Are you married and been filing separately because your spouse owes child support or some other financial obligation such as a student loan which is offset? Married filing separately is the worse filing status and you are giving up credits and refunds needlessly. Instead, you should file an INJURED SPOUSE CLAIM and get the maximum refund. Your portion of the refund will not be offset to pay the obligation of a spouse.

IRS INJURED SPOUSE CLAIMS:

Injured Spouse Claims. If spouses file a joint income tax return and an obligation described in IRC 6402 is owed by one of the spouses, the Service will generally offset the entire overpayment. See Rev. Rul. 84-171. If the injured spouse files a claim for his or her share of the overpayment, the Service is required to refund the portion of the overpayment to which the injured spouse is legally entitled. See IRM 25.15.1.2.5, Relief from Joint and Several Liability-Injured Spouse Claims; 31 CFR 285.2(f) and (g). An injured spouse obtains his or her portion of the overpayment by filing a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. See IRM 25.15.1.2.5. An injured spouse claim can also be filed with an original return. As will be discussed below, in some circumstances the Service may have the right under IRC 6402 to offset all or part of the community property portion of the overpayment. The interest a liable spouse has in the community property portion of the overpayment varies from state to state. Exhibit 25.18.5-1, contains examples of the application of injured spouse rules in various states and for various types of liabilities.

Call us today and let us file your taxes for you and get the refund you deserve. Don't give up what you are entitled to because a spouse owes a debt obligation.