In Daidone v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-98, the Tax Court granted summary judgment and held that a requesting spouse was not entitled to innocent spouse relief because she did not sign the tax return and did not consent to filing a jointly filed tax return. Because she never filed a joint return, she was ineligible for relief under section 6105; however, that fact also meant that she was not jointly liable for the tax (at all). In other words, the taxpayer ultimately received the relief she requested – just not in the way she requested it. Significantly, the IRS and the non-requesting spouse both agreed that the petitioner refused to file the joint tax return.
The case is unusual because all parties agreed that the requesting spouse did not file a joint tax return with her former spouse, including her former spouse (who nonetheless argued she was not entitled to relief). Presumably, collection activity precipitated the request for innocent spouse relief and (also presumably) efforts to resolve the case administratively probably stalled because the IRS was likely unaware — without the factual development that often occurs through the 6015 process — that she did not sign and did not intend to sign a joint return. Relief under section 6015 applies only when a joint tax return is filed, so the IRS could not grant relief under section 6015.
The more efficient result would have been that the IRS removed the wife from collection activity once the IRS determined that she did not file the tax return. This case seems to be the tax equivalent of reaching behind your back to scratch your elbow. Perhaps, however, involving the Tax Court to decide, conclusively, that the requesting spouse did not owe the tax was the most straightforward path to resolution.
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Please reach out to our team at K. Tyson Law. This article does not establish an attorney-client relationship and should not be construed as applying to a particular tax situation.
Written by Kim Tyson, J.D., LL.M.