Innocent Spouse Relief Refund Claims

In Orlock v. Commissioner, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the question of whether a spouse is entitled to a refund of payments to the IRS if she is granted innocent spouse relief. More specifically, the court considered whether the innocent spouse was entitled to a refund of payments made by the innocent spouse with her community property assets.

Married taxpayers who submit joint tax returns are both liable for the full amount of tax on the tax return. They are also jointly responsible for any understatement of tax on the return. The IRS has the authority to rule that one of the spouses is not personally liable for this type of joint understatement of tax. This is often referred to as innocent spouse relief.

In community property states, such as California, most property acquired by spouses during the marriage is subject to the creditors of either spouse. In common law or separate property states, such as Colorado, property acquired by spouses during the marriage may only be subject to the creditors of one of the spouses.

In Orlock, the IRS granted the wife innocent spouse relief. Prior to obtaining this relief, the wife had paid part of the joint tax liability. Part of the payment was made from the wife’s separate property and the rest was paid from the husband and wife’s community property.

The taxpayer petitioned the U.S. Tax Court to determine whether the IRS correctly handled her innocent spouse relief claim. The IRS agreed that the wife was entitled innocent spouse relief and a refund for the amount paid from her separate property, but it did not agree that she was entitled to a refund for the amount paid from her community property. The U.S. Tax Court agreed with the IRS. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now confirmed that a spouse is not entitled to a refund for the portion of tax paid from her community property after they are granted innocent spouse releif.

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