Anyone else dealing with joint tax debt issues with their spouse?

I’ve been married for 14 years and we’ve always filed our tax returns as married filing jointly with dependents. We’ve got some tax debt that I’ve been paying off through an installment agreement. The problem is, my wife thinks she doesn’t owe anything because she was a homemaker during the years we owe taxes for. But, the IRS says otherwise and the debt is in both of our names. Anyone else in a similar situation? Any advice on how to approach this?

Yeah, that sounds like a tough situation. I had something similar happen a few years ago. My partner didn’t think they owed anything either, but the IRS had us both on the hook for it.

Have you looked into getting legal advice? I’m not sure if it’ll help, but I’ve heard that sometimes a lawyer can make things clearer, especially when it’s a joint debt.

I’ve been through this before. Even if one partner didn’t work, the IRS can still hold both responsible. Might want to double-check everything with a tax lawyer if you haven’t already.

Same here, had to deal with this last year. It’s frustrating when the other person doesn’t think they’re responsible. Has she been actively involved with the payments at all?

This sounds like a classic case for a lawyer. Have you considered speaking to one who specializes in family or tax law? That might be the best route.