Letter 4390, Notice of Determination - Request for Relief from Joint and Several Liability, is issued when a timely Collection Due Process hearing included a request for innocent spouse relief under IRC Section 6015. It decides both the collection issues and the spousal relief claim, and it carries the right to petition the United States Tax Court.
Know Which Deadline Applies
The collection portion of a CDP determination carries a 30-day petition deadline under IRC Section 6330(d). Innocent spouse determinations are reviewable under IRC Section 6015(e), which generally allows 90 days from the final determination. The letter states the timeframe. If you are challenging both parts, file within 30 days.
What the Tax Court Looks At
In innocent spouse cases the Tax Court decides the matter on the administrative record plus newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence, under IRC Section 6015(e)(7). That means what you put in front of Appeals matters enormously. If your submission to Appeals was thin, the record is thin.
The Other Spouse
The non-requesting spouse receives notice of the claim and can participate. They may also have the right to intervene in a Tax Court case. Expect them to be part of the process, especially in a contested divorce.
If you received Letter 4390, call us at (813) 229-7100. Innocent spouse cases are won or lost on the record.