Pre-Marital Agreements And The IRS

It is certainly not uncommon for one taxpayer with significant federal tax debts to want to marry another taxpayer without any tax debts at all.  In these instances, both taxpayers may naturally desire to enter into a pre-marital agreement to ensure that their respective assets and debts (including federal tax debts) are kept separate.  This is particularly so in so-called “community property states” where the presumption is that each taxpayer is deemed to have rights to one-half of the other taxpayer’s community property income and assets.

Taxpayers in these circumstances should understand that the IRS will not always respect a pre-marital agreement.  Rather, the IRS will, in many cases, carefully scrutinize the agreement itself and the surrounding circumstances to determine whether it can pierce through the agreement and reach the liable spouse’s community property share of assets.  Accordingly, taxpayers should, where warranted, consult with a tax professional to determine whether the pre-marital agreement complies with federal tax law and IRS guidance.

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