Section 18534.

(a) Under regulations prescribed by the Franchise Tax Board, if:

(1) An individual does not file a joint return for any taxable year,

(2) That individual does not include in gross income for that taxable year an item of community income properly includable therein,

(3) The individual establishes that he or she did not know of, and had no reason to know of, that item of community income, and

(4) Taking into account all facts and circumstances, it is inequitable to include that item of community income in that individual's gross income, then, for purposes of Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) and this part, that item of community income shall be included in the gross income of the other spouse (and not in the gross income of the individual).

Under procedures prescribed by the Franchise Tax Board, if, taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the individual liable for any unpaid tax or any deficiency (or any portion of either) attributable to any item for which relief is not available under the preceding sentence, the Franchise Tax Board may relieve the individual of that liability.

(b) The Franchise Tax Board may disallow the benefits of any community property law to any taxpayer with respect to any income if that taxpayer acted as if solely entitled to that income and failed to notify the taxpayer's spouse before the due date (including extensions) for filing the return for the taxable year in which the income was derived of the nature and amount of that income.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in construing this section, any regulations that may be promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury under Section 66(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by Public Law 105-206, shall apply to the extent that those regulations do not conflict with this section or with any regulations that may be promulgated by the Franchise Tax Board.

(d) The amendments made by the act adding this subdivision shall apply to any liability for tax arising after the effective date of the act adding this subdivision and any liability for tax arising on or before that date but remaining unpaid as of that date.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 931, Sec. 6. Effective October 10, 1999.)