California Revenue and Taxation Code

§ 19701.5

RTC § 19701.5 Effective Jan 1, 2017Div. 2 · Part 10.2 · Ch. 9

Statute text

(a)Any person who signs his or her spouse’s name on any income tax return, or any schedules or attachments thereto, or who files electronically pursuant to Section 18621.5, without the consent of the spouse as provided in subdivision (b), is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction be fined an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or be imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, together with costs of investigation and prosecution.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any person who signs his or her spouse’s name shall not be guilty of a misdemeanor when one spouse is physically unable by reason of disease or injury to sign a joint return, and the other spouse, with the oral consent of the one who is incapacitated, signs the incapacitated spouse’s name in the proper place on the return followed by the words “By ____, Spouse (or Husband or Wife),” and by the signature of the signing spouse in his or her own right, provided that a dated statement signed by the spouse who is signing the return is attached to and made a part of the return stating each of the following:

(1)The name of the return being filed.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 111. (SB 1005) Effective January 1, 2017.