The Truth about innocent spouse claims
This site offers no financial or tax advice; it is just my story.
The Truth about innocent spouse claims
This site offers no financial or tax advice; it is just my story.
my innocent spouse claim Journey
The Beginning.
In 2006, I married a woman, who I would later find out, refused to pay her federal taxes. In Washington State, there are no laws that compel a married person to disclose their finances to their spouse. My religion prevents me from going to prison for crimes that I am not legally allowed to know about. This created a serious problem for me. When I discovered this in 2007, I called an IRS hotline and asked what I should do. I was told that if I filed my taxes as married, but filing separately, that I would never be responsible for her self-employment or income taxes, which she had every legal right to conceal from me. The first part of that ended up not being true. I spent the next few years looking for a CPA who would help me file separately. I could not find one. Every enrolled CPA I spoke with told me that the IRS was lying to me and that I would be going to prison no matter what I did, because I did not make anywhere near as much as my wife, so there was no way for me to pay the taxes on her business. I fired a couple of CPAs because they sounded crazy to me at the time. I finally relented and let a CPA file as married (just to get my taxes done), because according to every enrolled CPA on the planet, this would still result in me going to prison, but would make my debt not as large, because when a debt is separated by the IRS, both parties owe the full amount. I got a legal separation and moved out. I had to leave my daughter behind because I had nothing. I was not allowed to talk about my tax issues in family court (the judge scolded me and told me that this is not IRS court), so I was prohibited from stating the reason that I needed a divorce in court. I had to list "irreconcilable differences" as the reason, although my wife could have easily paid her taxes. My wife was very angry for "giving up".
Initial Loss.
In 2012, the IRS left a letter on my door stating that I owed $103,000 in my ex-wife's self-employment taxes. I mistakenly thought that there was some kind of misunderstanding, because I believed that nobody would put me in prison for refusing to pay taxes I could not legally be told about until they were due. In my first IRS meeting about this, I was told that unless I could meet a payment schedule that I could not afford (the math just didn't pan out), I would go to prison for refusing to pay.
My first innocent spouse claim hearing was presided over by Cate Van Meter out of Kansas City. I spent weeks gathering the evidence that I had always paid my taxes because I thought that the IRS did not understand my situation. At the hearing, Cate stopped me and told me that she already knew that I had always paid the taxes on income that I had the legal right to know about. There are several factors that IRS agents must consider when approving or denying an innocent spouse claim. Only one of them is knowledge of the income that the taxes are due on. She also told me that I would be going to prison because I was only legally separated and not divorced. I lost my claim and was found guilty of refusing to pay other peoples' taxes, which I had no legal way of knowing about, and could not afford to pay. This (the presumption of guilt with no evidence or indicators of any crime) is considered to be a human rights violation by the United Nations Council on Human Rights. I asked Cate if they were planning on collecting any of these taxes from the person whose sole proprietorship incurred the taxes. Cate told me that the collection of her past income and self-employment taxes were between her and the IRS and had nothing to do with me, just like the collection of her taxes from me had nothing to do with her. To the best of my knowledge, they have never collected a dime from her in the last 20 plus years.
Justice for the Win; but wait...
Despite having almost nothing to my name, I hired a tax attorney. He filed for an appeal and got my case moved to Seattle, where I could attend in person. I converted my legal separation into a legal divorce. I won my appeal using the exact same evidence that I had used when I lost my original claim; the only difference was that I was legally divorced instead of only legally separated. My tax attorney told me never to give or receive any money or assets to or from my ex-wife (unless ordered to by a judge), or I might risk losing my innocent spouse status. It took a very long time for the IRS to fabricate an acceptable number to both parties. According to a letter written by my IRS appeals officer, Beth Heritage, The math department at the IRS cannot do math. They tried multiple times (because the longer they delayed, the more interest they could collect). My tax attorney finally told me that I was just going to have to live with some amount of fraud and pay a number higher than agreed upon at my appeals hearing because the IRS would never get the math right. I called the IRS and offered to teach addition and subtraction to their people ( I am a college instructor with experience teaching much more advanced math), but was flatly refused. Interestingly, while the IRS freely admitted in writing that they could not do the math to calculate what my attorney agreed that I would pay at the conclusion of my appeals hearing, they thought they were spot on with the math to calculate the interest (the interest was a percentage of the number they could not figure out).
After I won my appeal, the IRS sent me a tax bill for $6705 for $24,817 of income from a company that I had never heard of called Transfirst Holdings. The IRS told me in writing that they had a collective daydream that I claimed $17,465 worth of income from Transfirst. I did not; it was just their imaginations. I called the IRS and asked them if they were still billing me for my ex-wife's taxes even after my divorce, appeals victory, and considering that this was in a year that I was legally separated and had filed as married but filing separately. I was told that they could not disclose whose taxes they were billing me for, because that would violate right to privacy laws, since it was someone I was not married to.
It is Illegal for the IRS to Tell You Whose Taxes They are Billing You For.
Out of sheer desperation, I asked my CPA if there was any way to find out who could have received $24,817 of income from a company called Transfirst Holdings in 2013, despite federal privacy protection laws which prohibit me from knowing the source of tax bills I get from the IRS. Since my CPA had also worked with my ex-wife, she knew that Transfirst was the name of the credit card processing company that my ex-wife used at her business. I asked my ex-wife if she had a 1099 from a company called Transfirst showing $24,817 in income for 2013, and she said she did. I asked her for a copy of that 1099 and she gave it to me. It listed her maiden name as the sole payee. My last name has four letters in it. Her maiden name has 11 letters in it.
U.S. Government Helps?
On Oct. 30, 2015, Suzan Del Bene's office made an inquiry into my case. Her office asked why I was being billed for someone else's taxes, and why they refused to tell me whose taxes. On Nov. 27, 2015, they received a reply from Brenda Dial of the U.S. Treasury in writing. It falsely states that the IRS compared the information on my return to third party information they received showing me as the payee and identified a discrepancy. This was a blatant lie. The IRS further advised me to sue Transfirst Holdings for not issuing a 1099 to me, even though I never did business with them.
On Dec. 3, 2015, I wrote to the White House and asked them to intervene in my case. I received a letter on Jan. 7, 2016 from the Tax Advocate Service, stating that Barack Obama had requested that an agent from the TAS look into my case. That TAS agent, Holly Morse, wrote me a letter stating that she needed some time to investigate. She wrote a letter dated Feb. 8, 2016, which falsely states that the bill I received for someone else's taxes was a result of a discrepancy between what I reported on my tax return and what third party information the IRS received in tax year 2013.
Both Brenda Dial, a head examiner at the IRS, and Holly Morse claim to have had the same daydream at the same time (that there was a discrepancy on my 2013 taxes), but claim they did this independently of each other without discussing their plans. Brenda is a head examiner who was asked to look into my case by The President of the United States. Holly was asked to look into my case by a voting member of the Ways and Means Committee. These are the best and brightest IRS agents at the IRS, by all accounts. I believe that what really happened is a violation of the Racketeering in Corrupt Organizations act of the United States (RICO). This behavior is not only accepted by both oversight committees of the United States Government, it is strongly encouraged.
The confrontation about the hard truth.
I called Brenda Dial. I asked her why she had lied in writing to a voting member of the Ways and Means committee about my case. She told me that because I reported the exact same number on my tax return as third parties had reported that they had paid me in 2013, that left her people very confused. She told me that they ran the 1099 naming my ex-wife (her maiden name) as the payee through a computer, and it favored billing me. She went on to say that this was reviewed by an actual IRS agent who verified that it was my name on the 1099, and that I failed to report all of my earnings in 2013. I disputed that. I told her that nobody is ignorant enough to firstly not know that a number subtracted by itself is not zero, and secondly that a 4 letter name is not the same as an 11 letter name. I told her that I suspected that her department was just browsing the internet all day and getting paid for it. She assured me that this is not true, and they actually are that ignorant. She asked me if there was anything she could do for me, and I told her to write to the Ways and Means committee and clarify that the reason she sent a letter stating that there was a discrepancy on my 2013 return was because there was never a discrepancy on my 2013 return. She told me that she could not do that, as she had already written a letter to them stating that there was a discrepancy, but that she would write me a letter personally. I got the same commitment from Holly Morse and they both followed through. Nobody ever answered my original question about why the IRS lied to me and told me that they would not hold me liable for my ex-wife's taxes in a tax year when I filed separately.
I had to prove IRS incompetence to buy a house.
In 2016, I started the process of buying my first house. About one week before closing, the bank emailed me and asked about the $89,000 of federal tax liens on my record. I sent them the different sets of letters written by Holly Morse and Brenda Dial, stating that there both was and was not a discrepancy on my 2013 tax return, as well as the letters stating that they said there was under pressure from the White House and the Ways and Means committee, and said there was not only after they were caught lying. I told them what Brenda Dial had told me; that the IRS is incompetent to know if there is a discrepancy on my return in any given tax year, even when directed to do so by the United States Government and the President. The mortgage underwriters at the bank told me that they see letters like that every week and gave me a zero down, no PMI loan on my first house, despite there being $89.000 of federal tax liens on my record.
I was watching my kids suffer.
Upon winning my appeal, my ex-wife and her mother immediately started blackmailing me by refusing to let me see my kids unless I paid them. They both also told me that the second I gave them any money outside of a judges' order, they would call the IRS and report me for violating the terms of my innocent spouse appeal victory. In 2019, after several unsuccessful attempts in court, I fired my family law attorney and started representing myself. My ex-wife could not afford our kids, even with the court ordered child support, but it took some convincing for the judge to understand (who wondered why I did not just give my ex more money without a judge's order, which I was not allowed to explain). I got primary custody of my kids after several failed attempts and judicial scoldings for refusing to be blackmailed.
Income taxes are voluntary for those who incur them, but not for those that the IRS selects to pay.
Despite threatening me with prison for refusing to pay my ex-wife's income and self-employment taxes, they have made no meaningful attempt to collect that money from her. As a matter of fact, by not collecting from her they have encouraged her to spend the money that anyone else would have to pay in taxes to try to destroy the lives of me, my current wife and our children by making false allegations of sexual abuse, which have been investigated by CPS. CPS found out that the abuse was happening at my ex-wife's house, so they dropped the investigation.
Rape check for our 4 year old, drug testing for both
On Sep. 1, 2020, my ex told me that she was going to get her kids away from whoever was molesting our 4 year old (she accused me). On August 27, 2020, my ex wife took our 4 year old out of daycare without my consent or knowledge. She took her to Children's hospital in Seattle for a rape test. I got a call from the daycare saying my daughter was gone, then later, a call from the hospital asking me if I knew where my 4 year old was. I told them I did not, and they offered to involve the police. This was during Covid, and when I got to to hospital, they had my daughter playing on the floor of the ER. CPS started an investigation into my ex's allegations of child rape. I was not found guilty, but as soon as I discovered on August 8, 2021 that my daughter's cousin had been sexually molesting her for a long time at my ex's house (I caught him touching my naked daughter's breasts and vagina), which my ex freely admitted to in writing on August 9, 2021, both CPS and the police stopped their investigations. I was also investigated for giving my daughters drugs. When my ex admitted in court that she had given her prescription drugs to our daughter, all investigations into the drugging of our daughters stopped.
On August 14, 2021, My ex took our daughters to the ER at Swedish hospital to falsely accuse me of drugging our kids, but she kept it a secret from me. I did not find out until September. I called Swedish and asked them why my daughters were at the ER and what the aftercare might be. They told me that it is illegal for a hospital to tell me about the aftercare of an emergency room visit in Washington State because I am the primary custodial parent. I had to fill out an FOIA request at the hospital in order to find out that they were drug tested there (results were negative). The hospital paperwork clearly states that my ex went there making false accusations about me. My ex wife did this because she was filing a review of the child support I paid and knew I would be spending all of my time trying to get information on the reason for the ER visit and very little time defending myself against the lies DCS made up about me.
The police help (the tax evaders)
On Dec. 13, 2020, my ex-wife did not return my kids after her court ordered visitation. I called 911, but the police refused to help because I am a male, law abiding taxpayer. In Snohomish County, WA, the police will involve themselves in what they call a "custody dispute" (My ex-wife and I signed the custody agreement without attorneys) only if a woman calls. Another service they provide to women only is issuing an arrest warrant for custodial interference when a man does not return his kids to their mom after his court ordered visitation. Whan a man who is the primary, custodial parent calls 911 because he has no way to see or speak to his minor children on his court ordered custody days, the police do absolutely nothing except say it is against policy to intervene in custody disputes. I was told that every time my ex does not want to give our kids back on my custody time, that is her prerogative, and I must file a writ of habeus corpus in Snohomish County Court. This is because the police and politicians in my city, county and state are extremely discriminatory against men who pay their taxes and obey the law (just like the IRS is). My kids were transferred to CPS custody while a judge decided whether or not I could continue to see my kids on my court ordered custody days. The process takes a little bit longer than one week and costs thousands of dollars each time. Chief Rob Palmer of the Snohomish Police sent me an unsolicited, rude letter stating that 911 calls made by primary custodial parents when they are illegally kept from seeing or speaking to their kids on their court ordered custody days is "reciprocal". Women who call 911 on their ex's court ordered custody days to harass them are justified . Chief Palmer states in his letter that Linda Redmon, the Mayor of Snohomish told him to tell me that. Linda disagrees and says that Chief Palmer rudely injected himself into a political conversation between a constituent and his elected officials. Both refuse to discuss the matter further. The police have been on swatting calls to my house based on false allegations many, many times. On Dec. 7, 2020, my ex called 911 and told them she wanted them to enforce something that is not a law and also not a judges order. They came to my house immediately and took my teenage daughter outside alone in the front yard for several minutes. My older daughter is 18 now and hates the police. Sam Low, the Snohomish County leader, suggested in writing that I quit my job, then each Monday, I file a writ of habeus corpus, costing at least $4,000, then return my kids to my ex-wife ten minutes after getting them back every Friday evening. I do not know how he expects me to make at least $25,000 a month with no job. That is not his problem. I filed charges against all the police officers involved with the U.S. DOJ and the FBI, but because of the thin blue line, nothing was done. I was even excluded from the report by the Office of Professional Accountability (because I am a taxpayer).
Division of child support fabricates evidence
During our divorce, my ex-wife and I both made written, sworn statements that she decided to move the kids in with me in early 2017 because she could not afford to keep them. I also made a statement to DCS on 11-12-2019 stating that my kids came to live with me at the beginning of 2017. Remle Wilkerson of DCS told me that they could not find that statement, but I found it easily with a simple FOIA request to DCS. My ex's mother also submitted a statement that the kids came to live with me in 2017. In 2021, DCS told me that I had to prove the statements that I, my ex, and her mother all made about when my daughters came to live with me. DCS lied and said I made a statement that my kids came to live with me in 2018, when in fact, I said 2017. Teresa Owens would later call my ex and tell her that if she changed her sworn testimony to match their lie, DCS would give her thousands of dollars of my money because I did not pay her child support in 2017 (because I was the sole provider for my kids in 2017). They excused me from paying child support for 2018 and 2019 because they are not required to collect child support from me for periods of time when I was the sole financial provider for my children (but they can if they want to). They could have charged me for 2018 and 2019 as well, but they chose to only charge me for 2017. I have a letter from Teresa Owens, the DCS supervisor who convinced my ex to change her sworn testimony, saying she knew the whole time that my kids came to live with me in 2017.