Form 8379 Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation

Form

8379

Injured Spouse Allocation

(Rev. December 2010)
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Part I

▶

OMB No. 1545-0074

See instructions.

Attachment
Sequence No. 104

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

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

Answer the following questions for that year.

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, in the instructions 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, in the instructions 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 states(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 (see instructions)?
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

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

10 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?
If “Yes,” enter the address.
Number and street

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see separate instructions.

Yes

No

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

Form 8379 (Rev. 12-2010)

Page 2

Form 8379 (Rev. 12-2010)

Part III

Allocation Between Spouses of Items on the Joint Tax Return (see instructions)
(a) Amount shown
on joint return

Allocated Items
13

Income:

(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 Injured spouse’s signature
this form for
your records
Print/Type preparer’s name

Paid
Preparer
Use Only

Date
Preparer's signature

Phone number (optional)

Date

Check
if
self-employed

Firm’s name

▶

Firm's EIN

Firm's Address

▶

Phone no.

PTIN

▶

Form 8379 (Rev. 12-2010)

Instructions for Form 8379

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. December 2010)
Injured Spouse Allocation
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

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
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

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

Where To File

See the chart below to determine where to
file your Form 8379.
IF you file
Form 8379. . .

THEN mail
Form 8379. . .

with your joint return

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.

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.

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.

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, if the form is incomplete
when filed, or if you attach a copy of your
joint tax return.

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).

Amending Your
Tax Return

If you file an amended joint tax return (Form
1040X) to claim an additional refund and
Cat. No. 52888M

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
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 on the next page.

IF you
live in. . .

THEN use. . .

Arizona or
Wisconsin

Rev. Rul. 2004-71
available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/
2004-30_IRB/ar10.html

California,
Idaho, or
Louisiana

Rev. Rul. 2004-72
available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/
2004-30_IRB/ar11.html

New Mexico,
Nevada, or
Washington

Rev. Rul. 2004-73
available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/
2004-30_IRB/ar12.html

Texas

Rev. Rul. 2004-74
available at:
http://www.irs.gov/irb/
2004-30_IRB/ar13.html

Line 9. Refundable credits include the
following:
• Making work pay credit (2009 and 2010),
• Government retiree credit (2009),
• American opportunity credit (2009 – 2011),
• First-time homebuyer credit from Form
5405 (2008 – 2011),
• Credit for federal tax paid on fuels,
• Adoption credit (2010 and 2011),
• Refundable prior year minimum tax, and
• Health coverage tax credit.

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, new
motor vehicle taxes, and any disaster loss
as you determine, if applicable.
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, new motor
vehicle taxes, or disaster loss) as explained
earlier. Your basic standard deduction is as
follows:
2006 — $10,300; 2007 — $10,700;
2008 — $10,900; 2009 — $11,400;
2010 — $11,400; 2011 — $11,600.
If someone could claim you or your spouse
as a dependent, your basic standard
deduction is the amount on line 4 of the
standard deduction worksheet (line 3a for
2006 and 2007). 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2006
$1,000 2009
$1,100
2007
$1,050 2010
$1,100
2008
$1,050 2011
$1,150
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
Both separate tax
liabilities

-2-

×

Estimated
tax
payments

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.
• If you file Form 8379 separately, do not
include a copy of your joint tax return. This
will prevent delays in processing your
allocation. Make sure to enclose copies of
all Forms W-2 and W-2G for both spouses,
and any Forms 1099 showing income tax
withheld.
• If you file Form 8379 with your joint tax
return or amended joint tax return, 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 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 expense 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.