Hello, I’m a woman and I need advice about a tax issue with my ex-wife.
We were married, and our divorce was finalized in March 2025. For our 2025 taxes, we filed separately. I was prepared to pay only my own taxes, but the IRS informed me there was unpaid tax debt from 2022 and 2023.
Those 2022 and 2023 taxes were from when we were married, and the debt was owed jointly by both of us. However, I ended up having to pay the balance myself. I contacted my ex-wife to discuss splitting the amount fairly, but she ignored me and refuses to respond.
I already called the IRS, and they said they cannot help me recover her share.
What should I do in this situation? Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would small claims court or another legal option be the best next step?
What should I do? My EX refuses to respond.
byu/ForwardMongoose3980 intax
Posted by ForwardMongoose3980
5 Comments
Sounds like a legal issue not tax
Your filing in 2025 would be single, or head of household if applicable.
Joint filed tax returns means both are 100% responsible for the debt. This should have been addressed in your divorce settlement. If it was not then. . .have you asked ex wife to pay her share?
If that doesn’t work then an attorney is your next step.
Go to irs.gov and look at Injured Spouse rules to see how much you really owed. There are rules for allocating tax liability. If the IRS did not offer this its possible you do owe or said you owe the tax. Not innocent spouse, thats where you insist you had no idea how you could afford vacation homes and new cars on a teachers salary.
If the IRS kept your refund you can ask them to reconsider. If you wrote a check you have to go to small claims.
This isn’t a tax issue, it’s a civil issue between you and your ex. The IRS doesn’t get involved in each paying their share on a joint return. With this being a marital debt, that I’m assuming was not part of the divorce settlement, that option has also gone away. Injured spouse forms probably aren’t going to be relevant based on what you posted. Small claims court or hiring an attorney to try and sue her are basically your options at this point.
There’s no tax issue here. This is a legal issue between you and the ex.