When the IRS is involved, strategy matters.

Start by identifying the notice or letter number, the tax year involved, what the IRS is asking or asserting, and any deadline for responding. Do not assume that every IRS notice requires the same response. Some notices provide administrative appeal or other procedural rights that may be affected by a deadline. If you are considering legal representation, preserve the complete notice and any related IRS correspondence.

Depending on the procedural stage of the matter, a taxpayer who disagrees with proposed IRS adjustments may have opportunities to provide additional support, request administrative review, pursue an appeal through the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, or challenge certain determinations in the U.S. Tax Court. The available path and applicable deadlines depend on the correspondence issued and where the matter stands.

The available options depend on the type of notice issued and the stage of the collection process. Certain lien and levy notices may provide Collection Due Process (CDP) rights, which can allow a taxpayer to request a hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. Depending on the circumstances, collection alternatives or challenges to particular collection actions may also be available. Because some collection rights are deadline-sensitive, the specific notice should be reviewed promptly.

A federal tax lien does not necessarily make a sale or refinance impossible. Depending on the circumstances, the lien may be satisfied from closing proceeds, or a taxpayer may seek a discharge of specific property from the federal tax lien or request subordination of the IRS’s lien interest. The appropriate procedure depends on the property, equity, transaction, tax liability, and other facts.

Innocent spouse and injured spouse relief address two different tax problems. Innocent spouse relief may be relevant when spouses filed a joint tax return that resulted in a joint tax liability and one spouse seeks relief from responsibility for certain taxes attributable to the other spouse or former spouse. In other words, the issue is generally whether one spouse should remain responsible for a joint tax debt.

Injured spouse relief generally involves a refund rather than the underlying joint tax liability. It may become relevant when a joint tax refund is applied to certain debts owed by only one spouse. For example, if one spouse owes past-due child support and the couple’s joint federal tax refund is taken to satisfy that debt, the other spouse may have an injured spouse issue.

These issues can become particularly important before, during, or after a divorce. Prior joint returns, unpaid taxes, pending IRS examinations, refund offsets, and tax liabilities connected primarily to one spouse can all warrant closer review. Divorce itself does not determine whether either type of relief is available; the appropriate remedy depends on the particular tax issue and the surrounding circumstances.