Miami, FL asked in Tax Law for Florida

Q: My wife had a student loan discharged in 2014 and was never sent a 1099c and we were not together at that time.

We are now married In June of 2015 and are being charged for that In our joint 2017 taxes. Is that legal or should it be placed in her 2014 taxes when she was single?

Just to be clear this was never initially put on our 2017 taxes. We received an IRS document stating that we owed for those taxes in December of 2019. which is now 3years after the student loan was discharged in 2014. When it was discharged that was my wife’s student loan. We were not married at the time of discharged and are now being charged in our joint taxes for the 2017 tax year. She made much less money in 2014 being single then we made in 2017 being married filing joint.

One gentleman answered and asked if I want her to pay taxes on her loan for 2014. The answer is yes because it was her loan that was discharged in a year that we were not together. So again is it legal to place taxes on our joint account for a discharged loan 3years later when it happened prior to us getting married.

Related Topics:
2 Lawyer Answers
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Answered
  • Tallahassee, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: Not trying to read anything into your comments--but it sounds like you want your current wife to have to pay income tax on her discharged student loan; right? If you want to go down that rocky road you can try to convince her to amend her individual 2014 return--and include the income and pay the taxes and penalty--and then the two of you can amend your 2017 joint return accordingly. Good luck with that.

Linda Simmons Campbell
Linda Simmons Campbell
Answered
  • Tax Law Lawyer
  • Burlington, CT

A: You should have an accountant look over your wife's financial picture. If your wife was insolvent during the time the debt was forgiven, she may not have to pay taxes on some or all of the amount forgiven.

1 user found this answer helpful

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.