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she could request relief under section 6015(f) only if she had
filed a joint return for 1998, petitioner, through her counsel,
did not clearly state during trial that she conceded the joint
return issue. However, we shall assume, for purposes of our
analysis, that petitioner has effectively conceded that she filed
or ratified the filing of a joint return for 1998 because she
continues to assert she is entitled to relief under section
6015(f).4
Our jurisdiction to review petitioner’s claim for relief is
conferred by section 6015(e). This provision allows a spouse who
has requested relief from joint and several liability to contest
the Commissioner's denial of relief or to contest the
4The failure of one spouse to sign an income tax return
before its filing does not necessarily mean that the return is
not a joint return. Heim v. Commissioner, 27 T.C. 270 (1956),
affd. 251 F.2d 44 (8th Cir. 1958). The determinative factor in
deciding whether a filed return qualifies as a joint return is
whether a husband and wife intended to file a joint return.
Stone v. Commissioner, 22 T.C. 893 (1954). We have held that
where a husband filed a joint return with no objection from his
wife, who failed to file her own return, a presumption arises
that the joint return was filed with the tacit approval of the
wife. Heim v. Commissioner, supra at 273; see also Carroro v.
Commissioner, 29 B.T.A. 646, 650 (1933).
In this case, petitioner knew that Mr. Ziegler had filed a
joint return for 1998 when she saw the refund check issued in
both of their names. She subsequently obtained a copy of the
filed return and, knowing that her husband had filed a joint
return for 1998, took the joint refund check and deposited it
into her husband’s account. But she made no effort to verify
that the joint return included her earned income or to file a
separate return reporting her earned income until July 2000 when
she started to receive collection notices from respondent for the
1998 deficiency assessment.
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