used the wrong tax basis, or did something else that caused your joint taxes to be underpaid?
This article discusses the IRS innocent spouse relief rules. When couples file jointly, the law makes both parties responsible for the entire tax liability. Under tax law, this is called joint and several liability,[1] which is defined as two or more persons who share responsibility with respect to the same liability (i.e., event or act).
You and your spouse are jointly responsible for paying federal tax due, interest accrued, and any applicable penalties under the IRS innocent spouse relief requirements. This is especially true if you and your spouse filed a joint return. However, if you believe that your current or former spouse should be solely responsible for a particular item or the underpayment of tax on the joint tax return, then you may be eligible for Innocent Spouse Relief.