This is the part that catches people. A divorce decree allocating the tax debt to a former spouse binds the two of them. It does not bind the IRS, which may collect the whole amount from whichever spouse it can reach.
Relief from that joint liability exists, in three forms, and which one applies depends on the facts and on whether you are still married.
The three routes
Innocent spouse relief
For an understatement of tax caused by your spouse’s erroneous items, where you did not know and had no reason to know, and where holding you liable would be inequitable.
Separation of liability
Available where you are divorced, widowed, legally separated, or have lived apart for at least twelve months. It allocates the understatement between the spouses as though separate returns had been filed.
Equitable relief
The route where the others do not fit — including where the tax was properly reported but never paid. The analysis weighs marital status, hardship, who received the benefit, abuse, and compliance since.
What “reason to know” really means
This is where most claims are won or lost. The question is not only what you actually knew, but what a reasonable person in your circumstances would have known, considering your education and business experience, your involvement in the household finances, whether the item was a departure from a recurring pattern, and whether your spouse concealed things from you.
Signing a return you did not read is not, by itself, either a defense or a disqualification.
Abuse is directly relevant. Where a spouse was afraid to question a return, or was not permitted to see the household finances, that bears on both knowledge and equity. It is a recognized consideration rather than a plea for sympathy, and it should be raised deliberately.
Timing
Requests for innocent spouse relief and separation of liability generally must be made within two years of the first collection activity directed at you. Equitable relief follows a different and more generous timing rule. Because the two-year period runs from a collection event rather than from the return, people frequently discover the problem and the deadline at the same moment.
What happens to the other spouse
They are notified and given an opportunity to participate. This is required by statute and cannot be waived, which is worth knowing in advance where contact is difficult. The IRS will not disclose your address or personal information to them.
What to do now
Identify the years and whether the problem is an understatement on the return or a balance that was reported and never paid, because that determines which route applies. Then assemble what shows your actual involvement in the finances at the time — not now.
A debt that was never really yours?
Send the years involved and whether you are still married. The timing rules differ, and one of them is short. No charge for the first conversation.
If your notice has a date on it, start now.
Send a general description of your situation. Please do not include Social Security numbers, account numbers, or documents in a first message.