Appendix Fifteen

• Author: Brian C. Vertz and Mitchell E. Benson
• Pages: 512-515

Appendix Fifteen Divorce Taxation A-102

APPENDIX FIFTEEN

IRS Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation (Rev. November 2020)

Instructions for Form 8379

(Rev. November 2020)

Injured Spouse Allocation

(For use with the November 2016 revision of Form 8379)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal Revenue

Code unless otherwise noted.

General Instructions

Reminder

If both spouses have qualified business

income (QBI), the IRS will generally use

information reported with the jointly filed

Form 1040 or 1040-SR to allocate the QBI

deduction as a percentage of each

spouse’s QBI.

Future Developments

For the latest information about

developments related to Form 8379 and

its instructions, such as legislation

enacted after they were published, go to

IRS.gov/Form8379.

Purpose of Form

Form 8379 is filed by one spouse (the

injured spouse) on a jointly filed tax return

when the joint overpayment was (or is

expected to be) applied (offset) to a

past-due obligation of the other spouse.

By filing Form 8379, the injured spouse

may be able to get back his or her share of

the joint refund.

Are You an

Injured Spouse?

You may be an injured spouse if you file a

joint return and all or part of your portion of

the overpayment was, or is expected to

be, applied (offset) to your spouse's

legally enforceable past-due federal tax,

state income tax, state unemployment

compensation debts, child support, or a

federal nontax debt, such as a student

loan.

A Notice of Offset for federal tax debts

is issued by the IRS. A Notice of Offset for

past-due state income tax, state

unemployment compensation debt, child

support, or federal nontax debts (such as

a student loan) is issued by the U.S.

Treasury Department's Bureau of the

Fiscal Service.

Visit IRS.gov/TaxTopics/tc203

and Fiscal.Treasury.gov for more

information about refund offsets

and debts.

Complete Part I to determine if you are

an injured spouse.

TIP

Innocent Spouse Relief

Don’t file Form 8379 if you are claiming

innocent spouse relief. Instead, file Form

8857. Generally, both spouses are

responsible for paying the full amount of

tax, interest, and penalties due on your

joint return. However, if you qualify for

innocent spouse relief, you may be

relieved of part or all of the joint tax

liability. You may qualify for relief from the

joint tax liability if any of the following

apply.

•There is an understatement of tax

because your spouse omitted income or

claimed false deductions or credits, and

you didn't know or have reason to know of

the understatement.

•There is an understatement of tax and

you are divorced, separated, or no longer

living with your spouse.

•Given all the facts and circumstances, it

wouldn't be fair to hold you liable for the

tax.

See Pub. 971 for more details.

When To File

File Form 8379 when you become aware

that all or part of your share of an

overpayment was, or is expected to be,

applied (offset) against your spouse's

legally enforceable past-due obligations.

You must file Form 8379 for each year you

meet this condition and want your portion

of any offset refunded.

You must file Form 8379 within 3 years

from the due date of the original return

(including extensions) or within 2 years

from the date you paid the tax that was

later offset, whichever is later. Certain

circumstances described in section 6511

may extend this period.

How To File

You can file Form 8379 with your joint

return or amended joint return (Form

1040-X), or you can file it afterwards by

itself. File Form 8379 with Form 1040-X

only if you are amending your original

return to claim a joint refund.

If you file Form 8379 with your joint

return, attach it to your return in the order

of the attachment sequence number

(located in the upper right corner of the tax

form). Enter “Injured Spouse” in the upper

left corner of page 1 of the joint return.

If you file Form 8379 separately, please

be sure to attach a copy of all Forms W-2

and W-2G for both spouses, and any

Forms 1099 showing federal income tax

withholding, to Form 8379. The

processing of Form 8379 may be delayed

if these forms are not attached, if the form

is incomplete when filed, or if you attach a

copy of your previously filed joint return.

Where To File

See the chart below to determine where to

file your Form 8379.

IF you file

Form 8379...

THEN mail

Form 8379...

with your joint return and your joint

return to the

Internal Revenue

Service Center for

the area where you

live.*

by itself after you

filed your original

joint return on paper

to the same Internal

Revenue Service

Center where you

filed your original

return.*

by itself after you

filed your original

joint return

electronically

to the Internal

Revenue Service

Center for the area

where you live.*

with an amended

return (Form

1040-X) or other

subsequent return

to the Internal

Revenue Service

Center for the area

where you live.*

* For Internal Revenue Service Center

mailing addresses, see your tax return

instructions or visit IRS.gov/Filing/Where-

To-File-Paper-Tax-Returns-With-Or-

Without-a-Payment.

Taxpayer Assistance Centers are

not Internal Revenue Service

Centers. You can't make an

appointment at an Internal Revenue

Service Center to file Form 8379.

Amending Your

Tax Return

If you file an amended joint return (Form

1040-X) to claim an additional refund and

you don't want your portion of the

overpayment to be applied (offset) against

your spouse's legally enforceable

past-due obligation(s), then you will need

to complete and attach another Form 8379

to allocate the additional refund.

CAUTION

!

Oct 05, 2020 Cat. No. 52888M

APPENDIX FIFTEEN