Form 8379 Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation

Form

8379

Injured Spouse Allocation

OMB No. 1545-0074

(Rev. January 2009)
©

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Part I

Attachment
Sequence No.

See instructions.

104

Should you file this form? You must complete this part.
©

Answer the following questions for that year.

1

Enter the tax year for which you are filing this form.

2

Did you (or will you) file a joint return?
Yes. Go to line 3.
No. Stop here. Do not file this form. You are not an injured spouse.

3

Did (or will) the IRS use the joint overpayment to pay any of the following legally enforceable past-due debt(s) owed only by
your spouse? (see instructions)
● Federal tax ● State income tax ● Child support ● Spousal support ● Federal nontax debt (such as a student loan)
Yes. Go to line 4.
No. Stop here. Do not file this form. You are not an injured spouse.
Note. If the past-due amount is for a joint federal tax, you may qualify for innocent spouse relief for the year to which
the overpayment was applied. See Innocent Spouse Relief, on page 2 for more information.

4

Are you legally obligated to pay this past-due amount?
Yes. Stop here. Do not file this form. You are not an injured spouse.
Note. If the past-due amount is for a joint federal tax, you may qualify for innocent spouse relief for the year to which
the overpayment was applied. See Innocent Spouse Relief, on page 2 for more information.
No. Go to line 5.

5

Were you a resident of a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas,
Washington, or Wisconsin) at any time during the tax year entered on line 1? (see instructions)
Yes. Enter name(s) of community property state(s)
.
Skip lines 6 through 9 and go to Part II and complete the rest of this form.
No. Go to line 6.

6

Did you make and report payments, such as federal income tax withholding or estimated tax payments?
Yes. Skip lines 7 through 9 and go to Part II and complete the rest of this form.
No. Go to line 7.

7

Did you have earned income, such as wages, salaries, or self-employment income?
Yes. Go to line 8.
No. Skip line 8 and go to line 9.

8

Did (or will) you claim the earned income credit or additional child tax credit?
Yes. Skip line 9 and go to Part II and complete the rest of this form.
No. Go to line 9.

9

Did (or will) you claim a refundable tax credit, such as the health coverage tax credit or refundable credit for prior year minimum tax?
Yes. Go to Part II and complete the rest of this form.
No. Stop here. Do not file this form. You are not an injured spouse.

Part II
10

Information About the Joint Tax Return for Which This Form Is Filed

Enter the following information exactly as it is shown on the tax return for which you are filing this form.
The spouse’s name and social security number shown first on that tax return must also be shown first below.
First name, initial, and last name shown first on the return

Social security number shown first

If Injured Spouse,
check here ©

First name, initial, and last name shown second on the return

Social security number shown second

If Injured Spouse,
check here ©

11

Check this box only if you are divorced or legally separated from the spouse with whom you filed the joint return and
you want your refund issued in your name only

12

Do you want any injured spouse refund mailed to an address different from the one on your joint return?

Yes

No

If “Yes,” enter the address.
Number and street

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 4.

City, town, or post office, state, and ZIP code
Cat. No. 62474Q

Form

8379

(Rev. 1-2009)

Form 8379 (Rev. 1-2009)

Part III

Page

Allocated Items
13

2

Allocation Between Spouses of Items on the Joint Tax Return (see instructions)

Income:

(a) Amount shown
on joint return

(b) Allocated to
injured spouse

(c) Allocated to
other spouse

a. Wages
b. All other income

14

Adjustments to income

15

Standard deduction or Itemized deductions

16

Number of exemptions

17

Credits (do not include any earned income credit)

18

Other taxes

19

Federal income tax withheld

20

Payments

Part IV

Signature. Complete this part only if you are filing Form 8379 by itself and not with your tax return.

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this form and any accompanying schedules or statements and to the best of my knowledge
and belief, they are true, correct, and complete. Declaration of preparer (other than taxpayer) is based on all information of which preparer has any
knowledge.
Keep a copy of
this form for
your records

Paid
Preparer’s
Use Only

Injured spouse’s signature

Date

Phone number (optional)

(
Preparer’s
signature

©

Firm’s name (or yours
if self-employed),
address, and ZIP code

Date

Check if
self-employed

©

General Instructions
Purpose of Form
Form 8379 is filed by one spouse (the injured spouse) on a
jointly filed tax return when the joint overpayment was (or is
expected to be) applied (offset) to a past-due obligation of the
other spouse. By filing Form 8379, the injured spouse may be
able to get back his or her share of the joint refund.

Are You an Injured Spouse?
You may be an injured spouse if you file a joint tax return and
all or part of your portion of the overpayment was, or is
expected to be, applied (offset) to your spouse’s legally
enforceable past-due federal tax, state income tax, child or
spousal support, or a federal nontax debt, such as a student
loan.
Complete Part I to determine if you are an injured spouse.

Innocent Spouse Relief
Do not file Form 8379 if you are claiming innocent spouse
relief. Instead, file Form 8857. Generally, both spouses are
responsible for paying the full amount of tax, interest, and
penalties due on your joint return. However, if you qualify for
innocent spouse relief, you may be relieved of part or all of
the joint liability. You may qualify for relief from the joint tax
liability if (a) there is an understatement of tax because your

)

Preparer’s SSN or PTIN

EIN
Phone no.

(

)

spouse omitted income or claimed false deductions or
credits, and you did not know or have reason to know of the
understatement, (b) there is an understatement of tax and
you are divorced, separated, or no longer living with your
spouse, or (c) given all the facts and circumstances, it would
not be fair to hold you liable for the tax. See Pub. 971 for
more details.

When To File
File Form 8379 when you become aware that all or part of
your share of an overpayment was, or is expected to be,
applied (offset) against your spouse’s legally enforceable
past-due obligations. You must file Form 8379 for each year
you meet this condition and want your portion of any offset
refunded.
A Notice of Offset for federal tax debts is issued by the
IRS. A Notice of Offset for past-due state income tax, child
or spousal support, or federal nontax debts (such as a
student loan) is issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s
Financial Management Service (FMS).

TIP

Visit www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203.html and
www.fms.treas.gov/faq/offsets.html, for more
information about refund offsets and debts.

Form

8379

(Rev. 1-2009)

Form 8379 (Rev. 1-2009)

Page

Where To File
See the chart below to determine where to file your
Form 8379.
IF you file Form 8379...
with your joint return

THEN mail Form 8379...
and your joint return to the
Internal Revenue Service Center
for the area where you live.*

by itself after you filed
your original joint return
on paper

to the same Internal Revenue
Service Center where you filed
your original return.*

by itself after you filed
your original joint return
electronically

to the Internal Revenue Service
Center for the area where you
live.*

with an amended return
(Form 1040X) or other
subsequent return

to the Internal Revenue Service
Center for the area where you
live.*

*See your tax return instructions for the mailing address.

establish a permanent home. For more information about the
factors used to determine whether you are subject to
community property laws, see Pub. 555.
In community property states, overpayments are considered
joint property and are generally applied (offset) to legally owed
past-due obligations of either spouse. However, there are
exceptions. The IRS will use each state’s rules to determine
the amount, if any, that would be refundable to the injured
spouse. Under state community property laws, 50% of a joint
overpayment (except the earned income credit) is applied to
non-federal tax debts such as child or spousal support,
student loans, or state income tax. However, state laws differ
on the amount of a joint overpayment that can be applied to a
federal tax debt. The earned income credit is allocated to each
spouse based on each spouse’s earned income.
For more guidance regarding the amount of an overpayment
from a joint tax return that the IRS may offset against a
spouse’s separate tax liability, see the revenue ruling for your
state below.

IF you live in . . .

THEN use . . .

Arizona, or
Wisconsin

Rev. Rul. 2004-71 available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/200430_IRB/ar10.html

California,
Idaho, or
Louisiana

Rev. Rul. 2004-72 available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/200430_IRB/ar11.html

New Mexico,
Nevada, or
Washington

Rev. Rul. 2004-73 available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/200430_IRB/ar12.html

Texas

Rev. Rul. 2004-74 available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/200430_IRB/ar13.html

How To File
You can file Form 8379 with your joint tax return or amended
joint tax return (Form 1040X), or you can file it afterwards by
itself. File Form 8379 with Form 1040X only if you are
amending your original return to claim a joint refund.
If you file Form 8379 with your joint return, attach it to your
return in the order of the attachment sequence number
(located in the upper right corner of the tax form). Enter
“Injured Spouse” in the upper left corner of page 1 of the joint
return.
If you file Form 8379 separately, please be sure to attach a
copy of all Forms W-2 and W-2G for both spouses, and any
Forms 1099 showing federal income tax withholding, to Form
8379. The processing of Form 8379 may be delayed if these
forms are not attached, or if the form is incomplete when filed.

Amending Your Tax Return
If you file an amended joint tax return (Form 1040X) to claim
an additional refund and you do not want your portion of the
overpayment to be applied (offset) against your spouse’s
legally enforceable past-due obligation(s), then you will need
to complete and attach another Form 8379 to allocate the
additional refund.

Time Needed To Process Form 8379
Generally, if you file Form 8379 with a joint return on paper,
the time needed to process it is about 14 weeks (11 weeks if
filed electronically). If you file Form 8379 by itself after a joint
return has been processed, the time needed is about 8 weeks.

Specific Instructions
Part I
Line 3. Not all debts are subject to a tax refund offset. To
determine if a debt is owed (other than federal tax), and
whether an offset will occur, contact FMS at 1-800-304-3107
(for TTY/TDD help, call 1-866-297-0517).

TIP

Filing Form 8379 when no past-due obligation exists
will delay your refund.

Line 5. If you live in a community property state, special rules
will apply to the calculation of your injured spouse refund.
Enter the community property state(s) where, at any time
during the year, you and your spouse resided and intended to

3

Part III
To properly determine the amount of tax owed and
overpayment due to each spouse, an allocation must be made
as if each spouse filed a separate tax return instead of a joint
tax return. So, each spouse must allocate his or her separate
wages, self-employment income and expenses (and
self-employment tax), and credits such as education credits,
to the spouse who would have shown the item(s) on his or her
separate return.
Other items that may not clearly belong to either spouse (for
example, a penalty on early withdrawal of savings from a joint
bank account) would be equally divided.
If you live in a community property state, follow the
instructions below to allocate your income, expenses, and
credits. The IRS will apply your state’s community property
laws based on your allocation.
The IRS will figure the amount of any refund due the injured
spouse.
Line 13a. Enter only Form W-2 income on this line. Enter the
separate income that each spouse earned.
Line 13b. Identify the type and amount. Allocate joint income,
such as interest earned on a joint bank account, as you
determine. Be sure to allocate all income shown on the joint
return.
Line 14. Enter each spouse’s separate adjustments, such as
an IRA deduction. Allocate other adjustments as you
determine.
Line 15. If you used the standard deduction on your joint tax
return, enter in both columns (b) and (c) one-half of the basic
standard deduction shown in column (a). Also allocate any
real estate taxes and any disaster loss as you determine.

Form 8379 (Rev. 1-2009)

However, if you checked the boxes for age or blindness at
the top of page 2 of Form 1040 or 1040A, enter your total
standard deduction on line 15, column (a). Allocate your basic
standard deduction (including any real estate taxes or disaster
loss) as explained earlier. Your basic standard deduction is as
follows: 2004—$9,700; 2005—$10,000; 2006—$10,300;
2007—$10,700; 2008—$10,900; 2009—$11,400. If someone
could claim you or your spouse as a dependent, your basic
standard deduction is the amount on line 3a of the standard
deduction worksheet (line 5a for 2004; line 4 for 2008). Then
use the following worksheet to allocate the additional standard
deduction (the difference between the total standard
deduction and the basic standard deduction).

1. Enter here the total number of boxes
checked for age or blindness for yourself
at the top of page 2 of Form 1040 or 1040A
2. Enter the additional standard deduction
for the year as shown below
2004
$950
2007
$1,050
2005
$1,000
2008
$1,050
2006
$1,000
2009
$1,100
3. Multiply line 2 by line 1. Include this
amount on line 15, column (b)
4. Enter here the total number of boxes checked
for age or blindness for your spouse at the
top of page 2 of Form 1040 or 1040A
5. Multiply line 4 by line 2. Include this
amount on line 15, column (c)
If you itemize your deductions, enter each spouse’s
separate deductions, such as employee business expenses.
Allocate other deductions as you determine.
Line 16. Allocate the exemptions claimed on the joint return
to the spouse who would have claimed them if separate
returns had been filed. Enter whole numbers only. For
example, you cannot allocate 3 exemptions by giving 1.5
exemptions to each spouse.
Line 17. Allocate any child tax credit, child and dependent
care credit, and additional child tax credit to the spouse who
was allocated the qualifying child’s exemption. But if you
attached Form 8901 to your tax return, allocate the child tax
credit as you determine. Do not include any earned income
credit here; the IRS will allocate it based on each spouse’s
income. Allocate business credits based on each spouse’s
interest in the business. Allocate any other credits as you
determine.
Line 18. Allocate self-employment tax to the spouse who
earned the self-employment income.
Line 19. Enter federal income tax withheld from each
spouse’s income as shown on Forms W-2, W-2G, and 1099.
Be sure to attach copies of these forms to your tax return or
to Form 8379 if you are filing it by itself. Also include on this
line any excess social security or tier 1 RRTA tax withheld.
Line 20. You can allocate joint estimated tax payments in any
way you choose as long as both you and your spouse agree. If
you cannot agree, the estimated tax payments will be
allocated according to the following formula:

Each spouse’s separate tax liability
x Estimated tax payments
Both separate tax liabilities

Page

4

Allocate each spouse’s separate estimated tax payments to
the spouse who made them.

How To Avoid Common Mistakes
Mistakes may delay your refund or result in notices being
sent to you.
● Make sure to enclose copies of all Forms W-2 and W-2G
for both spouses, and any Forms 1099 showing income tax
withheld, to prevent a delay in processing your allocation.
● Enter “Injured Spouse” in the upper left corner of page 1 of
your joint return.
● Any dependency exemptions must be entered in whole
numbers. Do not use fractions.
● Items of income, expenses, credits and deductions must
be allocated to the spouse who would have entered the item
on his or her separate return.
● Make sure the debt is subject to offset (for example, a
legally enforceable past-due federal tax, state income tax,
child or spousal support, or other federal nontax debt, such
as a student loan).
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. Our
legal right to ask for the information on this form is Internal
Revenue Code sections 6001, 6011, 6109, and 6402 and
their regulations. You are required to provide the information
requested on this form only if you wish to have an
overpayment of taxes from a joint return allocated between
you and your spouse. We need it to ensure that you are
allocating items correctly and to allow us to figure the correct
amount of your refund. If you do not provide this information,
we may be unable to process your allocation request.
Providing false information may subject you to penalties. We
may disclose this information to the Department of Justice
for civil and criminal litigation, and to cities, states, and the
District of Columbia for use in administering their tax laws.
We may also disclose this information to other countries
under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce
federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement
and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.
You are not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books
or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in
the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
Code section 6103.
The average time and expenses required to complete and
file this form will vary depending on individual circumstances.
For the estimated averages, see the instructions for your
income tax return.
If you have suggestions for making this form simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for
your income tax return.