What are the requirements for State returns to qualify for tax forgiveness credit?

It’s possible that you qualify for Pennsylvania’s Tax Forgiveness Credit, but that’s more an issue of whether you qualify because you have poverty-level income than having your portion of a refund from a jointly-filed tax return seized or offset to pay your spouse's debt.

According to Eligible Claimant in the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s Tax Forgiveness page, an eligible claimant is a person:

• Who is subject to the Pennsylvania personal income tax, and

• Who is not a dependent of another person for the purpose of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 151 of the IRC of 1986, except as explained in Part II, Section C of this chapter, and

• Whose poverty income does not exceed certain eligibility amounts.

• Who is not a ward of a federal, state or local prison, a patient in a federal or state hospital or student at a federal, state or local residential school for ½ year or more.

You can find the poverty levels in the link above to see if you might qualify.

Whether or not you qualify for the credit, you may well qualify for Injured Spouse treatment on both your federal and state returns.  

IRS Form 8379 and Pennsylvania Form PA-8379 allow an injured spouse to get back your portion of a refund from a jointly-filed tax return when it's seized or offset to pay your spouse's debt.

Please see How do I file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation? for more information.

@anettemom