My wife has child support arrears but, she has no job or income. I am filing my taxes as married but filing seperately. Is there anything I can do to keep my return without it going towards her child support arrears?
If you are filing married filing separately they cannot take your refund.
But, why not file a joint return. Injured spouse relief is when one spouse's refund allocable to her/his income is taken by the Government to satisfy child support, back taxes, an unpaid student loan, etc.
You need to insure that if you file a joint return, you include Form 8379 to claim injured spouse relief. This will prevent the "injured" spouse's share of the refund from being offset by the debt. Turbotax supports this form. Injured spouse (Form 8379) is included under the Federal Taxes tab. Look at under the federal review for other tax situations.
While an injured spouse return can be e-filed, including injured spouse on your return will delay your refund by about 14 weeks (11 weeks if it is e-filed.)
In Turbotax, type "injured spouse" in the find box at the top of the page to find the correct location to claim injured spouse.
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Future Years
For future years, there are several other solutions. These would include:
1. File separate returns. This is generally not a good solution because it will result in additional taxes.
2. Adjust your withholding so there is no refund. Without a refund, there is nothing to offset.
3. Pay the past due amounts.
See the IRS's Q & A on injured spouse here. http://www.irs.gov/Help-&-Resources/Tools-&-FAQs/FAQs-for-Individuals/Frequently-Asked-Tax-Questions....
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Community Property States
You don't mention where you live. As an additional comment, the rules are sometimes different if you live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.) In those states, even with injured spouse relief, the relief may not be as complete as it would be in other states. If you live in one of those states, see IRS Publication 555 for a more complete discussion of injured spouse in a community property state. It can be found at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p555/ar02.html#d0e928
Sorry. Forgot to mention I live in New Jersey.
NJ does not have an Injured or Innocent Spouse provision. Also, in general, you must use the same filing status in NJ as you do for Federal.
If you are filing married filing separately they cannot take your refund.
But, why not file a joint return. Injured spouse relief is when one spouse's refund allocable to her/his income is taken by the Government to satisfy child support, back taxes, an unpaid student loan, etc.
You need to insure that if you file a joint return, you include Form 8379 to claim injured spouse relief. This will prevent the "injured" spouse's share of the refund from being offset by the debt. Turbotax supports this form. Injured spouse (Form 8379) is included under the Federal Taxes tab. Look at under the federal review for other tax situations.
While an injured spouse return can be e-filed, including injured spouse on your return will delay your refund by about 14 weeks (11 weeks if it is e-filed.)
In Turbotax, type "injured spouse" in the find box at the top of the page to find the correct location to claim injured spouse.
__________
Future Years
For future years, there are several other solutions. These would include:
1. File separate returns. This is generally not a good solution because it will result in additional taxes.
2. Adjust your withholding so there is no refund. Without a refund, there is nothing to offset.
3. Pay the past due amounts.
See the IRS's Q & A on injured spouse here. http://www.irs.gov/Help-&-Resources/Tools-&-FAQs/FAQs-for-Individuals/Frequently-Asked-Tax-Questions....
_______________________
Community Property States
You don't mention where you live. As an additional comment, the rules are sometimes different if you live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.) In those states, even with injured spouse relief, the relief may not be as complete as it would be in other states. If you live in one of those states, see IRS Publication 555 for a more complete discussion of injured spouse in a community property state. It can be found at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p555/ar02.html#d0e928
Also, there is probably a separate state form to file. In Connecticut, it's called "non-obligated spouse', which seems more descriptive than "injured spouse"
For the last six years the irs has taken my tax return for my husbands past due child support whether I file separate or injured spouse the IRS still takes my returns for his support. I want to know how this is legal. Even if I file injured spouse they still take it for his child support. My own children and I need this return at this time. So please explain to be how these mothers get away with taking my tax return from my own children and the United States Government Can Do This To A person let alone a mother that works 8-10 hours a day to take Care of her own children wants to take it away from those who don't owe support on children and actually take Care of their business. I can't understand if my return is only $1997.00 and I don't get any of it because my husbands money hungry baby mommas get all of what my own children deserve not to mention what they have gotten the last 6 years even though I file injured spouse and married filling separate. Please someone explain before I hire an attorney to fight this and have these mothers pay every penny they got from my children back with interest.
You can once again submit an "Injured Spouse" Form 8379 and ask to have your portion of the refund spared from garnishment.
You have the right to try to sue the IRS, but you might be better off trying to work out a payment plan with the other mothers or the state child support division.
Ok ... first if you have no income on the return then even if you file an injured spouse form none of the refund is due you since your income was zero. Now ... the fix for this is to NOT have a refund ... if any of this refund is from taxes that was withheld from your wages then STOP that from happening then you don't lose that money. But if any of your refund is from refundable credits there is nothing you can do.
To: Critter
I’m a disabled stay at home mother, and my husband has child support to pay.
but how can they take our whole return even if I haven’t worked?
we have two babies together and I have the right to get those tax credits for them, his other kids mothers should not be able to get my babies credits.
I feel that should be against the law.
The state agencies could put a lien against your tax return for unpaid child support. You need to a file an injured spouse form 8379 to protect your portion of the tax return. to file this form:
Sorry ... but since you did not report taxable income on the return or have any withholding then NONE of the return belongs to you so even if you file an injured spouse form ALL of the refund will be taken. That is just the facts per the IRS.
I live in AZ Does this make a difference in refund if my husband owes child support arrears
Yes. His refund can possibly be garnished for past due child support. You may be able to file an Injured Spouse claim on Form 8379.
https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/what-is-a-refund-offset/00/26301
Reduced Refund https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203
NOTE: You can contact the IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107 to ask if they have an offset for you on file. TurboTax would not have that information.
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/who-can-garnish-an-income-tax-refund/L7cPPzDyc
Did you ever find this out? I'm newly married and my husbands baby mom makes her presence know and before I file I want to know which option helps me and my family not hers when she's already getting 500 a month lol
You have two options to protect your portion of the refund:
You can file separately from your husband (married filing separately); or
You could 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, child support, 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 TurboTax Help article for additional information: How do I file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation?
@CCurrie
Hello I live in Texas. My husband owes child support but doesn't have income. We have 3 children together. If we file jointly could they still take the return if he technically don't have a refund?
Does the injured spouse form help me if I live in Texas (community property state) my husband has no income. We have 3 children together. @Irene2805
Yes, Form 8379 will still help you if you live in Texas.
When you live in a community property state such as Texas that recognizes the marriage, special rules apply to the calculation of an injured spouse refund.
Please see Line 5a in the Instructions for Form 8379 for the best available guidance.
You'll notice that in the chart within the Line 5a text, there's guidance regarding the amount of an overpayment from a joint tax return that the IRS may offset against a spouse's separate tax liability specific to Texas. See Revenue Ruling 2004-74.
For additional information, also see the TurboTax Help article Married filing separately in community property states and IRS Publication 555, Community Property.
I am trying to claim my spouse on my return and he owes back child support. We live in KY so it is not a community property state. He has not worked and does not have any reported income. Everything on the return including income and student expense credits are mine. We do have 4 children that I always claim and get credits for. I don't have federal taxes withheld as I used the child tax credit to offset my tax liability. Can I assume that the entire refund will be protected from being taken since he did not have any income? Please advise.
You cannot claim your spouse as a dependent on your tax return. If you are still married, you choices are:
If you were still legally married as of December 31, 2020 and a child lives with you, you can qualify for Head of Household under a slightly different set of rules. Please this article: Can a married person claim Head of Household filing status?
Does your spouse owe child support to someone else? If so, you can protect your refund by either filing separately or, if you're filing jointly, filing a request for Injured Spouse status. Please see this TurboTax Help article for more information: How do I file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation...
I am trying to file married filing jointly along with the injured spouse form. If he hasn't worked, can they take any part of the refund for his back child support? He owes child support to someone else. Obviously, the added benefit of filing MFJ instead of HOH is the standard deduction is a bit more. I'm just wondering if it is worth the hassle. Also because my AGI is a little higher this year because I withdrew funds from my retirement accounts while I was laid off for a while last year, my tax liability is lower filing MFJ.
If all the income is attributed to you, most if not all of the credits will be allocated to you as well. The IRS determines if any of the refund should be allocated to him and the amount. If any is allocated, this is the only amount that can be used to pay past due debt.
I would definitely file MFJ with the injured spouse form.