Injured Spouse Relief

571 thoughts on “Injured Spouse Relief”

1. I have a question, years ago I went to school online and since then my student loan has been sold. A few years ago they sent me statements saying I still owed on it when I’d paid it off. This year the they took most of my state return and almost half of my federal for this.
   My husband filed the injured spouse form for state and federal. We received a check back for $1000, but tha’s not even a fraction of what they took. The top of that check stub said from the state treasury, so my question is will I be getting a check back from the federal treasury as well or was that check supposed to cover it from federal and state? Sorry, I’m just having a crisis here and this confuses me.

   Sort I reported, but I wasn’t sure if my question got lost in the masses and I’m desperate for help. 🙁

2. Hey Arletha,
   I’m not sure–to be honest. Did the IRS say you’d get all your money or did H&R Block say you’d get your money? There’s a big difference there. If the IRS told you you’d receive a refund–that’s one thing. The H&R Block person–well she might not have known any better. That’s one scenario.
   Here’s another–you know that you had debt–did your husband have debt also? That could have been possible. Then the Block person wouldn’t have know that.
   And here’s another possibility: they might have done the paperwork wrong.
   And here’s one more: maybe you are still getting the money but some papers crossed in the mail.

   So how do you figure out the truth? You’ll either have to go back to H&R Block and talk to the person who did your injured spouse paperwork or you’ll have to call the IRS yourself. If you go back to Block–you’ll probably have to go to one of their district offices and have one of their summer people help you. The person who originally filed your form may have been one of their seasonal folks and could be gone by now. Ask for an enrolled agent–they should have one at one of their offices who can help you. That should help you cut through some of the red tape in figuing out what happened.

   Sorry I’m not much more help to you right now. It’s hard to say exactly what happened without looking at the paperwork and all that. Good luck.

3. @Jayme,
   Ahhh–the kids are his. That’s the problem. Not that the kids are a problem, they’re probably great kids, but they’re his not yours. When you’re filing a tax return and you qualify for child tax credit and EIC–that makes for a really nice refund. When you have injured spouse–if you can’t claim the kids as yours–well then–that EIC and child tax credit goes to him instead of you.

   But here’s something to think about. Well wait–first cash the check. I’d like to see the situation fixed for you–but cash the check anyway. If you’re going to get anything else–the IRS will send you the difference, you won’t have to send that check back.

   Okay–here’s what I was going to tell you: you are the step mom. As the step parent–you have a legal right to claim those kids. If the children live with you, and they are not being claimed by their birth mother, then you would legally be allowed to claim the kids as their step mother. So–you should have claimed the kids on your injured spouse form.

   If the kids lived with you, then I’m guessing that your husband’s debt isn’t child support so I’d feel no guilt over switching and putting the kids as your dependents. (If you husband owes back child support and it’s for those two kids–you should feel really guilty if you do that.)

   That’s worth calling the IRS over. (Even if they do put you on hold forever.)

4. I required debt before I got married I am a stay at home mom. So when my husband filed our taxes this year they took everything due to my school debt. So h&r block told him to file the injured spouse form which he did they processed it and told us our check would be sent out on the 4th today we got a paper that saithey were still taking all the money 1. Why would they tell us we was getting a check when they were really still taking everything and 2. What was the point in my husband filling the injured spouse form if they was still going to take everything anyway

5. Thanks for your reply. We dont have children together. He has two from previous relatrionship. Bottom line, in your opinion, Do I cash the 300 check or is there a chance this can be fixed and I come out with at least a little bit more? Lesson learned for next year but in this case is it worth calling over? IS there even a chance it could change the refund amount? If not, I will cash and call it a day. 🙁 Please advise on this and thanks in advance for your help!! 🙂

   Jayme

6. @Jessie,
   Yay, ice cream! (I just posted on another page about cookies–I’ve got to start eating healthier.)

   Anyway, sadly it is kind of normal to get notices from the IRS that don’t make any sense. What happens is that your injured spouse issue gets settled on one computer and the notice that says your refund was taken is on another. Eventually it all gets settled out. What happens is that a lot of those notices are put on an “automatic timer” thing.

   Now normally, you don’t want to ignore IRS notices because they sometimes say things like, “we’re taking all the money out of your bank account,” and you wouldn’t want to ignore something like that. But in your case, it’s clearly a “cross in the mail” kind of thing.

   If you get another one–I would call, just to be on the safe side (‘cuz it’s what I do) but I wouldn’t worry about it or lose any sleep either.

7. Thank you for getting back to me. The part I don’t understand is why I keep getting notices from the IRS that our refund went to child support even though I have the check in my hands? By the way I am cashing it today and taking the kids for ice cream. :).
   Is that normal to keep receiving those notices?

8. I have a question, years ago I went to school online and since then my student loan has been sold. A few years ago they sent me statements saying I still owed on it when I’d paid it off. This year the they took most of my state return and almost half of my federal for this.

   My husband filed the injured spouse form for state and federal. We received a check back for $1000, but tha’s not even a fraction of what they took. The top of that check stub said from the state treasury, so my question is will I be getting a check back from the federal treasury as well or was that check supposed to cover it from federal and state? Sorry, I’m just having a crisis here and this confuses me.

9. Hi Jessie,
   Cash that check! It’s quite possible that the whole refund would come to you. It happens all the time. Basically–I’m guessing your refund is all EIC and child tax credit and that the money your husband withheld to pay his portion of the income taxes covered his share of the income. That would be a logical conclusion. So cash that check and take the kids out for ice cream!

   Now about Illinois–that’s another story. In Illinois, if you have an injured spouse situation, you should file separately. It’s weird because normally if you file jointly for federal, you also file jointly for the state. In Illinois, with an injured spouse, you file separate returns. Missouri and many other states have an injured spouse status, but Illinois doesn’t. You won’t get your Illinois refund this year. Sorry.

   (But the kids should still get ice cream. Tell ’em Aunt Jan said so.)

10. I have a quick question, my husband and I filed our tax return jointly for the first year. In the past we always did them separately since he owes child support from a time he was laid off. He pays child support but has arrears from the time he wasn’t working. I filed form 8379 since I want my portionif our refund and I have two kids that I put down as mine (they are). My questions that he has been receiving notices that our refund was applied to back child support yet I have not received any notices where my portion is. I called weeks ago and they said they received my form and that it’s being processed. In the last few weeks my husband still gets letters saying it was applied to child support. Then a few days ago I get in the mail a check for the full amount of our refund. I’m a little scared to cash it because it’s for the full amount. Does that happen often where they apply the whole refund to the injured spouse even though we both had income? I paid more taxes than husband so I don’t know if that makes a difference and we live in Illinois. Also I still haven’t received my refund from my state Illinois. Do I have to fill out another form for the state (8379)? When I go online to check the status it says they cannot process my request for information and that I have to call. I’m just confused about what to do with the check they sent me and can I cash it or do they makes mistakes. Also will I get my refund from the state?? Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

11. Hey Jayme,
    Without seeing your tax return and your injured spouse form, I can’t tell you much, but I can make a few guesses. First, you’re from Texas which is a community property state. That can really mess things up when you’re filing injured spouse. Here in Missouri, what’s mine is mine and what’s his is his. But in Texas, what’s yours is his too–so that’s going to ding you there.

    Another possible issue is how you filed your form. Let’s say you have 2 kids. Most people, when dividing assets and children, say one for him and one for me. When you’re claiming injured spouse, both the kids are yours (unless they really aren’t.) But that’s a common–I hate to call it a mistake, but it’s a common problem.

    You asked how you could go from a $4000 refund from before you were married to a $300 refund after? The key word there is “married”. Once you marry the guy, his debts are yours too. I always tell people to check their potential spouse’s tax records, but people in love don’t want to do that.

    I’ve had trouble getting through to the injured spouse department myself lately. They must be really back logged. To get an exact answer as to why you only got $300, you’ll have to talk to them. Try calling on a Wednesda or Thursday–Mondays and Tuesdays are always bad. But going straight to the source is the only way you’ll know exactly what happened. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

12. Hi Ali,
    Most likely, your injured spouse refund will come back as a check. There’s two reasons for that: first, if the amount you’re getting back is not exactly the same number as the refund on your tax return, then the IRS will not be allowed to direct deposit it. The second reason is similar, if it takes the IRS so long to process your injured spouse form that they owe you interest, again they can’t direct deposit because the numbers won’t match–so most likely you’re getting a check in the mail.
    I believe that the check will be issued in both your names. I tried calling the IRS to confirm that but never did get through. Sometimes even I have a hard time reaching them.

13. HELP!! I filed the injured spouse form. we were die to get back 4000, mostly because of me and what I had coming back to me. He has debt of the same amount, so you know the drill. they took it. I filed the form. The lady i did this with predicted I should get back around 1500. I got 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    HOW is this possible to get back 4000 every year before filing together, and now after injured spouse form I only get 300????

    I cant get them on the phone and I need help understanding. Going crazy!!

    Jayme

14. If I filed my initial joint tax return and got direct deposit, how will my injured spouse refund come back?

    If it is by check, will it only have my name on it or his as well?

    Thanks

15. Hi Cynthia,
    Your post didn’t get deleted, it’s just that it won’t post until I approve it. It helps keep all those ads for Viagra and other stuff off my website. I probably get 10 weird things or links to “amazing new dust mop” for every real post that people give me.

    Anyway, yes the IRS does post date letters. Isn’t it crazy? They do that so you should receive the letter on the day it’s dated, but it doesn’t always work that way. You should assume that you’ll receive your check 2-3 weeks from the 21st, the date on the letter. Also, since the amount is different than what your refund would have been, you’re correct in assuming that you should receive a paper check.

16. Hi, I’m not sure why my post got deleted so I’ll try again.
    My husband and I did the Injured Spouse Form and received notices last week that we will be receiving part of our refund back. The weird thing is that the notices were post dated for May 21st. Is it normal for the IRS to post date letters? Does this mean we would receive our refund 2-3 weeks from that date? Also, am I right in assuming since our refund is a different amount than the original anticipated refund, we will receive a paper check rather than direct deposit? Thanks.

17. Hi, my husband and I received letters from the IRS last week stating that our injured spouse form has been processed and also states the amount we will be getting back and that we should receive it within 2-3 weeks. We were happy to receive this notice but this is where it get confusing. Although we recieved the letters last week, they are dated ‘May 21st’. So my question is, is it normal for the IRS to postdate letters? Does this mean we should receive the money 2-3 weeks after that date? Also, am I correct in assuming since the refund amount is different than the original amount we were to reveive, we should expect a paper check instead of direct deposit? Thanks!

18. Hi Lauren from Florida,
    First, Florida is not a community property state–that makes a difference. And it also sounds like you don’t have any children so that means you don’t have any of those “refundable credits”. That makes your situation a little easier to compute.
    If your Jackson Hewitt office is still open–or their district office, they can just push a button to tell you what your tax return would be like if you filed as married filing separately–that’s what you’d get back for filing the injured spouse form.

    But–here’s where I’m confused. Your refund is $8000–which makes me think there’s EIC and kids involved. If that’s the case, you’re not dealing with 2 exemptions, you’ve got four. One for you, one for him and one for each of the children. And this will make a big difference–because on your injured spouse allocation you are taking 3 for you and your husband gets one.

    You do have to split the standard deduction in half–even if he only earned $1700.

    The IRS doesn’t share how they calculate the injured spouse allocations with EIC. I suspect that you’ll get most of your refund, if not all of it, but I also know not to second guess the IRS on this one. Remember, you’re probably going to wait about 14 weeks to get that refund too. So don’t commit funds that aren’t in your hands yet. Good luck.

19. Hi Lara from Indiana,
    I promised I’d get back to you on where to mail the Indiana Injured Spouse form (the IN-40SP). It goes to the same old place other refunds go to: Indiana Department of Revenue, PO Box 40, Indianapolis, IN 46206-0040.

    Sorry I took so long, you probably got your answer already. I guess it was sort of a “duh” but my brain wasn’t working that way. (For what it’s worth, I’m good at preparing tax returns–the whole mailing them issue is over my head.)

20. I am a newlywed (late 2011) my husband has a student loan debt and our $8000 refund check was taken to offset that. I am filing an injured spouse form because 99% of the income was from me. Here’s my questions about the form:

    1) We have 2 exemptions, can I put 2 for me and 0 for him since he only worked 2 weeks in 2011?
    2) Dividing the standard deduction of $11,600 by 2 would mean that $5,800 is under him, but he only made $1,700 in 2011 so can I put all of the deduction under me or at least the excess?
    3) If I can’t do any of the above, does this mean that I need to calculate a new liability different from the original tax filing that Jackson Hewitt did for us? I am confused about what to put in the payments section.
    4) Will I get all of the $8,000 back? If not, how much will I get and will the refund amount change an no longer be the $8000? For example: if I have to do a new liability calculation for the payments section— this will lower the refund because the full deduction and both exemptions arent reducing my taxable income. Let’s say the refund based on my 1 exemption and 1/2 of the standard deduction now makes my refund $6000. Would I get $6000 and then the other $2000 from the original refund projection go to the student loan or would the extra deductions amount above the $1700 he made be null and therefore I get a portion of the newly calculated amount of $6000 and whatever portion out of that they deemed my husband’s goes to the student loan? We lived in Florida for 2011.

    Thanks for the help

21. Hi Green,
    If your wife sent the 8379 form in with your efiled tax return, it should take about 11 weeks for the IRS to process it. If she mailed it in later, then is should take about 14 weeks from the time the IRS received it. Now people are posting that it’s been taking longer–so don’t be surprised if it’s slow.
    I haven’t heard anyone complain about not receiving their share of the refund so I would guess that if you did the paperwork correctly, she should get her “share”.
    I’m doing the little quotie marks because a person’s fair share is different in different states. Texas is one of the community property states so you folks are computed differently. She’ll get less money than what you would have computed her to get–I’d say she’ll get half. At least that’s how I’m understanding it.

22. Hi Tammy,
    How long ago did you file? I’m seeing a lot of posts from people who say it’s taking longer than expected. It’s okay to call the IRS to follow up. The number is 1 800 829-1040. Expect to be on hold for a long time. Be prepared to give you social security number and answer some questions about your tax return. (Most people put the husband’s name on top so make sure you know his number–they usually ask for the “primary” social, that’s whoever’s name is listed first. The injured spouse is always the one who doesn’t owe child support or college loans. (Just making the distinction so you’re ready for the call.)
    You’ll be on hold for a long time. Knowing that helps–often I’m on hold for 45 minutes or more. I just use a speaker phone and work on something else while waiting. (To be honest, I’ve gotten the IRS on the phone, they put me on hold, I’ve done whole tax returns waiting for them to pick up.) Just warning you so that you don’t think you’ve been forgotten.
    They’ll probably tell you that your return was received and they’re still processing it and they won’t know anything for X number of weeks. But, that at least gives you a time line of when to follow up if necessary. If you’re lucky, they’ll be done processing and have information about how much you’ll get and when you’ll receive your check. I hope you’re lucky–but I’m not real confdent that you’ll get that information the first time you call. Good luck.

23. Thanks Ahna,
    I appreciate the feedback. I learn more from you folks who post and follow up than I do from the IRS. Peoples’ actual experience is so much more valuable.
    Okay folks so we have proof. If you’re a stay at home mom and you qualify for what’s called “refundable credits” that’s the additional child tax credit and the Earned Income credit–you can still get that back filing for injured spouse relief. Now Ahna was not in a community property state–but I’d still recommend filing even if you are in a community property state–something is always better than nothing. Thanks again Ahna.

24. My wife filed this year and mailed in an 8379 injured spouse. I owe back child support,what is the chances of her receiving her portion of the refund. Also they did take the refund,and when will she know if she’s eligible for the refund. We live in texas does that make difference .

25. I have filed the 8379 form but have not heard anything back. My husband has checked the account for the child support and it shows that all our money went to that we live in iowa

26. thank you so much for being the only person I have found with a positive attitude on my situation. I just wanted to update that I finally received a letter and I am getting more than half of the refund which is all the additional child tax credits and then some.. So for future reference a stay at home mom with no income is entitled to part of the refund when additional child tax credits are involved. Injured spouse does work! Again I am NOT in a community property state.

27. Hi Lara,
    I feel your pain. I’m not in the office–I tried just going to the Indiana website. I couldn’t figure it out. I’ve got jury duty this week and won’t be back in the office until next week–I’m pretty sure I’ve got the address there. But you’d think there’d be easily accessible information. If you try the search engine for injured spouse, well it takes you to social services. Soooo–anyway, I’ll take a look when I get back.
    I wasn’t going to post your letter until I had an answer for you, but I thought it was interesting that I couldn’t find an answer for you. Sorry. I will get back to you.

28. Hi Sarah,
    I’ve never filed an injured spouse return for Wisconsin but I think I know the problem. To file injured spouse in Wisconsin, you need to mail the form to Wisconsin separately from your efiled return. I’m attaching a link to the Wisconsin web site: http://www.revenue.wi.gov/faqs/ise/refintcp.html

    The address is:
    WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
    Refund Interception Assistance
    PO Box 8901
    Madison, Wisconsin 53708-8901

29. Hi Frank,
    My best guess is that if you file injured spouse and claim the kids, and you don’t live in a community property state, then I would expect you to get the whole refund.

30. Trying to find a mailing address for 2011 form 8379 indiana.

31. We live in WI and have been filing the injured spouse with our tax refund for the last 5 years. THis year our whole state tax refund was taken for the student loan debt. We have always gotten the whole state return in the past. In your experense does the injured spouse form stop them from taking the whole state refund. We e filed with turbo tax and am wondering if everything was “sent” over.

32. @Renee,
    Wow!
    Wow again. First–for what it’s worth–the IRS also has no statute of limitations on unfiled tax returns.. If you filed it wrong–and they don’t audit you–then you’re good, but if you don’t file at all–wow. 1990?

    You’ve got so many issues here–at least you hired a CPA, hopefully one who is certified in California and not some 1-800 phone number guy. I cannot stress enough that when dealing with California issues you want a California trained preparer.

    Second–you’re the wife so your husband’s debt is your debt. You’re also in California, a community property state, so you’ve got even more issues there. So you will want to take steps to protect yourself (which brings me back to you getting yourself a good local tax person with debt experience.)

    Now here’s something that gives me a little “aha” moment. California says that you owe money for the 1990 tax return that was never filed. If you never filed it, how do they know you owe? I’m not trying to be petty, just hear me out.

    A dollar amount for taxes cannot be assessed if no return is filed. With the IRS, they just file a return for you. For California to assess you a tax amount–they would have had to file a return for you. (The IRS does this all the time using your W2 and 1099 information.) Here in Missouri, they do it with your federal filed tax return (even if the IRS did it.) I would guess that’s what California did too (something along that line anyway.)

    So–you CPA needs to have your husband sign a power of attorney and get his hands on the California income tax transcript. Which, I’m guessing they have no record of 1990–but they’ve got to have the tax account transcript. Somewhere in the state of California is a document showing how much tax is owed. That’s where you’re going to start rebuilding your return.

    It’s going to be a pain in the behind. But–at least now you’ve got a starting point. Good luck. You’re going to need it, but you can do it.

    I would expect to be filing separate returns until this issue is resolved.

33. Hi Amy,
    That sounds totally unfair. I realize that doesn’t help you at all, but I just wanted to share your outrage a little bit. (Every time I think I’ve heard everything, something else comes along.)
    Anyway, you probably know to file an injured spouse form now. If you haven’t done it already, go ahead and do it now–it looks like you’re going to get jerked around a bit so you may as well defend yourself.
    I wish I had something more for you, but that’s as good as I’ve got. Sorry.

34. Me and my wife file mfj come to find out are refund was off set for student loans she has i worked all 12 months she dont work and hasnt for yrs we have 2 kids my question is since i paid all the taxes and made all the income if i file the injurered spouse would i get the whole refund since she didnt work or pay any taxes thx for you help

35. My husband and I got married in October of 2011. We filed taxes as married jointly. I am the one who works and he is receiving disability for a back injury. We knew he had some debt to the county and thought we were fine because he had been set up on a payment plan but the Feds still took part of our fed return to pay that debt. We did get the untouched part back.
    The problem is we live in California and they have no statue of limitations on tax debt. To our suprise my husband has a huge (almost 6 figure) tax debt from not filing a return in 1990. 21 years ago! We were shocked. He was living with his childrens mother back then and she took care of all their finances. He says she had told him once there was a problem with their taxes but she took care of it. Well apparently she took care of it by ignoring it. She passed away 8 years ago and her daughter (who was her executor) destroyed all her records she had been keeping.
    So now we are faced with trying to recreate a tax return from 21 years ago for their old business. The state took his total earnings from the Federal return that year to calculate what they think he owes. We have to figure our the business expenses though to try to offset the debt,
    So our entire state refund was seized. Can I file injured spouse and get some of that back? The federal refund was only applied to the county debt he had.
    My next question is what does this mean for our future? They are giving us 2 months to work with a CPA to try to resolve but then if he still has this debt they said they will garnish his wages. Can they garnish mine? Can they seize money in my bank accounts? We have maintained separete accounts for everything from banking, credit cards etc. The only thing we did together was our taxes because silly me, I figured it would be smart with me having a large income and him having next to nothing.
    Thanks for you time.
    Renee

36. This year they took my husband’s income tax, due to unpaid child support. He has always paid his support and has the receipts to prove it. However, she went to DHR and filed that he didn’t. Well the IRS took his taxes, before he could go to court and prove that he was innocent. Well in April he finally got to go to court, but due to the fact we had filed for court and she brought the child support into a different venue, it could not be taken care of at that level. In the meantime they have also filed on his credit report unpaid taxes. We do not go back to court until July, her lawyer needed more time for discovery. How can they do this legally? I thought in this country you were innocent until proven guilty. We even offered to give the worker copies of his receipts, she stated not until court. I don’t understand this, she has lied, and the system is helping her do it, and punishing him in the meantime.

37. @ Anyone who’s trying to call the IRS to follow up on their Injured Spouse form:

    Calling the IRS can be a hassle, here’s my tips for calling them: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2011/09/how-to-call-the-irs/

    The main phone number is (800) 829-1040.

    Try to call on a Wednesday or Thursday if possible, the phone lines tend to not be so jammed. Avoid calling on Mondays–always the worst day to call the IRS. Good luck.

38. Hi Brenda,
    For what it’s worth, the IRS never calls back. At least, that’s been my experience. Oh sure–if my client is being audited and I’m working with someone like that–they call. But I’ve never gotten a return call from anyone at one of the 1 800 numbers. So don’t hold your breath for that.
    Now–about there not being an injured spouse division–well yes, there is, but they are for answering general questions about injured spouse relief–I don’t think the person you were speaking to was lying. Your return doesn’t go to a special “injured spouse department” where there’s someone who can go–“Oh, yeah, Brenda’s case, I’ve got it!” (Which actually that’s too bad because I bet things would work better that way.)
    I wish I had a magic answer for you but I don’t. You’re just going to have to wait your turn like everybody else. And from the comments this week, it looks like there’s a log jam and lots of people are waiting. Don’t be surprised if you have to wait another 8 weeks. Hopefully you won’t–but just don’t be surprised if you do.

39. Ahnakay,
    I think the hold is your share. At least that’s how I’m understanding it.

40. I called today Week 8 and the lady I spoke with told me the form was still processing and she could not tell me why. She took my number down and said she would put a note for injured spouse dept. to contact me. I asked her could I speak to the injured spouse dept she quickly answered we don’t have one. She then told me that it would take them up to 30 days to contact me. What should I do? I called taxpayer advocate and was told if I do not have a hardship, eviction letter, etc. I have to just wait. I want my money like the irs would want there money. Any advice?

41. I called today and my prior yrs injured spouse form(the money was already taken last yr) was still being processed. I was told she couldn’t release the amount because it wasn’t firm untill posted then she finally told me an amount it was almost half of the prior yrs return. Since this money was already taken from us last ur is the hold possibly my share?? What does the hold mean? I was only told it was being held waiting approval. Remember I have no income only additional child tax credits hubby has offsets.. Non community property state..

42. Hi Jamie,
    Good question. You mail your injured spouse form to the IRS mailing address that you would have mailed your return too. (My tax software always prints that page out and I hate to give it to people because I don’t want to confuse them–but that’s why it prints is so that you get that information in case you need it.)
    Anyway, for you-because you live in Nevada, your tax return would go to Fresno, California.
    Department of the Treasury
    Internal Revenue Service
    Fresno, California 93888-0002

    The important thing here is that your tax return gets filed by where you live, not where your tax preparer lives.

43. Hi Christine,
    Just because the IRS messed up doesn’t mean they’ll move any faster to remedy the situation. Sorry.

44. Hey Miriam,
    You asked a good question–why does the IRS have to mail you a check instead of direct depositing your money into your bank account? It’s a funky answer. When you do the direct deposit form–it gives the IRS permission to direct deposit $XXX into your bank account. If the refund doesn’t exactly match that paperwork, it’s illegal to make the deposit.
    With injured spouse claims, the refund often doesn’t match the tax return. That’s why they can’t direct deposit it.

45. Hi Ahna,
    You did the right thing claiming all 5 children on your injured spouse claim. And yes, it’s confusing because you earned no income. But because you have tax credits for your children, it is still possible for you to obtain a portion of your tax refund back so it was smart of you to file the injured spouse form. The IRS won’t tell me how they compute what you get–(the married filing separate is a guide–but then the tax credits throw it out the window) but I expect you should see something.

    One other thing–if the roles were reversed and your husband was the injured spouse instead of you, I would still have your husband claim your children. Because you are married–he is the step father–that is a legal right to claim children on a tax return. This is important for anyone with step children living with them to know when filing for injured spouse.

    But the bottom line is–you did everything right. Good luck.

46. Hi I just got the letter stating that they took all of our refund because of me husbands student loans. What I’m wondering is when I mail in the 8379 form do I need to include anything with it (W-2s or 1040 form). My taxes where filed electronically from my tax guy who lives in Maryland. I live in Nevada so where should I send the form too?

47. We filed injured spouse form with our taxes this year and they were received on Feb 23rd. Called April 18, 2012 to check on status and they said that they misplace our injured spouse form. Sent new one. Called today to check status again and they said that they received our new form. Do you think it will still take 8 weeks or less since it is their mistake?

48. My husband called today and they said since we filed an injured spouse form that they can’t dd our money. So, they’re gonna mail it out on the 27th and we should get it by the 11 of May. What I don’t get is why their website says it can’t be dd into more than 1 account.

49. I was recently informed on 2 seperate occasions by IRS(on long phone waits..) that I should file the injured spouse form for this year and the previous. Both yrs, only my husband worked, but we had returns in access of 8k due to refundable tax credits on our 5 children(3 are MINE, 2 are ours) He owes back child support of one child, our full return was taken last year, and is expected this year also. I was told to file the form and did for both yrs. I claimed all 5 of my children, and my educations credits to myself) I was told to expect a return, still waiting.. Everyone says if you earned no income dont expect a refund, but IRS says differently.. I understand they say its cacualted on how it would be if you filed seperalty, well if we filed seperatly he would OWE money because he cant claim MY children(his step) So any ideas?

50. Hi Sue,
    Yes, the IRS can basically take your tax refund that you would receive the the children in your home and use it to pay the back child support that your husband owes for the kids from his previous relationship.
    You did the right thing by filing the injured spouse form–that will help keep at least some of the money in your household to help you raise your children. It might not give you all of your money, but if you don’t file the injured spouse you won’t get anything so it’s always a good idea to file.

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