Federal · Internal Revenue Service

Relief from joint and several liability

Form 8857 · Letter 3284 · Letter 3657C

What it is: Relief for a spouse from tax, penalty and interest on a joint return that is attributable to the other spouse: the understatement provisions, the allocation election for divorced or separated spouses, and equitable relief under the revenue procedure's factors. The IRS notifies the other spouse and that spouse may participate.
The clock it starts: The understatement and allocation provisions require the request within two years after the IRS first begins collection against the requesting spouse. Equitable relief may be requested within the refund-claim period or the collection period, depending on what is sought.
What a response has to establish: The Form 8857 narrative and the factors: knowledge, economic hardship, marital status, abuse, compliance, and who benefited.
Authority: IRC §6015
Treas. Reg. §1.6015-2
Rev. Proc. 2013-34
IRS Publication 971
Instructions for Form 8857

What CitedTax drafts for this notice

A memo that applies §6015(b), (c) and (f) and the revenue procedure's factors to the facts, as the basis for the Form 8857 statement.

One credit. Upload the notice, state the firm's position and the facts, and the draft comes back in about thirty minutes with every claim graded against the cited text.

Research memo Pricing

Other federal notices

CP2000 Proposed changes from information-return matching
CP3219A Statutory notice of deficiency (90-day letter)
CP11 Math-error correction to the return
CP21A Changes made to the return
CP59 No return on file
CP2100 Payee name and TIN mismatch (backup withholding)

For tax professionals. The date printed on the notice controls. CitedTax is a research and drafting tool; the reviewing professional validates every item before reliance.