EQUITABLE RELIEF

 The Internal Revenue Service announced that it will extend help to more innocent spouses by eliminating the two-year time limit that now applies to certain relief requests. What this means is that a married couple who filed a joint tax return both are liable for 50% of the tax due unless one does not pay then the other is liable for 100%. This usually happens in a year involving a divorce.

Equitable Relief Under Section 6015(f ) allows for equitable relief of taxes owed when a spouse files a joint tax return and relief is not available under Section 6015(b) or (c). However there was a two year deadline to request equitable relief of taxes under subsection (f).

Even though the courts have upheld the validity of the two-year deadline to request equitable tax relief the IRS launched a thorough review of the equitable relief provisions and issued Notice 2011-70 which eliminates the two-year deadline.

"In recent months, it's became clear to me that we need to make significant changes involving innocent spouse relief" said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

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