What is innocent spouse?
Innocent spouse status is awarded to those individuals who can prove that they were unaware that their spouse filed their joint return knowing that all the tax wasn’t reported, or that they were led to believe that the tax had been full paid, but they later found out that it wasn’t. Innocent Spouse status is not easily awarded, but it is a viable option for certain taxpayers. If awarded, the innocent spouse is relieved of liability and the responsible spouse is left with the debt to the Service.
