Accidentally filed an injured spouse 8379 form

[sjcroft]

I filed our taxes on Friday and just realized that I filed form 8379 injured spouse allocation, and I did not mean to. While doing taxes I clicked on this to see what it was, and saw that it did not apply to us, so I clicked off and finished my return. Somehow this form accidentally got submitted with my tax return.

Neither my husband nor I have any past due or back payments due for anything. This form does not apply to us in any way. 

Should I file an amended return, or wait and see if the IRS contacts us about it? I am (like everyone else I know) extremely concerned about getting our refund back ASAP. My business is non-existent thanks to the corona virus and desperately need that $ as soon as possible! I''m worried that this will cause an unnecessary delay.

[bluedeb · Accepted solution]

Not sure how the Injured Spouse form was sent if you did not enter any information about the form.  If your return has been accepted, you should not amend your return until your original return has been processed.  The IRS may contact you about the form.

If your return gets rejected, you can delete the form & then re-e-file.

You might want to call the IRS to see if you can tell them what happened & maybe they can remove the Injured Spouse form.

The IRS telephone number is 1-800-829-1040, and they are available from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The best time to call is early in the morning.

- The first question the automated system will ask you is to choose your language.
- Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead.
- Next, press 1 for “form, tax history, or payment”.
- Next, press 3 “for all other questions.”
-Next, press 2 “for all other questions.”
- When the system asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, do NOT enter anything.
-After it asks twice, you will be prompted with another menu.
-Finally, press 2 for personal or individual tax questions. The system should then transfer you to an agent.

[sjcroft]

I don't know either - some of the boxes are checked and some are not, and then in the amounts area it is all zeros. It looks like the boxes that are checked may have been automatically checked. 

My return has been accepted.

I did manage to get someone on the phone at the IRS and they are not able to view my return, so not able to remove it.

She advised waiting to see if they contact me, or file an amended return. Either way looks like its going to be delayed.

I am hoping they will see that we do not owe any past due/back payments and just disregard. I am praying it does not delay the return, but am telling myself to prepare for that.

Thanks for taking the time to answer me, I appreciate that so much

[bluedeb · Accepted solution]

I am really hoping for you that you get your refund sooner.  

[sarah313]

Hi! I don't know if you'll see this or not since it's been a while, but I did this this year! I actually filed it pre-emptively and then called the offset line and realized the debt was paid off. I don't want to delay our refund if I don't need to! Did you ever figure this out & did the IRS help? 

[KathrynG3]

The fastest thing for you to do may be to contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and explain you no longer need Form 8379 Insured Spouse Allocation.

With the Injured Spouse form included, the average time to process a tax return is 11 weeks since it was e-filed. 

If an amended return is e-filed, the average time to process the amendment is 18-12 weeks.

@sarah313