fraudulent and underreporting income

[kristinw98]

My husband has used turbo tax since 1999 and no problems 

He gets SSDI and pays about $700-800 in federal taxes a year on that and VA disability is tax free. 

I work and have for 13 years.  He’s always done the taxes when the w-2 came in. This year he was behaving odd about it. And it took me awhile but I was able to get the 1040 history for the last few years on IRS . And noticed his income was fine but what he put for mine didn’t match any of my w-2 income none for any year I just got these 3 weeks ago.  I never saw any refunds because he kept them and he has them deposited in a hidden account i had no access to. I don’t know a PIN number for turbo tax IRS nothing but i am livid 

Tbis was no oversight but meant to screw me over and thinking I’d be paying for it while he took the refunds and filed fraudulently 

Two weeks ago a letter arrived from the IRS saying we owe $3500 and apparently that wasn’t the first notice 

He has let it go for over a year 

He has the money heck he makes $6500 a month compadres to my $2000 a month. And was made because he felt entitled to my money 

How Turbo Tax allowed his file to go through i don’t know 

I refuse to pay anything that he did 

I’m tired of people saying get a lawyer bc I feel like my divorce lawyer is trying to screw me too

[Bsch4477]

What a sad story. Sorry you are dealing with this. TurboTax is just a program which accepts the user’s input and sends the return to the IRS. There is no human involvement. Your openly recourse, unfortunately, is a legal one. 

[Mike9241]

Turbotax has no way of knowing that a tax return has inaccurate info. perhaps your spouse filed by mail to avoid the IRS computers from quickly catching the w-2 misstatements. Innocent spouse relief may be available but you need a tax pro to review your situation. If you do nothing, the IRS can go after your bank accounts, put liens on your assets, garnish your wages, etc. They can do the same to your spouse or both.  

see IRS PUB 971 for info on this relief 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p971.pdf 

[kristinw98]

no he filed electronically through turbo tax

i did file divorce the next day 

i work for the fed gov so my w-2 are pulled right up 

i showed him every time i just wasn’t  there when he filed and submitted 

you don’t do something perfect and then mess it up 

he didn’t mess his income up 

just mine 

again he did not file paper or through the mail 

he hasn’t since high school 1995

i stated he’s filed with turbo tax since 2000

i discovered after the 1040 transcripts 2-3 weeks ago in the mail that i had through the irs he falsely underreported my income

nof once not twice not three times but possibly 6 times 

just to get me in trouble 

and keep the refund 

not tell me

irs bill? head filer and his social is right at the top

and that my friends is what a abusive narcissist does 

[kristinw98]

I don’t think I can file the innocent spouse in time 

the statement he kept hiding it every 3 months so the interest got bigger he dud this for over a year and i only seen it in the mail recently 

the money is due friday 

[Mike9241]

Again, Turbotax never knows if there's inaccurate amounts entered in a return since it self-prepared. As previously stated, if you do nothing and taxes are underpaid the IRS can go after either or both of you. Inform your divorce lawyer of the inaccurate returns.  If you're not seeing eye to eye with your current one, then get another. 

[Opus 17]

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@kristinw98 wrote:

I don’t think I can file the innocent spouse in time 

the statement he kept hiding it every 3 months so the interest got bigger he dud this for over a year and i only seen it in the mail recently 

the money is due friday 

---

I do recommend seeing attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent (an account who is admitted to practice before the IRS).   You should add them to your legal team for the divorce (you will be better served by having a divorce specialist and a tax specialist, instead of one attorney trying to do both things).

Generally, the recommendation would be to pay the tax assessment now, then file for innocent spouse relief to get the money back from the IRS.  That minimizes future penalties and interest.  It would also be recommended that you prepare amended returns for the years that you are being assessed, and see if your tax agrees with the proposed assessment.  In some cases, the IRS will adjust your income but won't take into account deductions or credits that might be allowed, so preparing your own amended return will sometimes show less tax owed than the proposed assessment.  In that case, you would send the IRS the amended return and a check for the revised amount along with a letter of explanation.  

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/innocent-spouse-relief

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p971.pdf

[kristinw98]

unfortunately I do  not have $3500 he does 

he knows he has until friday 

we have a hearing 

he screwed up he can pay it all 

[Opus 17]

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@kristinw98 wrote:

unfortunately I do  not have $3500 he does 

he knows he has until friday 

we have a hearing 

he screwed up he can pay it all 

---

Once again, you need competent legal advice specific to tax matters.  If you signed a joint return, then the IRS can hold either spouse individually liable for any tax debt.  If a final court decision rules that you are not entitled to relief, or if a final court does not mention tax relief when you could have asked the court to consider it, then you are not eligible to apply for innocent spouse relief.  But even if a court grants relief and makes your spouse fully liable, the IRS can still come after you because the IRS is not always bound by state courts.  There is also a time limit for applying for innocent spouse relief.

[kristinw98]

that’s what im

getting at 

i didn’t sign anything no return

no pin

he did this when i was not even home

refunds he hid in a account of his that i have no access to

hes head filer 

He did this with a credit card and tried pinning it on me $15,000 

never touched the card bank realized it was him 

he got mad after 18 years 

the tax records are passcoded in his computer that i have no access to i got copies of i think 1040’s through irs and mail 

again i never signed anything 

i only got the documents bc i was suspicious when he said he was keeping the refund again this year but he doesn’t work 

i do 

i think after 26 years he should share

only if it’s fraudulent debt 

[Opus 17]

@kristinw98 

You have touched an issue with e-filing that maybe the IRS has not addressed.  The IRS will assume that both spouses consented when one spouse e-files a joint return.  There is no way to prove or disprove that you agreed or disagreed or didn't even know.  Those are arguments you can make to the divorce court and to the IRS when you file for innocent spouse relief.  The ex-spouse or The IRS might make an argument that you did know or should have known.  That you must have known a tax return was required, that you knew or should have know to ask to see the return, that you knew or should have known to ask about any refund, and so on.  

But the real concern is that you take all the steps now to preserve your rights in the future.  

[kristinw98]

as i said its an abusive controlling marriage 

i work 3rd shift and have small kids 

we dont even sleep in the same room

No refunds exchanged between us or through accounts 

he has one yhats hidden with usaa and thats likely where it went bc its not in the joint 

and its not in my single checking which he can see

there is enough damning evidence against him in several other areas 

there is no way anyone would believe i did this or knew about it

I didnt even know what a 1040 was until a few weeks ago

and Im 46 years old 

I have all my w-2’s and they dont match what he put 

while Im not brightest im not that stupid to put wrong info like that 

and he isnt either 4.0 in college and deans list 

i’ll let you know friday how it goes 

but i learned my lesson 

[kristinw98]

So I tried to file in January as I may have told you all 

It was rejected because of the 1040

I refilled again a few days ago and it was rejected today

With the code 507 

Indicating the kids social was used on someone’s tax return 

Soon to be ex said he didn’t claim the kids 

And he filed married separately 

And set up a payment plan for the $3500

$200 a month to pay it off

Now I have read i won’t be able to file until that debt is paid off 

Once again it would put me behind 

[Opus 17]

---

@kristinw98 wrote:

So I tried to file in January as I may have told you all 

It was rejected because of the 1040

I refilled again a few days ago and it was rejected today

With the code 507 

Indicating the kids social was used on someone’s tax return 

---

You can file your return by mail, print it out, sign where indicated, and follow the printed instructions regarding any documents that need to be attached.  The IRS will process the return, and then later (usually 6-9 months) they will contact both parents who claimed the children to start an investigation.  

There is nothing about his debt that prevents you from filing, and in fact you are required to file a return every year to report your income and calculate your taxes, no matter what else is going on.  

If you are still legally married as of December 31, 2023, you file as married filing separately.  List only your own income and deductions and the dependents you believe you are allowed to claim.  If your spouse claimed the same dependents, the IRS will investigate and make a determination according to the tiebreaker rules in publication 501.  The most important tiebreaker is proving which parent the children actually physically lived with for more nights of the year, so start thinking about how you can prove the children lived in your home more nights than they lived with the other parent. 

[kristinw98]

We both were residing in the home so no one had the kids more than the other 

I tried to file again for taxes and leave the kids off and I’d end up owing $1800-2000 because I have no exemptions as he claimed them