Understanding Innocent Spouse Relief

As mentioned, the IRS holds each spouse responsible to pay the tax. If no one pays the tax debt, the IRS proceeds to come after each of you individually for the whole tax debt. It does not matter if you are in the middle of a divorce proceeding or are already divorced, you are still liable for the tax debt.

Does the IRS let you off the hook if a state court says you are not responsible for the tax debt? Unfortunately, no. The IRS is federal jurisdiction. It ignores state proceedings when collecting or assessing federal income tax.