This is exactly what I'm worried about. Did they go after his spouse too? My main concern is whether they can touch my income since the debt was from before we were married.

They didn't go after his spouse directly because they filed separately, but since you've already filed jointly, that ship has unfortunately sailed. When you file jointly, you essentially take on responsibility for each other's tax debts in the eyes of the IRS. They absolutely can garnish your wages even though the debt originated before marriage. The joint return creates what they call "joint and several liability." My friend's situation got even worse because they also put a tax lien on their house which made it impossible to refinance or sell without paying the debt. The collection agency has most of the same powers as the IRS itself, so definitely don't ignore this thinking it'll just go away. The 10-year statute of limitations is your best friend here if you can verify when it started and if anything has happened to extend it.

Innocent Spouse Relief probably won't work here because they already filed jointly after marriage. That usually only works if the spouse didn't know about the tax issue when they signed the joint return. The IRS takes the position that filing jointly means accepting responsibility for past tax debts.

This is helpful but you missed Code C which is for taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000. That's the one I always get confused about because I have to pay taxes on that benefit even though I never saw the money!

You're absolutely right about Code C! That's an important one I should have included. For group-term life insurance over $50,000 provided by your employer, the cost of coverage over $50,000 is considered taxable income. The confusing part is that this amount is already included in your Box 1 wages, so you don't need to add it again when filing. It's basically showing you what portion of your taxable wages came from this benefit that you never actually received as cash.

What tax software did you use? I have 3 W-2s this year (worked multiple jobs) and I'm worried about messing something up with all these codes.

Do you know how I figure out how much to pay for those quarterly payments? Is it just roughly 25% of what I'd expect to owe for the year?

You have a couple of options for calculating your estimated payments: You can pay 100% of your prior year tax (110% if your AGI was over $150,000), divided into four equal payments. This is the safest method to avoid penalties. Alternatively, you can estimate your current year tax and divide by four. This works better if your income fluctuates a lot or if you expect significantly lower income than last year. The IRS has a form called 1040-ES that includes a worksheet to help calculate your payments. You can also use tax software to calculate this for you. Just remember that you need to account for both income tax and self-employment tax on that K1 income.

Can you really do that? Just ask them to withhold extra? How do you figure out how much extra to withhold?

That's really helpful to know about your experience. How difficult was the Tax Court filing process? Did you end up needing a lawyer or were you able to do it yourself?

The Tax Court filing was actually pretty straightforward. I used the simplified procedure since my dispute was under $50k. The petition form is available on the Tax Court website, and it's mostly just explaining what the IRS got wrong and why. I did it myself without a lawyer. You basically need to state the facts clearly - that the crypto exchange reported incorrect information, what the correct numbers should be, and what evidence you have. Include copies of your documentation with the petition. One tip: be very specific about the error. In your case, explain that the exchange reported the full value as gain instead of just the interest earned, and provide your actual purchase records showing your cost basis.

Audit reconsideration is a terrible approach for this situation! Why would you voluntarily give up your Tax Court rights when that's literally the best protection you have? Paying thousands in taxes you don't owe and then HOPING the IRS gives it back through audit reconsideration is a recipe for disaster.

Depends on your state. I'm in California and it's the opposite - got federal in 2 weeks but still waiting on state after 30 days. Their system is swamped this year.

Interesting to hear the different experiences. I'm in Michigan and they've been super fast with processing state returns this year. I wonder if the federal delay has something to do with the type of credits claimed. I did have both education credits and child tax credits on mine which might be slowing things down.

Usually when that happens the deposit will hit your account on Friday (the business day before). That happened with mine - said Sunday but showed up Friday morning. Check both days just to be safe!