Spouses who file joint federal tax returns are both generally liable for the tax owed. But joint filers may be eligible for innocent spouse relief. In one case, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that a wife wasn’t entitled to relief from tax liability with her husband. She didn’t prove that she was unaware of tax understatements from an embezzlement scheme her husband was involved in when she signed several tax returns. She reviewed the returns and had access to accounts in which the embezzlement proceeds were deposited. Although she was primarily a homemaker, she was an attorney, and the court noted her legal training would have “alerted her to a likely understatement.” (TC Memo 2022-115)
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