“I filed for divorce due to verbal abuse towards my daughter and myself and physical abuse by his drunkenness. Now I find out he did not report “cash” income he received from a lawn service he has been doing for a few years. He submitted our tax return online so I never seen the form to realize this. There is no signature on the form due to the online process.

What is my chances of holding him responsible to pay the IRS without me being involved as I had no idea he did this?”

Ordinarily, both spouses are jointly and severally liable for any shortfall in tax payment on a joint return. The IRS has a provision for an “innocent spouse”, and you may or may not qualify. Here is the link to start the inquiry: www.IRS.gov

The threshold inquiries are:

The taxes owed are your spouse’s or ex-spouse’s. You are no longer married to that spouse. You thought your spouse would pay the taxes on the original return. You didn’t know about the items changed in the audit. You would suffer a financial hardship if you were required to pay the tax. You would not be able to pay for basic living expenses like food, shelter, and clothing. You did not significantly benefit (above normal support) from the unpaid taxes. You suffered abuse during your marriage.

To find out if you qualify, you would file a Form 8857, Request for InnocentSpouse Relief.

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Michael Durgavich is an accomplished attorney and mediator. Maintaining a general practice in the San Jose, California area, Mr. Durgavich specializes in family law, bankruptcy, and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Durgavich can be reached through his website at http://www.MichaelDurgavich.com. Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.