Form 8379

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 12, 2025
1 reply
8 views

My husband suddenly passed away 2 weeks after we filed our taxes for 2017. I actually got a refund that yr. But irs amended the taxes for that yr and I been owing. I was only married 4 months when I did joint return. My refund been all going to offset and I still owe $900. How do I go about filling form 8379? I already filed my taxes. If I get approved would I be eligible for all refunds they have taken from me the past 7 yrs

Vanessa A

Level 15

No. You would not get it all back from the last 7 years. The injured Spouse form is to be filed within 3 years of the date of the tax return or 2 years of the date of the payments whichever is later. There is a three year statues of limitations on filing the Injured Spouse form, therefore since you are still paying, you may be able to get the last 3 years back, but not the full 7 years. If accepted, this would also allow your refunds going further to stop being garnished for his debt.

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KristielynnAuthor

Level 2

I really want to thank you for answering. I been searching for answers. I already did the penalty abatement. I have just one more question. There are 3 different kinds of forms I can choose from. Would the injured spouse be the right one for me ? I already filed my taxes for this year and I haven’t had a refund since 2016 because it’s been offset. How do I go about filing the form? Could I do it on turbo tax? Once I finally get these answers I might finally be able to put this horrible situation behind me. I greatly appreciate you

LeticiaF1

Level 12

There are two main types of tax relief for spouses:

Injured spouse relief- this one will relieve your refund from going to your spouse's debts.
Innocent spouse relief- helps you from paying taxes if your spouse did something wrong on a tax return that you weren't aware of, and now you owe taxes.

From reading about your situation,‌ the injured spouse relief is the one that would be best in your situation. Since you have already filed your returns, you can file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation by mail. ‌Follow the instructions and enter information from your tax returns on the form, you also need to attach forms like W2s. ‌You have to complete a Form 8379, for each year separately. ‌Once you are done, mail Form 8379 to the IRS Service Center where you filed your original return.