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Illinois Department of Revenue

Publication 125                                                                         January 2020

Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief 

The information in this publication      About this publication
is current as of the date of the 
publication. Please visit our website at Publication 125, Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief, provides information and 
                                         guidance about injured and innocent spouse relief. The objectives of Publication 125 
tax.illinois.gov to verify you have the 
                                         are to
most current revision.
This publication is written in the plain  define “injured spouse.”
English style so the tax information is 
                                          instruct eligible taxpayers how to obtain injured spouse relief by filing their 
easier to understand. As a result, we 
                                         Form IL-1040, Individual Income Tax Return, separately from their spouse for 2009 
do not directly quote Illinois statutes  and later tax years.
or the Illinois Administrative Code.  
The contents of this publication are      instruct eligible taxpayers how to obtain injured spouse relief for 2008 and earlier tax 
informational only and do not take       years.
the place of statutes, rules, and court 
                                          instruct eligible taxpayers how to obtain an individual income tax refund due them as 
decisions. For many topics covered 
                                         an injured spouse. 
in this publication, we have provided 
a reference to the applicable section     define “innocent spouse relief.”
or part of the Illinois Administrative 
Code for further clarification or more    instruct eligible taxpayers how to apply for innocent spouse relief.
detail. All of the sections and parts 
referenced can be found in Title 86 of 
the Code. 

Taxpayer Bill of Rights
You have the right to call the Department of Revenue for help in resolving tax problems.
You have the right to privacy and confidentiality under most tax laws.
You have the right to respond, within specified time periods, to department notices by asking questions, paying the amount 
due, or providing proof to refute the department’s findings.
You have the right to appeal department decisions, in many instances, within specified time periods, by asking for department 
review or by taking the issue to court.
If you have overpaid your taxes, you have the right, within specified time periods, to a credit (or, in some cases, a refund) of 
that overpayment.
For more information about these rights and other department procedures, you may write us at the following address:
Problems Resolution Office
Illinois Department of Revenue
PO Box 19014
Springfield, IL  62794-9014

Get forms and other information faster and easier at tax.illinois.gov



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                                                                                     Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief

Contents

General Information 
        Who is an injured spouse? .....................................................................................................2
        What has changed with injured spouse relief? .......................................................................2
        How do I apply for injured spouse relief? ................................................................................2
        How do I get a refund if I am an injured spouse? ...................................................................2
        What is innocent spouse relief? ..............................................................................................3
        How do I apply for innocent spouse relief? .............................................................................3
        How do I get a refund if I am granted innocent spouse relief? ...............................................3

Office Locations ........................................................................................................     4

For information or forms ..........................................................................................           4

General Information 

Who is an injured spouse?                                                  filing separately” filing status. You may make this election   
                                                                           up until the extended due date of your return, and once the  
An injured spouse is someone who is not liable for the past-due            election is made, it is irrevocable. 
federal or state tax, child support, spousal support, or other 
outstanding debt of their spouse, but whose joint income tax                              If you file a joint Illinois return, we may take the   
refund may be taken or was taken to pay the debt.                          entire refund to pay your spouse’s liability. 
                                                                         For tax year
                                                                          2008 and earlier, if you are an injured spouse filing your    
What has changed with injured spouse                                       original Form IL-1040 using the “married filing jointly” filing  
                                                                           status, you should write “Injured Spouse” in red ink across the  
relief?                                                                    top of the front page of your Form IL-1040.
Beginning with the 2009 tax year, any joint refund may be used to          If you filed your federal income tax return using the “married  
pay the debts of either spouse. A person who does not want their           filing separately” filing status, you must also file “married filing  
Illinois income tax refund to be used to pay their spouse’s liabilities,   separately” with Illinois. In this case, you do not need to apply  
must file a separate return.                                               for injured spouse relief.
Prior to the 2009 tax year, an injured spouse was entitled to a refund    If you applied for injured spouse relief with the Internal    
of his or her separate share of an Illinois joint refund that was taken    Revenue Service (IRS) using U.S. Form 8379, Injured Spouse  
to pay the other spouse’s liability.                                       Allocation, you must attach this form to your Form IL-1040.

How do I apply for injured spouse relief?                                How do I get a refund if I am an injured 
Illinois does not provide a specific form to request injured spouse      spouse?
relief.                                                                  For tax year
For tax year                                                              2009, if you file Form IL-1040 using the “married filing       
  2009 and after, if you are married and you filed a joint federal         separately” filing status, we will refund any overpayment due if  
  return with your spouse and you are an injured spouse, you               you do not have any other outstanding liabilities. 
  may elect to file separate IL-1040 returns using the “married  

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                                                                                             Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief

  2008 and earlier, if you have already filed a joint Illinois return,     any final determination of your federal or Illinois tax   
  and you receive                                                         liability that you received from the IRS, Illinois Department  
   a notice telling you that all or a portion of your refund is           of  Revenue, or a court of law, including any grant or denial of  
   being offset to satisfy an Illinois Department of Revenue tax          innocent spouse relief, and  
   liability, you may request a refund of your portion of the              any other supporting documentation you believe would assist  
   overpayment by filing form IL-1040-X, Amended Individual               us in determining your eligibility.
   Income Tax Return, showing your separate tax liability. When 
                                                                        Send your completed Form IL-8857, along with supporting 
   you file Form IL-1040-X, write “Injured Spouse” in red ink  
                                                                        documentation to 
   across the top of the front page and attach a copy of your
     joint federal tax return,                                          ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
    W-2 and 1099 Forms, and                                             PROBLEMS RESOLUTION DIVISION
    U.S. Form 8379, if filed.                                           P.O. BOX 19014
                                                                        SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62794-9014. 
   a notice telling you that all or a portion of your refund    
    is being offset to another agency, you must contact that  
    agency for information on obtaining your portion of the  
                                                                        How do I get a refund if I am granted 
    refund. The notice you receive will tell you how to          
    contact the other agency.                                           innocent spouse relief?
                                                                        If you are due a refund, Form IL-8857 serves as your claim 
                                                                        for refund of any overpayment due you as a result of innocent 
What is innocent spouse relief?                                         spouse relief. You do not have to file any other forms to request a 
Generally, spouses who file a joint return for a tax year are each      refund.  
responsible for paying the entire joint tax liability regardless of     We will only issue a refund for a tax year if we receive your Form 
which spouse earned the income. Innocent spouse relief is an            IL-8857 within three years after the extended due date of your 
exception to the general rule, and may allow one spouse to avoid        original Form IL-1040, three years after the date you filed your 
paying the joint liability when the other spouse is responsible         original Form IL-1040, or one year after you paid the Illinois tax, 
for failing to pay the tax shown due on a joint Illinois income         whichever is latest. 
tax return or for failing to report all of the tax due. You may be 
entitled to innocent spouse relief when
    you filed a joint return with your spouse for a tax year, 
    some liability shown on the return was not paid or some   
  liability was not reported, and 
    your separate payments (e.g., withholding from your wages)  
  plus your share of any joint payments equal or exceed the  
  liability you would owe if you had filed a separate income tax  
  return. 
        If we grant your request for innocent spouse relief, 
you may not be relieved of the entire liability. You may be held 
responsible for any tax, penalty, and interest on your separate 
portion of the tax liability.

How do I apply for innocent spouse 
relief?
You must complete a separate Form IL-8857, Request for 
Innocent Spouse Relief, for each year you are requesting 
relief. For each request, you must attach the following items, as 
applicable
    a copy of your original U.S. and Illinois income tax returns,
    a copy of any amended U.S. and Illinois income tax returns,
    a copy of U.S. Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse   
  Relief, if you requested relief from the IRS, 

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                                                                                                Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief

Office Locations

                                     Suburban North Regional Building
                                     9511 Harrison Street FA 203
                                     Des Plaines, Illinois 60016-1563

200 South Wyman Street
Rockford, Illinois 61101-1237                                                555 West Monroe Street
                                                                             Suite 1100
                                                                             Chicago, Illinois 60661

                                                                                                Willard Ice Building
                                                                                                101 West Jefferson
                                                                                                Springfield, Illinois 62702-5145

15 Executive Drive
Business Center One, Suite 2
Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208-1331

                    2309 W. Main, Suite 114
                    Marion, Illinois 62959-1196

Contact Information Visit our website at tax.illinois.gov. For specific phone number and email contacts see our 
                         Contact Us page. 
                    Call us at 1 800 732-8866 or 217 782-3336.
                    Call our TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) at 1 800 544-5304.
                    Write us at Illinois Department of Revenue, PO Box 19001, Springfield, IL  62794-9001.
                    Call our 24-hour Forms Order Line at 1 800 356-6302. 

                              Printed by authority of the State of Illinois, Web only, one copy.
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