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several liability was previously available under former section
6013(e) and is currently available under section 6015.
Section 6013(e), as amended,4 provided generally that a
spouse could be relieved of a joint and several liability if:
(1) A joint income tax return was filed; (2) the return contained
a substantial understatement of tax attributable to grossly
erroneous items of the other spouse; (3) in signing the return,
the spouse seeking relief did not know, and had no reason to
know, of the substantial understatement; and (4) under the
circumstances it would be inequitable to hold the spouse seeking
relief liable for the substantial understatement. Cheshire v.
Commissioner, 115 T.C. 183, 189 (2000), affd. 282 F.3d 326 (5th
Cir. 2002). However, relief under section 6013(e) was difficult
to obtain. Id.
Congress enacted section 6015 on July 22, 1998, as part of
the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998
(RRA 1998), Pub. L. 105-206, sec. 3201(a), 112 Stat. 734.
Congress repealed former section 6013(e) as part of this
enactment, and section 6015 was given retroactive effect with
4Sec. 6013(e) was enacted in the Act of Jan. 12, 1971, Pub.
L. 91-679, sec. 1, 84 Stat. 2063, as amended by the Deficit
Reduction Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98-369, sec. 424, 98 Stat. 801.
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