Tax Type
Individual Income Tax
Description
Spouse liability; Joint return filed
Topic
Collection of Delinquent Tax
Returns/Payments/Records
Taxpayers
Date Issued
04-11-1984
April 11, 1984
Re: §58-1118 Application: Individual Income Tax
Dear *******
This will reply to your letters of January 23, 1983 and July 13, 1983, petitioning for relief of individual income tax, penalty and interest assessed against ***** and ***** for taxable years 1979 and 1980. This final determination is being issued since the department has received no response to our numerous inquiries on your earlier request to submit an offer in compromise to settle this liability.
FACTS
You and your husband ***** timely filed 1979 and 1980 Virginia individual income tax returns but made no payments with the returns. Accordingly, the Department of Taxation assessed tax (1979 - 1980 - $****, late payment penalty (1979 - 1980 -and interest (as of July 29, 1983: 1979 - 1980 -against you and ***** deserted you and presently is living outside Virginia.
Filing status 4 (married, filing separately on this combined return) was checked on the 1979 and 1980 returns. Both you and ***** signed each return, thereby agreeing "that filing separately on this combined return makes us jointly and severally liable for the amount of tax shown to be due on this return...." Refunds for 1981 and 1982 totaling due you were applied to reduce the 1979 tax due.
You are requesting that your 1981 and 1982 refunds be issued to you and that the Department collect the entire 1979 and 1980 assessment from
In the alternative, you ask that the Department collect the balance of the 1979 and 1980 assessment from *****.
DETERMINATION
One spouse may be responsible for all the tax due even though all the income was earned by the other spouse. The Department has the right to collect the entire amount due from either or both spouses.
Based on the foregoing, I find no basis for relief of individual income tax, penalty and interest assessed, which is due and payable. However, a payment plan may be arranged with our ***** District Office in order to satisfy the outstanding liability.
Sincerely,
W. H. Forst
State Tax Commissioner
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner