My future wife has not filed tax returns for four years. If she files for the previous years and owes back taxes will IRS go after my assets after our marriage?

[RiderJohn]

I may marry in 2018 and need to know if I will be liable for the wife's possible prior to marriage tax debt. I am in Washington, a community property state. The answer will determine whether we marry or not.

[Lisa995]

The IRS will intercept any refunds that have her SSN attached to them....so they would come after your joint refund.

[xmasbaby0]

Do you live n a community property state? AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI

[RiderJohn]

WA

[xmasbaby0]

Filing as 'injured spouse" will not help you then.

[xmasbaby0]

Why has she not filed?  Did she have income reported on W-2's or self-employment income?

[RiderJohn]

She had income from an insurance business she owned. She didn't file because she spent every waking moment caring for her husband who had one serious medical condition after another for years until his death in November, 2016.

[xmasbaby0]

She should seek a local paid tax professional to help her sort out her tax problems.

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

UPDATED FOR TAX YEAR 2019

It’s quite likely the IRS would want to take any joint refund to apply to past-due taxes.  To protect any refund you might receive, you can either:

1. File separately from your wife; or
2. Apply for injured spouse protection.  If granted, "injured spouse" prevents a spouse's tax refund from being attached for the debt of the other spouse (for example unpaid taxes or student loans). The IRS  doesn't automatically approve injured spouse applications, but you might want to consider it if 1/2 of your joint refund is more than your refund if you file separately.

Please see the following for additional information: 

• How do I file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation?
• IRS instructions for Form 8379.

[Edited | 3/31/2020 |  1:32pm PDT]