Spouse owes back taxes

[angelwillvan]

Can I file innocent/injured spouse form while filing taxes in order to avoid penalty altogether?

[Fern · Accepted solution]

The joint tax return can be offset for taxes owed by one of the spouses.  To protect yourself, you will want to complete and file an Injured Spouse form with your tax return.  The Injured Spouse form will allocate the refund between the couple based on percentage of income earned and percentage of applicable tax credits.

In Turbo Tax:

Select Federal Taxes
Select Other Tax Situations
Scroll down to Miscellaneous Tax Forms at the bottom of the screen and select Start or Update
Select Start next to Report an injured or innocent spouse claim

After you enter the year, the next screen addresses the Innocent Spouse Claim form.  Select Continue without entering any information. You will then be asked a series of questions about the Injured Spouse Claim form.

See https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Forms/What-is-IRS-Form-8379--Injured-Spouse-A... for more information.