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jmurra21
New Member

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

My spouse died last month. I have come to find out that he withdrew money from his 401k, but never paid taxes on it in 2011. In 2012-2013 he didn't file his income return. In 2014, he paid off most of this, but there is still an outstanding balance to the state, and also fees and penalties to the federal government.  I've also found out that there is a lien against the house because of this. We live in Georgia and filed jointly. How do I get out from under this situation? 

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6 Replies

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

Seek local professional tax preparation help to address this issue and your options.
jmurra21
New Member

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

I wish I had the money to do that. I'm disabled and have virtually no income. I've called around to tax professionals, and they all have said they would need (cheapest I found) $300 to file paperwork. I couldn't even dream up that much money. Are there forms I could prepare myself to help with this?

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

Well find a local IRS office and try there  or  ask for help from the Taxpayer Advocate office since this is not an issue you can handle yourself ...  

Or you can contact your local IRS office.  See this IRS website for local IRS offices - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1">http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IR...> or call 1-844-545-5640 to set up an appointment

Or you may want to contact a Taxpayer Advocate in your area.  See this IRS website for Taxpayer Advocate in your area and a toll free number - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/Advocate/Local-Taxpayer-Advocate">http://www.irs.gov/Advocate/Local-Taxpayer-Advo...>

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

This also sounds as a case for Innocent Spouse Relief.  For the state of Georgia use this website for information and a phone number - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://dor.georgia.gov/innocent-spouse-relief">https://dor.georgia.gov/innocent-spouse-relief</a>
rjs
Level 15
Level 15

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

See if there is a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic near you.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about/litc">https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about/litc</a>

My spouse died and has left me with a lien on our house from unpaid taxes...

 In TurboTax, go to other tax situations and look for the section on injured spouse or innocent spouse relief. There is a form you can try to fill out for the IRS. 

 You are looking for innocent spouse relief. Innocent spouse relief is when you are being held responsible for a tax debt that is part of a joint return that you previously filed with your spouse.  Normally, when you file a joint return, you are agreeing that you are jointly and equally liable for the tax due and all statements in the tax return being honest and correct.  The innocent spouse form is used when you wish to argue that you should not be responsible for a joint tax debt because your spouse did something without your permission, hid things from you, and went behind your back.  Innocent spouse relief can only be requested when you are divorced or your spouse has died. 

 If you are not eligible for innocent spouse relief, you can also use the same form to request equitable relief, which is a way of asking the IRS to only hold you responsible for part of the debt on the grounds of basic fairness and equity. 

( this is different from injured spouse, which applies when a married person is held responsible for debts that their spouse incurred before the marriage. )

 The TurboTax interview for injured and innocent spouse will ask a series of questions to determine if you are eligible.   The interview was approved by the IRS and is required by the IRS to reduce the number of in eligible claims.  If the interview does not allow you to file the form, you probably aren't eligible. You can download the form from the IRS website and fill it out manually and see what happens. 

 For state tax debts, you would need to look for a similar innocent spouse form or procedure for your state. 

See this for more https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc205.html

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