English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

I thought I'd try doing our taxes this year asked DH for his W-2 and he handed me a stack from 2000 - 2006 and told me the last time he filed was 1999! Looking the W-2's over noticed one year had $0 Fed tax withholding and the rest were only a little over $1000.00 in Fed withholdings. He makes between $30 - $46 a year. He then tells me he prefiled with his employer to go tax exempt for one year and the rest of the years as having 8 dependents when there's only DH, my son and I.

#1, DH says to do nothing until we can get a tax attorney.
I want to get these things filed ASAP and see where we stand.
Which would be best?

#2, I don't work DH wants to file Married filing jointly to try and get the most to offset his owed amount. My understanding is if we file jointly I become responsible for this as well. After years of this kind of crap, divorce is afloat and I don't want to be stuck with his idiots debt. Any advice?

2007-02-27 14:55:11 · 6 answers · asked by candlesflame2 1 in Business & Finance Taxes United States

Been married since 1995
Rent our home
Have no assets

Should I file these ASAP or wait to get a tax attorney?


After years of being in the hole I was given control of our finances in June 2006 and just got us paid up on all our debts. Now this. Can I claim the first $12,000.00 of DH's life insurance as a tax free gift? I am only joking....... ha ha yeah ha

2007-02-27 15:25:11 · update #1

6 answers

First of all, the only one you can file online is your 2006 return. I would do that first and see where you stand--if you are getting a refund or if you owe. Then, you will need to paper file each year individually from 2000-2005 and the sooner, the better. Married filing jointly gives you the best advantage as far as deductions, ect but it does sound like you are going to be oweing a huge amount if you only have 1 child and your husband filed tax exempt for a year (obviously so he could get more from his paycheck but it will definitely backfire) and the fact that he claimed so many dependents and did not have enough taken out. What a mess!!!! I know there is such a thing as Innocent/Injured Spouse Relief too that you may be able to claim, but I'm not sure if that applies to you or not, but it may. You should research it on the IRS website.

There are others on here that are far more experianced in the laws (like Bostonian) so I won't go any further and will let them tell you their advice.

GOOD LUCK!

2007-02-27 15:35:10 · answer #1 · answered by MarineMom 6 · 0 0

He probably owes a lot by now, not only in tax but also in penalties and interest. Getting an attorney sounds like a real good idea. I'm a little surprised that he hasn't heard from the IRS by now if he has W-2's that old and never filed. Or maybe he has, and just didn't mention it to you. If he didn't file at all for those years, there's no statute of limitations on their still collecting - the clock on s of lim doesn't start running until the return is filed.

You're right, if you file a joint return, you'd be liable with him for the back taxes even though it was from his income. If you're not expecting to be together, then DON'T file a joint return with him.

Filing a W-4 as tax-exempt is illegal unless you believe you won't have any tax liability for that year. It doesn't exempt you from paying the taxes, just means that nothing gets withheld.

It's gone on this long - I'd wait to get an attorney before doing anything. That shouldn't take long, and it shouldn't take much work for a tax attorney to pull together an estimate of what's owed, since he has the W-2's. This is a mess, as you know, and resolution isn't going to be easy.

2007-02-27 16:38:24 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0 0

even claiming that many dependents if you don't work and have a child it shouldn't be that bad. but yeah you may want a tax attorney if you have complicated returns. if you have simple returns, you can go to www.handrblock.com and use the tax caculator to get a guess at what your looking at oweing. you can only file joint for the tax years you've been married and any other years you cannot be held responseable for. good luck

2007-02-27 15:06:06 · answer #3 · answered by pooh 6 · 0 1

Good luck
Better get a tax attorney
This sounds like tax fraud and that means jail time and not just a penalty.

2007-02-27 15:02:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

You are looking at a lot of trouble and especially with a divorce near please do not sign any papers at all.

2007-02-27 15:03:42 · answer #5 · answered by Akbar B 6 · 0 0

get a lawyer fast. very fast.

2007-02-27 14:59:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

fedest.com, questions and answers