The Vermont Statutes Online
The Vermont Statutes Online have been updated to include the actions of the 2023 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 32 : Taxation and Finance
Chapter 151 : Income Taxes
Subchapter 012 : Setoff Debt Collection
(Cite as: 32 V.S.A. § 5935)-
§ 5935. Joint returns
(a) With respect to State income tax refunds under chapter 151 of this title and renter credit payments due a claimant under chapter 154 of this title, when the Department transfers funds payable on a joint return to a claimant agency and only one of the spouses filing the return is identified as a debtor of the claimant agency, the nondebtor spouse may, within 30 days after the date of mailing of the notice to the taxpayer described in subsection 5934(c) of this subchapter, petition the Department in writing for a return of that portion of the refund attributable to the income of the nondebtor spouse. The Commissioner shall thereafter conduct a hearing at which the nondebtor spouse shall bear the burden of establishing what portion of a refund transferred to a claimant agency, if any, is attributable to the nondebtor’s income.
(b) With respect to payments due a claimant under chapter 154 of this title based on property ownership, when the Department transfers funds payable on a claim filed with a joint return to a claimant agency and only one of the spouses filing the return is identified as a debtor of the claimant agency, the nondebtor spouse may, within 30 days of the date of mailing of the notice to the taxpayer described in subsection 5934(c) of this title, petition the Department in writing for a return of that portion of the claim equal to the ownership share that the nondebtor spouse holds in the property upon which the claim is based. If the property is held as tenancy by the entirety, the claim shall be divided equally. The Commissioner shall thereafter conduct a hearing at which the nondebtor spouse shall bear the burden of establishing his or her ownership interest in the property.
(c) The final determination of the Commissioner regarding the amount of a refund attributable to the income of a nondebtor spouse or the ownership interest of a nondebtor spouse may be appealed in the same manner as income tax appeals under subsection 5885(b) of this title.
(d) Upon receipt of a petition under this section, the Department shall notify each claimant agency to which funds payable on a joint return or claim have been transferred that the petition is pending. If it is established that any amount of a refund or claim transferred to a claimant agency is attributable to the income or ownership interest of a nondebtor spouse, that amount shall be refunded to the nondebtor spouse. (Added 1981, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 4, 1982; amended 2003, No. 70 (Adj. Sess.), § 45, eff. March 1, 2004; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 549, eff. July 1, 2022; 2023, No. 6, § 383, eff. July 1, 2023.)
