A spouse who was subject to abuse and physical intimidation by her former husband was entitled to equitable innocent spouse relief (Jan Pocock, TC Memo 2022-55). She met the conditions for a streamlined determination:
Even if there is evidence that the requesting spouse had “knowledge” that could bar relief, relief can still be granted by a showing of abuse, which can be physical, psychological, sexual, or emotional abuse, including efforts to control, isolate, humiliate, and intimidate the requesting spouse, or to undermine the requesting spouse’s ability to reason independently and be able to do what is required under the tax laws. In this case, the husband’s physical abuse and other actions (e.g., installing a buzzer on the mailbox to try and control their mail so she couldn’t see his business activities) helped her meet the conditions necessary for innocent spouse relief.
A fixed deduction allowed to every taxpayer, except those who may be claimed as a dependent by another person. Extra exemption deductions are allowed for a spouse on a joint return and for each qualifying dependent. A deduction of $3,400 is allowed for each exemption claimed on 2007 returns, but the deduction is phased out for certain high income individuals.