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 |
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 Page 2 of 4 PUB-125 (R-01/2020, R-06/22 back page updated) |
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, PUB-125 (R-01/2020, R-06/22 back page updated) Page 3 of 4 |
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. Page 4 of 4 PUB-125 (R-01/2020, R-06/22 back page updated) |