Injured Spouse

How to fill out injured spouse form?

In Part I of Form 8379, you provide information about the joint tax return for which the claim is filed. In Part II, you must  allocate between the spouses the adjustments to income, standard or itemized deductions, number of exemptions, credits, other taxes, federal income tax withheld and payments made shown on your federal tax return. You must attach copies of W-2 forms or Forms 1099-R if you file Form 8379 by itself.

The IRS will figure the amount of any tax refund due the injured spouse based on the allocations you have made. Filing Form 8379 with your original return may delay your tax refund by about 6 weeks.

Injured Spouse vs Innocent Spouse Relief

Do not confuse an injured spouse claim with a request for innocent spouse relief. The injured spouse claim is used only to get a refund of your part of an overpayment that would otherwise be used to pay your spouse's past due debt. A request for innocent spouse relief is a request for relief from joint liability for taxes, interest and penalties on a joint return for items that the other spouse incorrectly reported on the tax return.