One thing that many people are not aware of is that marriage not only brings two people together but also brings forth the tax responsibilities they owe each other. Filing your tax together as a couple and getting to know that your spouse is tens of thousands of dollars in debt to the IRS. It would be quite shocking and absolutely difficult to take in let alone process the next process. Many people will not have any clue about the whole thing unless and until they go on to file the tax.
One may even be expecting to get a tax return and to their shock they may receive a letter saying that the sum has been offset to pay a former debt. The worst thing is that a spouse can also be made liable for another person’s tax debt almost as soon as they get into a marriage. The IRS considers it as one’s own responsibility to check out the status of your future spouse’s tax returns. Many people will definitely not think on this line and this could end up having serious repercussions for those that take on their spouse’s tax debt.
As soon as the tax is filed jointly, the other party has to agree the spouse’s debt as their own. It could go on to include many things right from liens against a bank account, the seizure of property which belongs to the innocent spouse.
Before being taken off by this completely, one needs to understand that there are some ways and not be responsible for their spouse’s tax debt. If you married someone who failed to file taxes or inappropriately did so several years before even you both met, the IRS can provide exemption. Check out over here.