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returns jointly. Sec. 6013(a).1 If they do, both are
responsible for the return’s accuracy, and both are jointly and
severally liable for the entire tax due. Sec. 6013(d)(3); Butler
v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276, 282 (2000).
This can lead to harsh results, and so section 6015 lets a
spouse ask for relief from joint and several liability on three
grounds. Section 6015(b) lets a spouse seek relief if he can
show that he neither knew, nor had reason to know, of an
understatement on the return; section 6015(c) lets divorced or
separated spouses split their tax liability. Both these
provisions, however, require that the liability in question arise
from a “deficiency,” meaning that a couple has underreported
their taxable income. In tax years 1986 through 1992, Manns did
understate their joint income. Motsko knew nothing about it, and
the Commissioner granted him relief for those years under section
6015(b).
Tax years 1993 and 1996 are a different story. For those
years, there was no deficiency--the problem Motsko faced was that
part of the tax due went unpaid. That left him able to seek
relief only under section 6015(f), because that section allows
relief where “it is inequitable to hold the individual liable for
any unpaid tax or any deficiency (or any portion of either).”
1 Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to
the Internal Revenue Code as in effect for the year at issue.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011