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I went on the CA STATE Franchise Tax Board web site. Found the exact clarification some of you might need.
Under frequently asked questions.......You CAN be granted an innocent spouse provision by the IRS & recieve HALF of your tax refund when filing jointly, HOWEVER, you may NOT be granted an INJURED spouse claim (for something such as a CS obligation that your SPOUSE has) by the FTB.
CA currently does NOT have an INJURED spouse provision!
I guess it depends on your specefic state, whether they recognize your claim or not.
Personally, I find it stupid that a spouse would be OBLIGATED for a CS arrears for a child that is NOT even theirs but can be excused from a tax liablilty. Does not make sense.
But anyway, hope this clears it up for some of you.
Check w/ your state frachise tax board to find out for sure. H & R block also offers FREE e-filing for income UNDER $100,000,000 a year. Pretty self-explanatory. If you go to the irs. website (www.irs.gov) you can find a list of e-file providers w/ different qualifications for FREE e-filing. IT is much faster & you can even get direct deposit which only takes days.
Of course the sites might try to sell you their other services but you are under NO obligation.
xoxoxoxox kt
ETA: the BEST way to avoid this is to change your witholding through out the year so that you break even by tax time. You will bring home more money IN your paycheck each payday anyway & then you can save it yourself instead of lending it (interest free) to Uncle Sam each year! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />
In my state CS arrears don't fall under our injured spouse provision either (we have one, but they don't consider CS), and BOY I can tell you that watching YOUR tax return go to someone else is VERY, VERY frustrating!!
That's why it's good to do as kt suggested--CHANGE your W4. No chunk refund for someone else to receive because YOU'LL be receiving it throughout the year via higher net income. If you save correctly, you'll earn interest on that money too. Like kt said, Uncle Sam sure the heck doesn't add interest to your refund.
My WS secretly claimed 0 on his tax W2 last year while telling me he claimed us all because he thought he could get a big refund back for himself to control. Since then we have separated and I have arranged it to be deposited into my account and to this he did not argue. He assumed it would be similar to last years amount 2 grand...it is over 6 grand. See, it doens't pay to be selfish does it.
If you are not in one of the community property states that holds you liable for your H's child support, you can file an AMENDED Federal return and include Form 8379, Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation, which can be found at:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">"The IRS will offset a refund from a joint income tax return to pay a past‑due support obligation if either tax filer is certified as being legally responsible for providing support. State IV‑D agencies are to refer complaints or questions concerning joint refund cases directly to the IRS. If the obligor’s spouse is not liable for the support debt under community property laws, the IRS will issue a pro rata refund to the spouse (upon the filing of an Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation) and the State will be required to reimburse IRS. The IRS encourages the filing of form 8379, Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation at the time of filing. Form 8379 should be attached to the top of the Form 1040 or 1040A, or be filed according to other instructions as indicated on the Form 8379. This will permit the IRS to make direct refunds to the spouse and thus avoid adjustments to the State. States and OCSE will be advised by FMS of any adjustments to State collections that are required."</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">If you qualify for the injured spouse claim, I don't think you automatically get half the return, but I believe you get an amount proportionate to what you paid in from your own income.
The best way to avoid this in the future is by changing your W-4s so that only an approximate amount of your actual tax is withheld.
LC
<small>[ February 19, 2005, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Lady Clueless ]</small>
