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December 18, 2003, respondent issued a notice of determination
advising petitioner that she was not entitled to relief under
section 6015.
Discussion
In general, section 6013(a) allows a husband and wife to
elect to file a joint Federal income tax return. If for any year
spouses elect to file a joint return, then each spouse is charged
with the knowledge of the information reported on the return, and
each spouse is jointly and severally liable for the entire tax
due for that year. Sec. 6013(d)(3); Butler v. Commissioner, 114
T.C. at 282.
Subject to various conditions and in a variety of ways, an
individual who has made a joint return may elect to seek relief
from the joint and several liability arising from that joint
return. Sec. 6015. Petitioner seeks relief from liabilities
reported on the 1995 joint return that she filed with her former
spouse. Consequently, she is entitled to relief only as provided
in section 6015(f), see Washington v. Commissioner, 120 T.C. 137,
146-147 (2003), which allows relief from joint and several
liability if the individual is not entitled to relief under other
provisions of section 6015 and “it is inequitable to hold the
individual liable for any unpaid tax or any deficiency (or any
portion of either)”, sec. 6015(f)(1).
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Last modified: May 25, 2011