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relief from joint and several liability under section 6015. To
obtain relief from liability, a spouse must qualify under section
6015(b), or if eligible, may allocate liability under section
6015(c). In addition, if relief is not available under section
6015(b) or (c), a spouse may seek equitable relief under section
6015(f). Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 329-331
(2000); Butler v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276, 287-292 (2000).
Except as otherwise provided in section 6015, the taxpayer
bears the burden of proof. Rule 142(a); Alt v. Commissioner, 119
T.C. 306, 311 (2002), affd. 101 Fed. Appx. 34 (6th Cir. 2004).
Relief Under Section 6015(b)
Section 6015(b) provides relief from joint and several
liability for tax (including interest, penalties, and other
amounts) to the extent that such liability is attributable to an
understatement of tax. To be eligible for relief, the requesting
spouse must satisfy the following five elements of section
6015(b)(1):
(A) A joint return has been made for a
taxable year;
(B) on such return there is an
understatement of tax attributable to erroneous
items of 1 individual filing the joint return;
(C) the other individual filing the joint
return establishes that in signing the return he
or she did not know, and had no reason to know,
that there was such understatement;
(D) taking into account all the facts and
circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the other
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