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We begin our analysis with the revenue procedure’s list of
conditions that a person trying to win innocent spouse relief
under section 6015(f) must show. These include proof that he
filed a joint return, did not qualify for relief under section
6015(b) or (c), and did not fraudulently transfer property to
anyone to avoid paying taxes. Rev. Proc. 2000-15, sec. 4.01,
2000-1 C.B. 448. Both Manns and the Commissioner admit that
Motsko meets all these conditions.
We next see if Motsko qualifies for the safe harbor under
section 4.02 of the Revenue Procedure. Rev. Proc. 2000-15, sec.
4.02, 2000-1 C.B. 448. The safe harbor has three conditions, and
if Motsko shows that he met them, he would ordinarily get relief.
One of the three, however, is that he did not know when he signed
the returns that the tax liability would not be paid. To prove
this, Motsko must show (1) that when he signed the joint return,
he neither knew or had reason to know that tax reported on each
of the returns would not be paid; and (2) that it was reasonable
for him to believe that Manns would pay the reported tax for the
year. Id.
We find that Motsko did not actually know in 1995 (when he
signed the 1993 return) that the tax would not be paid, but we do
find he had reason to believe it wouldn’t be. Motsko is right to
say his wife had paid all of their reported taxes in the past,
but by 1995 he knew that their returns for several years were
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