My husband owes back child support. He was injured and unemployed in 2016. What is the chance Injured spouse form is approved if I make over $130k & 2 kids in college?

[CJSpann]

Filing with him increases my return by $4K. So it is in our best interest financially to do so. But I need the return to continue to pay cash for my kids college.

[MargaretL · Accepted solution]

It is very unlikely that Injured Spouse will be denied by the IRS if you meet filing qualifications.  Your income is not one of the conditions that must be met to file Injured Spouse. 

Per IRS: "You may be an injured spouse if you file a joint tax return and all or part of your portion of the overpayment was, or is expected to be, applied (offset) to your spouse's legally enforceable past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child or spousal support, or a federal nontax debt, such as a student loan."

In TurboTax, if you are filing Injured Spouse Form only (F8379), please do no answer Innocent Spouse questions, simply bypass them. 

You must, however, answer Tell Us More about Your situation questions and check any boxes that apply to you. The selection in this section determines if you qualify to file Injured Spouse.  While you will not see the Form itself, your answers will be automatically populated on F8379.

Please review Form 8379 and its instructions for more details; the form is actually listing the same questions as Turbo Tax in "Tell Us More about Your situation" section:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8379.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8379.pdf