Woman Escapes Joint Liability for Part of Husband’s Tax Dodging

A woman who helped manage her husband’s dental practice can claim innocent spouse relief from the initial period of his tax liabilities, but not once she became aware of them.

Jodell Sample was “reasonably ignorant” of her husband Joseph Schara’s underpayment of tax from 2011 to 2013, but that relief is not available to her for his “very substantial understatements” of his taxes in 2014, 2017, and 2018, Judge Mark V. Holmes said, rebuffing her arguments that she was of limited awareness of their finances both in the dental office and at home.

Sample, who was office manager and ...