Tax Court In Brief | Soler v Commissioner | Innocent Spouse Relief Under 6015(b) And (f) Denied

• Published date: 25 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Tax, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Income Tax, Tax Authorities
• Law Firm: Freeman Law
• Author: Freeman Law

The Tax Court in Brief - July 18th - July 22nd, 2022

Freeman Law's " The Tax Court in Brief" covers every substantive Tax Court opinion, providing a weekly brief of its decisions in clear, concise prose.

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Tax Litigation: The Week of July 18th, 2022, through July 22nd, 2022

• Pettennude v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo. 2022-79 | July 18 2022 | Buch, J. | Dkt. No. 636-21L
• Gonzalez v. Comm'r, T.C. Summary Opinion 2022-13 | July 18, 2022 | Panuthos, J. | Dkt. No. 1548-19S

Soler v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo. 2022-78 | July 18, 2022 | Marvel, J. | Dkt. No. 18639-19

Opinion

Short Summary: In this case, Jennifer Soler petitioned for innocent spouse relief from joint and several liability under 26 U.S.C. ' 6015(b) or (f) with respect to tax years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Mrs. Soler and her husband, Carlos Soler, were married for over 25 years. They have two children together and have never been legally separated. Mrs. Soler is the primary income earner. Mr. Soler has a bachelor's degree in accounting and was primarily a stay-at-home father during the tax years in issue. Mr. Soler also operated a consulting business and a real estate business. The returns in issue were prepared by Mr. Soler and were signed by both Mr. and Mrs. Soler. Mr. Soler reported the income and expenses of his consulting and real estate businesses on separate Schedules C, Profit or Loss From Business. The IRS informed the Solers that their income tax returns were being examined. Later, the IRS mailed separate letters and Forms 4549-A, Income Tax Examination Changes for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax years. The IRS later issued a notice of deficiency that determined a deficiency in tax and a section 6662 accuracy-related penalty for each year. The IRS later performed an income-matching examination of the Solers' 2015 tax return and determined that the 2015 return failed to include in income distributions from Mr. and Mrs. Soler's qualified retirement accounts. So, the IRS issued a notice of deficiency for the 2015 tax year determining a deficiency in tax and a section 6662 accuracy-related penalty. About three years later, the IRS received a timely Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, from Mrs. Soler, requesting relief from joint and several liability for tax years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 pursuant to section 6015(b), (c), and (f). She claimed that she was unaware of...