Comments on: Innocent Spouse Married a Tax Cheat. Now What?

By: Neal Frankle

Neal Frankle — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:27:42 +0000

I am not an expert in this field but I would say:
a. the letter from your spouse will not protect you.
b. you would probably be audited if your ex is audited but you could still claim to be an innocent spouse.

Wishing you the best.

Neal

By: Kacey

Kacey — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:03:22 +0000

In a divorce case where the spouse is self employed but you have to sign a joint tax return and have no way of knowing if they are hiding income is a letter from the spouse saying you are not responsible for false claims enough to protect you in case of an audit. Also if your ex is being audited and four 3 years you have not jointly filed, and hey find he has lied on his taxes will they then audit you as well for previous joint filing?

By: Neal Frankle

Neal Frankle — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:45:51 +0000

Other than the steps outlined above, I’d talk to a tax attorney and/or your tax advisor.

By: lee

lee — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:30:33 +0000

My husband was issued a W-2 for the first 3 months of 2011, but worked construction without paying taxes for the remainder of the year. Unable to persuade him to file taxes on himself, I sought relationship counseling. I have accepted the fact that I cannot control his actions. I pay all of our living costs through my bank account. I am the sole owner of our house and my business. We do not comingle assets and even though I struggle, I do not ask him for money to help support our family. I have removed his name from my accounts and will be filing separate. What other steps should I take to insulate my assets from his tax evasion? Should I ask him to use a separate accountant to file his W-2?

By: Betty

Betty — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:08:56 +0000

I married a tax cheat! What do I do?

My husband is self employed and has not paid taxes since 2001. I was not aware of this when we married. He appeared to be a very together, successful business owner. I think I found out about a year and a half into the marriage. We have almost been married 3 years, married ironically on April 15, 2007. Since the day I found out I have asked him to take care of it, do the right thing, etc. I have lost countless nights of sleep worrying about this.

He has had the taxes prepared for all those years. That is a good first step. HOWEVER he owes thousands and I do not see anyway for him to pay them off any time soon and I can’t even trust he will, base on his history. He wants me to file jointly for the years we have been married because it would save him about $20,000 (not included penalties and interest). That is how those returns were prepared.

I am going to REFUSE to file a joint return! I am also seriously considering a divorce or a legal separation ASAP. I do not want to leave him because I love him and value the companionship. I just want to distance myself financially and legally and hope that he does take care of this the way he is promising. In the mean time I just don’t think I can take any chances.

We are certainly not living a glamorous lifestyle as the couple above did. We do not own a home, take fancy vacations or own expensive cars. I have separated my finances from him and struggle a bit to make ends meet for my 3 children and myself with my $40,000 a year income.

I want to be able to protect myself and my children’s future. What do I do in this situation? Divorce? Legal separation? Separate finances? NOT filing a joint return? Anything else?

I really want to be smart about this and do the right thing!