When my ex and I married, it was in the divorce decree that he would pay the back-taxes due to the IRS (most of which were his anyways).
He has not paid it all off yet, and as a result, my stimulas check was credited towards the debt and anything I recieve back this year will probably be taken as well.
I have tried to contact my ex about repaying me for what was taken, but he’s moved and I don’t know where he is and he’s not responding to emails.
I heard a rumor that there is an “injured spouse” form or letter I can write to make sure the IRS does not punish me any further for his debt, and that I might actually get credited back for what they did take.
Is there any truth to this? Has anyone else done this?
I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer or tax accountant to look in to this, and I usually file my taxes myself. Any help anyone can offer would be gratefully accepted.
If you don’t want to hire anyone, I’d start by talking to the IRS Taxpayer Advocates. Sometimes they can’t help you until a situation has escalated to a certain point, but they can always point you to some other resource. They’re really quite helpful.
The key thing to remember is that divorce decrees often do not match reality. The decree can make the husband liable for the amount, but all that does is make him liable to you for any amounts you pay to the IRS (since you are still jointly and separately liable for the entire debt). You do have grounds now to sue your husband, but if the IRS can’t get money out of him, I doubt you will either.
But you should also talk to an accountant. If you just lost $600 in stimulus, you’re not saving any money doing it yourself.
You may want to check with any local law schools or legal aid groups about the availibility of tax clinics that may be able to help you.
Also, you may have grounds to file a contempt action against your Ex-husband if he has willfully failed to comply with the divorce decree. You’d need to discuss that with a lawyer licensed in the jurisidcition that issued the decree.