OK, for the last 4 years I have been in the most awful marriage ever. He has worked a total of 4 months out of the last 4 1/2 years....(& they are not even in a row!). I have held a steady job the whole time & the IRS has taken his past due child support out of "my" refund. We always do married filing jointly. I am divorcing him because of all of this....I am sick of it!! Over the last 3 years they have offset 6415.00 total. Will I qualify for injured spouse relief? If so..can they go back for the last 3 years? Please someone help!!

It is important that you contact the IRS regarding your issue. I do believe that there is a minimum 3 year statute of limitations. Please see an audit completed on this issue at this link: http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2005reports/200540001fr.html

I just went through this process for the first time myself, so research is most important. Check with your local IRS office for additional assistance.

You may file an amended tax return and to collect any over payments as long as it is filed before the 3 year limit to receive refunds. 06 and 07 and 08 is all you can get refund from now.

Although it is possible to file for Injured Spouse relief after the fact and for prior tax years, the amounts for child support generally cannot be recovered after the extended filing deadline of October 15th. Other amounts such as for back taxes or unpaid student loans that are captured via offset of a tax refund CAN be recovered for up to 6 years -- 3 years for tax debts and 6 years for all other debts.

The reason for the apparent disparity is that when you file Injured Spouse relief, FMS actually goes back and recovers the amount of your share of the refund from the agency that received it initially. That's one thing when dealing with the tax authorities or student loan guarantee agencies, however it's a different matter entirely with child support. They will NOT go back to the custodial parent and demand a return of the funds for the Injured Spouse claim.

Therefore, for Injured Spouse relief for child support issues, the Form 8379 only applies for the current tax year. You can file them for prior years if you wish, however the odds of receiving anything are pretty much zero. The only time you'd see anything is if the funds are still being held by the Child Support Enforcement Agency that originally received them. That might happen if the custodial parent is receiving TANF (welfare) or cannot be located but that's about it.