After learning that her husband had concealed $82,000 in taxes, placing their family home at jeopardy of being taken by the IRS, a Montana nurse was left in shock. Hosts Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze were shocked and frustrated by her story when she told it on a call to The Ramsey Show.
The woman described how she maintained a regular nursing career throughout 2021 while her husband focused on real estate full-time. The pair earned enough money that year to cover $82,000 in taxes, which came out of her husband’s business account.
She assumed everything was under control and trusted him to manage their finances. Ramsey pointed out that he failed to pay the IRS, pointing to a betrayal of confidence that would cause the family to fall apart.
The spouse wasted the money on a failing business endeavor rather than paying their taxes. Additionally, he concealed IRS letters and disregarded their certified public accountant’s (CPA) calls and messages.
In order to avoid more fines, their CPA ultimately filed the taxes in early 2023 without signing them. The nurse was unaware of the growing issue until she received a certified letter from the IRS, at which point the tax debt had grown to $150,000 and the IRS threatened to seize their house.
Though she intends to divorce her husband, the lady feels deceived and caught off guard, and she is now considering taking out a second mortgage or perhaps selling their house to pay off the debt. Ramsey’s straightforward response to this predicament was, “No, I would not bail him out.” If we are staying together, I would save the day. He advised her against taking on additional debt on behalf of her divorced spouse.
There was still a crucial question: Would she be responsible for the tax bill? Ramsey clarified that the IRS’s innocent spouse clause might shield her following a divorce if the tax burden is solely related to her husband’s business. “You would need a tax attorney or a great CPA that knows how to work that,” he said, adding that only his half would be at risk of IRS seizure if the house were sold and she qualified for the exception.
Ramsey says that if she files for divorce from him, she can probably do so under the IRS’s innocent spouse clause, which shields people who were unaware of their partner’s unpaid taxes or dishonest financial practices. If she decides to stay with him, though, the financial strain becomes a joint issue that needs to be resolved with fresh trust and teamwork.
In addition to the immediate tax headache, Ramsey utilized the situation to highlight a more significant lesson about both financial success and character. According to Tom Stanley, the author of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind, billionaires had one thing in common: extreme integrity. He emphasized how shortcuts and schemes ultimately jeopardize personal and financial security, characterizing the husband’s activities as the antithesis of integrity.
Ramsey reminded the nurse that even if her husband’s decisions were grave, there was still time for him to change his ways: Integrity is a choice. He can just make the decision to act honorably from now on. But, sister, you have problems if he doesn’t.
