What happens if you signed your tax return under duress?
If a spouse claims he or she signed the joint tax return under duress or was coerced into signing it, the election to file a joint return may be invalid. In that case, the issue of relief from joint and several liability is not applicable.
The Cincinnati Centralized Innocent Spouse Operation (CCISO) should work the duress issue along with the Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief. If only one spouse signs the return, Joint Assessment, One Signature . To establish that a return was signed under duress, it must be demonstrated that:

• The taxpayer was unable to resist demands to sign the return; and
• The taxpayer would not have signed the return except for the constraint applied by the other party. See, e.g. Stanley v. Commissioner, 45 T.C. 555 (1966); Brown v. Commissioner, 51 T.C. 116 (1968). A signature made involuntarily or under duress is not a valid signature. Therefore, the election to file a joint return is not valid. The individual claiming duress is not jointly or severally liable for liabilities arising from such a return if the return was indeed signed under duress.
• The account should be adjusted to reflect a married filing separate return being filed by both spouses.
• A married filing separate tax return may need to be secured from the spouse claiming to have signed under duress if a return is required for the period or if the taxpayer may have been entitled to a refund.

A requesting spouse (RS) who raises the issue of duress and later determines he or she would owe more tax if he or she filed separately, may choose not to pursue the issue of duress.

Form 8857 addresses the question of a return signed under duress.