Form 8379 (Injured Spouse Allocation)

Full Definition

Form 8379 is filed by "the injured spouse on a jointly filed tax return... to get back their share of the joint refund when the joint overpayment is applied to a past-due obligation of the other spouse" — the IRS's own definition of who the form is for.

The debts it covers are named specifically: your spouse's "legally enforceable past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, or a federal nontax debt, such as a student loan." A Notice of Offset is what tells you this has happened or is about to.

The instructions are direct about the form it is not: "Don't file Form 8379 if you are claiming innocent spouse relief. Instead, file Form 8857." The two forms answer different questions. Form 8379 asks for your own share of a refund back after an offset for a debt that belongs entirely to your spouse. Form 8857 asks to be relieved of liability for an understated tax on the joint return itself. Being an injured spouse does not require showing you did not know about anything; qualifying for innocent spouse relief does.

Filing has its own deadline, separate from the return or an amended return: "You must file Form 8379 within 3 years from the due date of the original return (including extensions) or within 2 years from the date you paid the tax that was later offset, whichever is later." It can be attached to the joint return, attached to an amended joint return, or filed by itself afterward.

Sources

• About Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-24
• Instructions for Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation (Rev. November 2024) — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-24

Last reviewed 2026-08-24 by Tax Resolution Clarity editorial.