You file an injured spouse claim with your joint tax return. This allows the IRS to separate different items in your return and preserve your portion of the joint tax refund.
TurboTax will walk you through this. Follow this path in the program, and click on the "Learn More" links whenever you have questions or concerns:
- Go to the
Federal Taxes category.
- Go to the Other Tax Situations
subcategory
- On the screen labeled Other Tax
Situations, find the section labeled Other Tax Forms.
- Click start or update on
Miscellaneous Tax Forms.
- Click start or update on Report
and Innocent or Injured Spouse Claim.
- Answer yes on the next screen.
- Hit continue on the screen with
the series of years, and the subsequent screen with the form.
- Choose an applicable state or
somewhere else and hit continue.
- Choose the following options:
- I filed (or
will file) a joint return
- All or part of our refund will
be applied to a federal tax bill, child support, federal nontax debt, or
a state income tax bill.
- I am not required to pay the
past due debt and hit continue
- Answer the withholding question
on the next screen.
- Yes, you want to claim with the
return
- Enter your information.
- Choose the injured (non-owing
spouse).
- Continue with the remaining
screens.