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The details are sketchy in the OP, but my question is if Innocent Spouse is the better route. I may be wrong, but I think that if the DR was doing "creative" things with the return and the spouse had no knowledge of that part of the return, the correct relief to request is Innocent. I thought if the debt came before the marriage, you use injured when the IRS tries to take the money from the Joint return. If the debt came during the marriage and is the result of "creative bookkeeping" on the part of one spouse and the other spouse is in the dark, then you use innocent. Am I correct or wrong. Tom Longview, TX

As I wrote, no marital issues to deal with as the spouse died 20 years ago. I think after having a few meetings, everyone will agree to just document the valuations and ignore the return but we'll see.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/innocent-spouse-relief https://www.irs.gov/individuals/injured-spouse-relief

Thank You Judy! I looked at that screen many times and did not see that little box. That did the trick. Have a great day!

Only until May. Better than nothing, I guess - but nothing is all that many people have left. If they're even still alive. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-relief-for-helene-various-deadlines-postponed-to-may-1-2025-part-or-all-of-7-states-qualify

I had an estate here in MA that was close to the MA $2M exemption amount, and got this question from one the Executor. Exec is a nervous nelly, so I called MassDOR's estate tax unit and asked directly. Their answer was "If it doesn't exceed the limit, we don't want to see a return." Even if it's nothing, they still have to look it over and process it. But that was a state, not the IRS, that I spoke with.

Is this a married couple or a single person? In other words, is there any reason to protect the portability of estate tax exemption of the deceased for a spouse, if there is one, since we don't know if the exemption will actually revert back to pre-TCJA levels after 2025?