MFS in Wisconsin

[littleman]

I am assisting a client who resides in Wisconsin. She needs to file tax returns for 2002 and 2003. She was married and living with her husband in both of the years. She is going to be filing MFS. Her husband is an independent contractor who neglected to pay any estimated taxes or file any tax returns in quite some time. Can my client be held responsible for any back taxes that her husband owes for those tax years seeing that they reside in Wisconsin, a community state?

She did file a MFS return in 2004. She divorced her husband and filed HH in 2005 and 2006.

Thank you!

[joanmcq]

I think she is going to want to file for innocent to protect herself. in a CP state, she should be reporting half his income on her MFS return (and vice versa). If she had knowledge of, and benefitted from, his income, she may have problems building an innocent spouse case.

[KJ Judd]

I agree with Joan. Wisconsin is a marital property state & income generally should be split 50-50 with spouse.

Look on WI Dept of Revenue website for Publication 109 - Tax Information for Married Persons Filing Separate Returns. In addition the Midwest District Office of the IRS has a joint publication titled Federal & Wisconsin Income Tax Reporting Under the Marital Property Act. This can be obtained by calling the WDR and asking for WI Publication 113.

This should at least get you started in the right direction.