Form 8379: Injured Spouse Allocation Introduction

What Is Injured Spouse Relief?

Injured spouse relief through Form 8379 protects you when your share of a joint tax refund is seized to pay your spouse's past-due obligations. These obligations can include past-due child support, federal student loan defaults, state income tax debts, or other federal debts. You are the 'injured' spouse because you are losing your portion of the refund due to debts that are not yours.

Injured Spouse vs. Innocent Spouse

These two forms serve very different purposes. Injured spouse (Form 8379) is about protecting your share of a refund when your spouse's debts cause the refund to be intercepted. Innocent spouse (Form 8857) is about seeking relief from tax liability caused by your spouse's errors on a joint return.

Form 8379 does not change how much tax is owed — it only allocates the refund between spouses to protect the injured spouse's portion.

How the Allocation Works

When you file Form 8379, the IRS allocates income, deductions, and credits between both spouses based on who earned what. Your share of the refund — based on your income, withholding, and credits — is then returned to you rather than being applied to your spouse's debts.

You can file Form 8379 with your joint return or after filing. If filed after, processing takes approximately 8-14 weeks.