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8857 but can make a valid election by submitting an equivalent
written statement. These regulations were issued as proposed
regulations on January 17, 2001, and section 1.6015-5(a) remained
unchanged when the regulations were issued in final form on July
17, 2002. T.D. 9003, 2002-2 C.B. 294. Section 1.6015-5, Income
Tax Regs., applies to elections made on or after July 18, 2002.
Sec. 1.6015-9, Income Tax Regs.1
The only written communication in this record that could be
considered an election for separate liability under section
6015(c) is the statement on petitioner’s Form 12153.2 The Form
1 In addition to issuing regulations in proposed and final
form under sec. 6015, the IRS also provided guidance on the
procedure for electing equitable relief for purposes of sec.
6015(f) in Rev. Proc. 2000-15, 2000-1 C.B. 447, effective on Jan.
18, 2000. Rev. Proc. 2000-15, sec. 5, 2000-1 C.B. at 449,
provides:
A requesting spouse seeking equitable relief under
� 6015(f) or 66(c) must file Form 8857, Request for Innocent
Spouse Relief (and Separation of Liability, and Equitable
Relief), or other similar statement signed under penalties
of perjury, within 2 years of the first collection activity
against the requesting spouse. If a requesting spouse has
already filed an application for relief under � 6015(b) or
� 6015(c), the Service will consider whether equitable
relief under � 6015(f) is appropriate for the portion of the
liability for which relief under � 6015(b) or � 6015(c) is
not available. A subsequent filing of a request for
equitable relief under � 6015(f) is not necessary.
2 As noted in the text above, petitioner stated on the Form
12153 that “The amount owed should be shared between both
spouses. We are presently separated (legally) and have filed for
a divorce with the State of Georgia where Mrs. Thorpe now resides
permanently”. The statement subsequently was supplemented by a
copy of petitioner’s divorce decree from Mrs. Thorpe, dated Mar.
(continued...)
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