Innocent Spouses Falling Victim to Jurisdictional Time Bars

July 20, 2017  |  New York Law Journal

Recognizing the potential unfairness of holding spouses jointly and severally responsible for tax liabilities, the Internal Revenue Service offers “innocent spouse” relief in limited circumstances. When the IRS rejects a claim for “innocent spouse” status, the requesting spouse has ninety days to seek judicial review of that adverse decision. This article discusses recent cases decided by the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits holding that taxpayers who miss the 90-day deadline are precluded from obtaining judicial review, even when their failure was due to incorrect advice from the IRS.

Innocent Spouses Falling Victim to Jurisdictional Time Bars (pdf | 298.45 KB)