So you filed your tax return expecting a nice refund and then nothing comes back. You go to the IRS “Where’s my Refund?” website and find a note that says your refund was held because of a prior tax debt—but you don’t have one. Turns out your beloved spouse owed back taxes from before you were married. Is there anything you can do?
Yes, there is. You may be able to file for Injured Spouse Relief.
How do you know if you qualify as an injured spouse? First, you must have made and reported tax payments. That means you either had income tax withheld from wages or you made estimated tax payments, or you claimed a refundable tax credit like the Earned Income Tax credit. Second, you must not be legally obligated to pay the past-due amount. For example, you weren’t married to your spouse when he or she incurred the debt.
Are there any kinds of debt besides federal income tax that can cause my refund to be taken? Your refund can be taken for state income tax, child or spousal support, or federal student loans.
Note: if you live in a community property state, there are special rules. If you’re in one of those states, you’ll need to see IRS Pub 55.
If you filed a joint return and you are not responsible for your spouse’s debt, you may request your portion of the refund by filing the Injured Spouse Allocation form, Form 8379.
If you haven’t filed yet, you can submit form 8379 along with your tax return. If you’ve already filed and received a federal offset notification, you can submit a form 8379 by itself. You can e-file the 8379 when it’s submitted with a return. If you’re sending in a paper tax return (okay, you know you should be e-filing whenever possible) then you need to write “INJURED SPOUSE” at the top left corner of your 1040.
If you’re filing the 8379 by itself; make sure that you list both spouses’ social security numbers in the same order as they appeared on your income tax return. I know this sounds kind of silly but it’s really important to put the social security numbers in the right order. You might be thinking that the spouse that’s injured should have his/her name on the top, but put your names in the same order as on the tax return.
How Come the Injured Spouse Allocation Form doesn’t tell you how much you’ll get back? Good question, but it doesn’t. The IRS will determine how much of your refund you will receive. Part of the issue is that allocation for couples from the community property states will be different from couples who aren’t in community property states.
How long will it take me to get my refund after I file an injured spouse claim? It’s going to be slower than a regular refund. If you e-file a form 8379 along with your federal return, it will take about 11 weeks to process. If you mail your return in your refund will take around 14 weeks. If your tax return was already file and you’re sending in an Injured Spouse Allocation by itself, expect the IRS to take about 8 weeks to process it.
Am I better off just filing separately? Sometimes, yes. But if you qualify for any of the tax credits that aren’t allowed to couples who file separately then the Injured Spouse Allocation is your best choice despite the delay to your refund.
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Here are some links that might help:
EIC questions of any kind: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Earned-Income-Tax-Credit-(EITC)-%E2%80%93–Use-the-EITC-Assistant-to-Find-Out-if-You-Should-Claim-it.
How to find free tax preparers: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Free-Tax-Return-Preparation-for-You-by-Volunteers
How to find your local IRS office: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1
hi guys me again..sorry i sound like a broken record…i just called irs after being on hold for 55 minutes someone finally answer and really was not much help first she says the first amount was pulled back , i ask her why and she says becuase i sent in new form so they have to recalculate, so give it another 8 weeks…i tell her no the guy who did my form over the phone told me i will get the first check in 2 weeks and then a 2nd check with amount diff later on..then she says oh ok well then it shoudl go out next week …huh? i tell her which one is it..she said well if i was told if would get one first then she “sees” it should go out next week..i jsut hung up sooo frustrated is like is it going to go out or not?!!! maybe i’l get the strengh to call back later and see if i get someone that actually knows whats going on…
UPDATE: i called the irs to tell them about my error i got an enough nice guy that assigned the form to himself and completed it while we were on the phone. he told me refund amount and said i should receive in 2-3 weeks. he then instructed me to send in a new injured form with the correct exemptions claimed and a letter saying why im sending a new form, he said they will then process that new form and and send me a new check with the diff. so in short i should be recieving 2 checks, one in 2-3 weeks…and the other one who knows basically when they process the new form they guy said it should not take another 8 weeks since they already processed that one form..but who knows its the irs. i do have a question though…will it actually take the whole 3 weeks for me to recieve the 1st check? he gave me refund amount and said case closed now check just need to be proccessed. im just wondering how much longer will i need to wait..thakss
UPDATE: today My husband called IRS to check the status of our tax return since it was all taken from us. We filed form 8379 and it was received Feb. 29th. The person we spoke to said that they had received our form, and our full return will be returned to us, and it will take 3-4 weeks to get it. Let’s see what happens!! Will keep you updated!!! Thanks alot for all the info, it has helped us out greatly!!
Hi Penny,
The “Where’s My Refund?” site has lots of problems this year. And it’s really not reliable for injured spouse forms. The automated phone number has the same information as the web site–you’ll only get an answer from a real person. But the bottom line is you’ll be waiting for a few more weeks for sure.
My husband and I got married in April of last year. He owes back child support so we filed injured spouse form. The irs site said that I should receive the tax check two weeks ago. Then it changed to one week ago and now it just says processing. What is the deal with this. We seperated so I checked the box to get the check in my name only. When i call the number on the web site i get automated information and only that it is processing.
Hey Lena,
If they mailed it already, I would expect you to receive it within a week.
Filed 8379… Received by irs on Feb 8th, started being processed on Feb 10th. Received a letter in the mail saying i will be getting a refund. Called IRS this morning and was told my refund check will be mailed TODAY (3-23-12). My question is When should i except to receive it? I live in California
Thanks for the feedback Becky. It’s nice to know we could help.
What a great website. I mailed my 8379 after I found out my refund was held due to my husband’s debts. I had so many questions, and I found this website and it answered every single question I had. Thank you!!
Hi Gilly,
I don’t want to stress you out, but you should have claimed 2 exemptions when you filed you 8379. I’m not sure what you should do. I recommend calling the IRS–1 800 829-1040 and ask to speak with someone about your return. Have a copy of your return in your hand. I’m guessing that you’re going to need to resubmit the form–but they may have special instructions for you since you’ve already got the form started.
Thanks Jenny. That helps everyone with the whole timeline issue.
Just for time frame informational purposes I thought I would share: I filed taxes in mid January, I mailed my 8379 on Feb 9th and got a letter response on March 12th and it says I should get a refund within 6 weeks. Other than the offset we have very simple taxes.
hi! i efiled my taxes and then realized that my hubby had an offset due to student loans. we mailed in the injured spouse form. my question is this, im a bit afraid i didnt fill the form out correclty. we claim MY grandmother as a dependent , so when filling out the exemptions part on the form i gave myself (1 for my grandma) and my hubby 0. is this correct? or was i supposed to give myself 2(one for me and one for my grandma)? im very confused and scared i really need this money and its already been 5 weeks ..if i indeed made a mistake and need to start process over it will be a real burden. thanks!!
Hey Be,
So let me understand–you filed married filing jointly but you did not file the injured spouse form because you want to pay of the child support, is that correct? Because even after they take what’s owed, you’ll still get a nice refund. Then you should get your money relatively quickly.
If you filed injured spouse, then it could take around 11 weeks, but usually it does not take 6 months. That’s long even by IRS standards.
Hi Alisha,
I hate questions like this. You see, if the ex owes child support–but his wife fled an injured spouse form–the injured spouse will keep you from getting your child support money. Sorry.
My husband and I just e-filed our taxes married filing jointly. He owes back child support so last year we filed married filing separately, I didn’t know of the injured spouse till this website! We knew he still owed back child support but i was ok with them taking it out of our money since we are still getting 5k back after child support. My question is by us e-filing we should get the rest of our money in about 2 weeks but I have been reading that they can put a hold on our return and if so about how long? I was reading somewhere that it could take 6 months!! Please tell me that not right! We are in NJ and he’s kids mom is in PA if that matters
Hello,
My ex owes a substantial amount in back say child support. He is now married, him and his wife filed jointly and she has already filed the injured spouse form. The filed at the end of Jan, beginning of Feb, will it still take 6months for my daughter to get her child support? Thanks
@Lara,
Good news. Sorry you were on hold for so long. I was on hold today for about that long and when the person finally answered, they had forwarded the call to the wrong department. But—I was kind of excited because it was a department that a lot of people had been asking me questions about. So I figured since I had the IRS on the line, I may as well ask, right? She didn’t know the answer! Arrrrggggghhhh!
Anyway, at least I’m getting paid for being on hold. (But ya know, it doesn’t help much.)
Hey Tiffany,
I have read some posts where people go their money faster–but please don’t count on it. Make the assumption that it’s 11 weeks. If you owe somebody money–explain that it will take at least 11 weeks. Even if somebody else got it faster–it doesn’t mean you will. Good luck.
@Lara again,
I don’t know off the top of my head, but we do have one here in Missouri. (Actually in Missouri you just check a box, there’s no extra form.) I’m guessing Georgia has something, but I’m guessing.
Hi Lara,
you can’t count on what on the “where’s my refund?” site. You’ll have to wait it out (and that could be up to 11 weeks.) But where you were checking is old news and it won’t be updated. You’ll hear in the mail.
Wanted to update on my situation. After being on hold for 35 minutes, I finally spoke to a very nice irs agent. He stated that the information I found on “where’s my refund” was from the original E-File date of January 26th. He said that my injured spouse form 8379 was assigned to someone on February 2nd. He stated that I should know something BY April 2nd…He also stated that since I live in Ga, that all of my husband’s refund should be returned to him since he had nothing to do with my school loan. I will update here as soon as I know something.
Thanks again,
Lara
I E-Filed our return (MFJ) on Feb 6, 2012 and was suppose to receive our refund Feb 12,2012. I owed student loans which obviously led to an offset. I personally took the proper paperwork – w2s (any income) and form 8379 filed out to the local IRS in our city. That was Feb 16th which was most likely mailed out the next day.
My question is, does it REALLY take the full 8 weeks to see a refund or can I possible receive anything earlier? Its been about 4 weeks now and I know IRS is busy but just curious if any one else on here or knows if they received their money sooner than expected??????
One more question please, do you know if there is a form that I will have to file similar to the injured spouse form when we file our State taxes? I live in Ga.
Thanks again,
Lara
Hi,
I live in Ga. I have a debt for school loan. The loan was taken out by me alone. I e-filed our Federal taxes on January 26th, 2012. A few days later, found out that I did have an offset with irs regarding my student loan. Called the loan company and was advised to file the injured spouse form because the loan was mine, and I do not have any income at this time. Filed the injured spouse form and followed the directions perfectly. Just checked irs where’s my refund site, and it says the following…”Your refund has been applied to a past due obligation such as child support, another federal agency debt, or state income tax. The Financial Management Service, who issues IRS refunds, will send you a notice informing you of the reduction.”
Does this mean that my husband will still be getting something back, or does it mean that they took all of the refund? I am confused, and haven’t received any letter as of yet.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
Lara
Hey Alex,
If you file injured spouse and get part of your refund back, then what you get back is still owed to AAFES.
If your wife really didn’t bounce those checks, she’ll have to do her research and prove that the checks cleared her bank account. If she did bounce the checks, it may be best to just pay the debt and be rid of it.
Hi Megan,
When you file the 8379 form you indicate who gets the kids. You would give your husband 1 exemption and you would have 3 exemptions (1 for your and 2 for the kids.) That’s how the IRS will know. Good luck.
Our IRS refund was lowered by over $1300 for some checks my wife wrote in 2002 to AAFES which they claimed bounced. (My wife assures me the claim is spurious.) W were not married then. In any case, if I claim “injured spouse status” and subsequently receive a refund, will the IRS then turn around and get the money back from AAFES and then we will just get charged again next year, or does it come out of the IRS?
I got married this year and my husband owes backed child support. Of 7000 dollars. The irs offsetted our return of 4765 dollars and i then filed an injured spouse report that i sent after the offset letter was recieved in the mail. I only made short of 2000 dollars and he made 11000 dollars and we claimed MY two kids. We filed married filing JOINTLY. Will i recieve the whole child credit since they are my kids? Plus i Efiled so how do they know that they arent his kids since my return didnt ask?
Hey Cyndi,
Actually, yes I have heard of that. Here’s what happened–your spouse owes less child support than what your refund amounted to. That’s why you received part of your refund already. You may or may not get the rest, depending about how the IRS determines the injured spouse split–but your injured spouse clearly was not determined as of yet.
IRS letters are processed through a computer and your phone call had nothing to do with it. The date was just a coincidence. Give it the full 11 weeks. Hopefully it will be settled sooner, but trust me on this one–they have not processed it yet.
Hi Kristy,
To be honest, I don’t know. For one thing–the IRS doesn’t share their formula for splitting the Injured Spouse allocation–although sometimes I can pretty much gauge it. Other times–I’m totally clueless. I don’t have your tax returns so I can’t just look and go –oh, I bet it’s this…
You could try calling and see if you get an explanation. You have a right to understand your tax refund and what happens with it. Although I’m guessing it was probably calculated correctly–you never know, if they did make a mistake, you won’t know unless you talk to them. Sorry I couldn’t be more help on this.
Hello! I am so relieved to have found this site. Now if only I can ask my question without confusing you because at this point I am utterly confused. My husband and I were married in August of 2011. I filed married joint with the injured spouse form because he owed back child support prior to our getting married. I have the only income for the year and do receive EIC.
I received a check for the amount of my return minus what was offset for child support. I called the IRS to ask why I wasn’t approved for the injured spouse relief. They told me the injured spouse was still processing and to give it the full 11 weeks. Several days later I received a letter in the mail, dated for the same day I called them, stating my refund had been offset and money was being taken.
Is this normal for injured spouse? I would think that the IRS would complete the entire return before refunding anything. Is it possible that they refunded the amount that they couldn’t take and the offset amount is handled seperately? I have researched this form since filing and haven’t seen anyone else mention anything about receiving 2 different checks. Have you ever heard of this happening before?
I live in California, my husband and i file “married filing jointly” and have since 2008, every year i have filed the injured spouse form and received part of the refund back, I have no income, we have 2 children together. Today we received a letter from the irs saying the full balance was offset to the department of education. why? i filed injured spouse with our 2011 return. Last year i received part and this year none?
Hi Heather,
If your return has a processing date of 3/12–I’m thinking that means that’s the date they’re going to take a look at it.
As far as how the IRS allocates the EIC–I have no clue. They don’t publish their strategy (which drives me nuts) so I really can’t tell you what you’ll get. Sorry.
@Stev ie,
Hi, I don’t think it will help you. But for what it’s worth–you did get some money back and your husband’s debt is paid off. So it’s still kind of a win for you.
You could try the injured spouse form, but since you had no income–even if you claimed all three kids, there’d be no EIC, no child tax credit, no nothing. And, at least in your situation, you did get some money back–I doubt you’d have gotten any more than that by filing injured spouse.
I know that sometimes I say–go ahead, what have you got to lose–but in your case I think you’re better off as you are.
Hi Brittaney,
Go ahead and scream. Welcome to my world. In fact, all of those answers could be correct–depending upon who said them and where, etc.
There’s the “standard–how long it’s supposed to take” time line. There’s also the “we’ve been experiencing delays lately” timeline. And–what you also got was the –we’ve received your form and started working on it timeline–I’d go with the person who actually knew where your paperwork was–that’s probably your best bet.
But–to be brutally honest, don’t count on any of that money until it’s actually in your hands. I was reading an article today about how the IRS is really backlogged and can’t hire more staff due to budget cuts–so it does affect the timelines. The IRS website says that it can take up to 14 weeks. I think that’s long compared to what I’ve been hearing, but I just thought I’d throw another timeline into your mix. Sorry.
Hey Jennifer,
You have to give it time. One thing though is that your spouse is self employed–so on his side of the form is the self employment taxes. That will reduce his refund but the kids and the EIC should cover that.
Even though your loan was made while you were married, I believe that the loan is still in your name only and that the debt for the loan is not being held against your husband.
But don’t worry about not having heard anything yet. The IRS is so backlogged, I wouldn’t be concerned yet.
Hi Lili,
You can just mail in your 8379 form now. I would file for both 2010 and 2011. I don’t really think you’ll get anything for 2010 since you didn’t work–but as my husband always says–if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
I definitely expect you to get something back for 2011. I’d do the 2010 just to see. If you get nothing–you’ve lost nothing. Good luck.
I filed a injured spouse form and I called the IRS yesterday and they told me that my return has a processing date of 3/12/12. Does that mean that I will know something about it at that point. I filed my taxes and they were accepted on 2/14/12. I made most of the money and my husband only made 2000 last year. We get the EIC credit and I wonder how that will be devided. I live in Oregon if that helps.
Hi me and my husband filed our taxes as married filing joint for the 2011 tax year and come to find out he had some unpaid student loans. My question is… if I didn’t work for the year of 2011 can I still file the injured spouse form? I was a stay at home mom for our 3 kids and we were expecting almost 8k and we only got 2. What can we do?
So my husband and I found out on 2/13 that his tax refund had been offset due to some of MY past due debts (that he is NOT legally responsible for). So we went down to H&R Block where we originally filed our taxes and they did the form for us. I mailed it to the IRS on 2/14. When I called the IRS to get the address I had one lady tell ne it would be 12 weeks before we received our refund, then another lady told me 4-6weeks. I just called last week and spoke to someone at the IRS to make sure that our 8379 had been received. He told me that, yes, it was received on the 17th and began processing on the 23rd and that it MAY take up to 45 days but 9× out of 10 it usually only takes 2-4 weeks. My question is, now I have 3 different possible dates to receive our refund, which one is more plausible? And anyone who has filed an 8379, how long after it was received did you receive it? TIA
My husband and I have filed taxes together for 11 years. I collected student loans that ended in default. I started a job in 2010. We got our full refund for that year. For the 2011 tax year we got an offset on my student loans. We filed the 3rd week in January and filed the Injured Spouse on February 10th. He is self-employed with almost 7,000; I made 11,000 with taxes taken out. We have 2 children that he claimed on the Injured Spouse. I haven’t heard anything about him receiving any amount nor have we received a letter. Plus I am unsure whether he will get anything due to us being together when the loan incurred or because he is self-employed. He didn’t know about the amount of the loan, but I have been paying on them since I started working in 2010. Thank you for your time.
and by the way,I’m in NJ (not community property state)
Thanks in advance for your help
Hello! I wish had find your web ahead of time filling my 2011 return.
We have filled jointly returned for our 2010 taxes(this happened last year)the return amount was about 6000dlls because we were eligible for the earn income credit and our child credit(we have one baby together)
I did not work on 2010, so I did not report any income. I heard last year about injury spouse form but did not fill it since I did not work, I thought was not eligible for that, now in 2012, one year after we claimed our taxes, Can I still send the 8379 form? Do you think part of that money belongs to me?
This year, we filled jointly taxes again; he did not report any income, it was only my income to claimed our only child again which I supported the whole year.. I did not know the 8379 form could be filled in at the same time you claim your taxes. Now, I have to send it by separated as I already received the letter that the refund is been apply to his debt again, I was not eligible for the earn income credit but for the child credit…Are they going to send me the child credit to me when I submit the 8379?
Thanks a lot for your help
Hey Beth,
I have not power or control over what the IRS will release for your child support. (Okay, I don’t seem to have any power or control over anything, not even the dog today, but you know what I really meant.)
Now as far as the injured spouse thing–I’m pretty positive that they will not hold her share of refund for your child support–I’ve never seen that happen so I wouldn’t expect your case to be any different.
Now you could try contacting the taxpayer advocate’s office. Here’s more information about them: http://www.irs.gov/advocate/article/0,,id=212313,00.html
I’m not confident that they can help you–they really limit cases that they’ll take on. But I’m thinking you might be able to get help because this situation is causing you extreme financial hardship and that would be the issue I’d bring to them. The worst they can do is say no, right?
Good luck.
Hi StephiLynn,
You have Lacerte? So you asked several CPAs because you work in a CPA firm don’t you?
And you’re getting different answers because the IRS just doesn’t share how they determine the injured spouse awards. (Drives me crazy–just give me the formula and let me work.)
But–based upon what my clients who have filed injured spouse claims before had dealt with–I believe that you should get the full $2700 back. But–don’t count on it–assume the $1000 and be pleasantly surprised if you get the rest.
I know that’s a cop out answer, but I’m never 100% confident with the injured spouse thing. It seems like there’s always some crazy exception that I don’t know, so I’d rather err on the side of caution.
My children’s father was married b4 the court order was put in place for him to pay child support. So according to the regulations she is kinda just as responsible for what he owes but they are still holding my payment for six months for her to file injured spouse. He recently quit his job and is no longer making his payments so i could really use the 4000 they’re holding is there anything i can do to get them to release it?
My husband and I separated towards the end of last year and in order to take advantage of the tax breaks filed our tax return MFJ since we’re still legally married. I recently learned that the tax refund has been withheld to offset his student loans. I understand that I can file an Injured Spouse form to collect my portion of the tax refund but my question is how is that determined? I earned all the income in 2011 since he refused to work (part of the many reasons we’re divorcing). When I have my tax software (Lacerte) generate form 8379, it allocates the entire refund amount in my column since I earned the money that resulted in the refund. I’ve asked several CPAs how this works and I’ve received various answers. One said the IRS will process my return as MFS and I’ll lose his standard deductions so I would receive roughly $1000 back. Another said it will still process MFJ, they’ll just allocate the whole amount to me since I was the only one who worked so I’d get the full $2700. I live in Utah, which is NOT a community property state so I know the refund won’t be split down the middle. Any thoughts or feedback? Thanks so much for your help!