This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• The critical difference between an Injured Spouse claim (Form 8379) for refund offsets and an Innocent Spouse claim (Form 8857) for tax liability relief.

• How to identify the specific past-due obligations, like child support or student loans, that trigger the need for an injured spouse claim.

• The two correct methods for filing Form 8379, either with the original joint return or by itself after an offset notice is received.

• How to correctly allocate income, withholding, and credits to determine the injured spouse’s rightful portion of the seized refund.

• The special allocation rules for taxpayers residing in community property states, which is a frequent exam complication.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep