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April 15th is more than just tax day for
Americans, it's our annual date of forced accountability that most of us
dread: But dealing with the IRS can be even more stressful
for innocent spouses, and here to explain what an innocent spouse is--at
least in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service--is our un-common sense
expert and Dallas Morning News columnist Benjamin Dover...
Question 1: We've heard
this term before, but what exactly IS an Innocent Spouse?
Answer 1: Here's the
textbook definition of an Innocent Spouse: "It's an exception to the general
rule that both signers of a joint tax return are individually liable for the
entire tax due plus penalties and interest. When we sign a joint return,
we're liable for the entire tax due, even if you divorce your spouse, even
if you didn't earn the income that generated the tax, and even if you didn't
know about the omission of income or claiming of erroneous deductions.
But under the innocent spouse rule, a spouse may claim to not be jointly
liable if he or she did not know about the errors and did not benefit from
them."
Question 2: In your column
in today's Dallas Morning News you answer a letter from a woman that's
facing a $30,000 tax bill from her ex-husband, and she's hoping to take
advantage of this Innocent Spouse rule but is concerned about pleading her
case with the IRS on her own. Does she have a right to be cautious?
Answer 2: I think she's nuts
if she tries to strike an Innocent Spouse deal with the IRS on her own.
Now's not the time to go cheap: Now's the time to hire an advocate that
knows their way around the Taxman Neighborhood, either a Certified Public
Accountant (CPA), an attorney (preferably with expertise in tax matters) or
an Enrolled Agent (EA).
Since most taxpayers are already paranoid about dealing with the IRS,
getting past the "I can’t afford representation" excuse is a frequent
emotional victory for consumers that can jump-start them on the road to
(tax) recovery. The obvious fear-factor about retribution from the world’s
most powerful collection agency, combined with fear over the potential
amount of money owed makes for a powerful disincentive combination to come
clean.
[Here's more back story info on EAs: Affordable counsel from EAs can move
taxpayers light years closer to getting right with the planet’s most powerful
collection agency. Only EAs, attorneys and CPAs are authorized to represent
taxpayers in IRS matters. The role of the EA dates back to 1884 when Congress
acted to regulate persons representing taxpayers in their dealings with the
Treasury Department. Today more than 10,000 EAs practice nationally–many are
former IRS agents with a unique perspective into the inner workings of the
agency. They’ve either passed an IRS-administered examination or worked in
positions that required them to apply or interpret provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code on behalf of the IRS.]
Question 3: You also point
out in this morning's column that April 15th doesn't mean much to the millions
of non-filers that have fallen out of the IRS system over the years...
Answer 3: According to the
IRS’ Phil Beasley, an estimated 8.6 million "non-filers" are floating through
the system, and their stories of how they became a tax "outlaws" cover the
spectrum.
Question 4: What's the
general description of people that have fallen out of the "system" Ben?
Answer 4: They really fit
into two categories: The first are the tax protesters who have their predictable
reasoning for why they don’t owe any dough...
...and then there’s the rest of the non-filing population–folks who’ve
survived a catastrophic event, a major physical or emotional setback that
initiated the non-filing spiral. Over the years it’s become clear to me
that loss is the biggest
category and #1 trigger for failing to file a return:
Loss of a spouse or mate.
Loss of health.
Loss of a job...any or all
of them serve as the catalyst to knock taxpayers out of the system the first
year and set the stage for fear-based non-filing in subsequent years.
Question 5: Your best
advice for non-filers that want to get back into good IRS graces?
Answer 5: It might not be
as bad as you think! In fact many times reformed non-filers actually have
refunds coming back to them! Bottom line?
You don't know until you get some help pulling your stuff together; life’s
too short to look over your shoulder–I’ve compiled some insights and options
that will help you regain control in this usually scary arena:
www.bendover.com/irs.asp.
Just a reminder that Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday (May 9th)
and is now only 24 days away: Now's the
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Will. Send some beautiful flowers from Hawaii, aside from being
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Mother's Day. Graduation. Weddings. You
don't have to kiss your cash goodbye when you've got an
affordable and reliable source for all types of jewelry
or watches! Learn how to avoid getting hosed. Check
out Ben's diamond/jewelry buying tips and on-line buying
resource...all
assembled in one easy-to-reference section.....
The key to avoiding
automobile-related brain-damage? Deal with an honest
company in the first place! No matter where you're
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Manufacturer's
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trust.
Check 'em out for
yourself.....
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