Offset and injured spouse

[Adinrob]

Our 2017 tax return was offset due to my student loans. My husband's income was 0 for the year. Should he submit an injured spouse form to get his part of the return, and if yes, what percentage of the return would he get?

[Carl]

If your spouse had no reportable/taxable income in 2018, then they don't have any "their part" of the return to get back. So filing injured spouse would be a waste of time. You still file MFJ to keep your tax liability low, and will just have to accept the fact that if all of your refund is necessary to pay the debt, then all of your refund will be applied to that debt.

Now you can file injured spouse if you want. But you're wasting your time if your spouse did not have any income of their own to report for 2018.

[egentry76]

Just a quick clarification... if I am the only one claiming taxable income on a joint return, but my husband is the one responsible for a debt that will offset any return, is it a waste of time to file an injured spouse claim?