Innocent spouse relief for economic impact payments?

Each year, a certain number of people across the country, including here in Fort Worth, do not receive their portion of an income tax refund because their spouses owe back child support. Under these circumstances, they may file for innocent spouse relief in order to get their part back. Now, many of the individuals who filed for this relief for tax years 2019 and 2018, may see some additional money coming to them.

Some Fort Worth residents may have discovered that they did not receive their portion of the economic impact payments issued earlier this year through the IRS. This may be because their spouses owed back child support, and parts of their payments were diverted to satisfy that financial obligation. The agency is now providing those individuals with their portion of the payments.

It is not necessary for these individuals to take any further action in order to receive this “catch-up” payment. In fact, payments should begin going out around the middle of September. What happens to the individuals who did not file for innocent spouse relief who are in the same position? According to the IRS, they do not need to take any action either, but there is currently no timeframe for when they will receive their payments.

It may seem that filing for innocent spouse relief is more trouble than it is worth. However, this situation shows that it does pay off. In some cases, spouses are entitled to thousands of dollars in refunds that were taken in order to settle the child support obligations of their husbands or wives. Apparently, it is also helping people get back their portions of the economic impact payments authorized by the government earlier this year.