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have reason to know of the item giving rise to the deficiency;
(iv) the requesting spouse did or did not significantly benefit
beyond mere support from the unpaid liability or the taxable
income which created it; and (v) the nonrequesting spouse had or
did not have a legal obligation (per the divorce decree) to pay
the tax liability (provided that, if neither spouse has the
specified obligation, this factor is neutral).
The two additional potentially positive factors are: (i)
Whether the requesting spouse is divorced or separated from the
nonrequesting spouse and (ii) whether the requesting spouse was
abused by the nonrequesting spouse. The additional potentially
negative factor is whether the requesting spouse has made a good
faith effort to comply with Federal income tax laws following the
taxable year for which relief is requested.
In this case, factors in petitioner’s favor include that he
is divorced, that the liability is solely attributable to his
former spouse’s unreported income, and that he did not
significantly benefit from the unreported income. The other
factors are not helpful to petitioner.
Economic hardship, for instance, is defined as inability to
meet reasonable basic living expenses. Sec. 301.6343-1(b)(4),
Proced. & Admin. Regs. Although petitioner introduced some
evidence that payment of the tax would cause him economic
hardship in light of his claimed $9,600 annual income and
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