IRS Form 8379, also known as the Injured Spouse Allocation, allows a taxpayer to reclaim their portion of a joint tax refund if the refund was applied to their spouse’s outstanding tax debt or other federal obligations, such as student loans or child support arrears. This form protects the “injured spouse” from losing their portion of the refund due to their spouse’s financial liabilities.
To qualify as an injured spouse, the taxpayer must:
- Have filed a joint tax return with their spouse.
- Have income, withholdings, or estimated tax payments that contributed to the joint refund.
- Not be responsible for the spouse’s debt that caused the offset.
Filing Form 8379 allows the IRS to allocate the joint refund between the spouses based on their individual contributions to the tax payments, and the injured spouse can receive their share of the refund. This form can be filed with the original joint return or separately after the IRS applies the offset.