No single IRS resolution strategy is marketed with more verve and breathless urgency than the Offer in Compromise strategy (aka Tax Settlement). Tax relief companies tout this strategy as a surefire “pennies on the dollar” sweepstakes that you can’t afford not to pursue. You may have even heard first-hand stories from friends who owed six …
IRS Offer in Compromise: Common Challenges to Approval Read More »
If you owe taxes to the IRS, you tend to receive a lot of unsolicited advice from friends, complete strangers, cold callers, mailings, and the internet. Sometimes that advice is to file an Offer in Compromise, and to settle your tax debt for “Pennies on the dollar.” But how can you know if an Offer …
One of the very biggest mistakes that people in collections with the IRS make every day is to simply accept what a lower-level IRS Collection employee tells them. This often means accepting an unfavorable, or even disastrous, outcome that could severely impact the ability of an individual or business to make ends meet. If you …
How to Beat IRS Collections by Navigating the Bureaucracy Read More »
One of the very first things that any individual or business with a tax liability should consider is whether it is possible to obtain an IRS tax settlement that is less than the amount owed. Although it is not easy to reach a tax settlement agreement (aka Offer in Compromise or “OIC”) with the IRS—or …
Federal IRS Tax Lien An IRS Tax Lien is a legal claim on your property for the amount owed. An IRS tax lien is also the legal right to collect on the amount owed. An IRS Tax lien starts when a tax is assessed and you don’t pay it. For example, if you file a …
What Is An IRS Tax Lien And How Does It Affect Me? Read More »
To most people, the Internal Revenue Service is a mystery. It collects taxes and can make your life miserable. But beyond that, how the IRS operates is relatively unknown. This is one of the reasons why, when an individual or business owes a significant debt to the IRS, sleepless nights ensue. Yes, dealing with the …
Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing is certain in this life but death and taxes. I’ll agree that none of us will cheat death. But I may quibble with Mr. Franklin on the issue of whether or not you have to pay all of your taxes. Under the right set of circumstances, full payment of …
Can I Resolve Back Taxes By Qualifying For Currently Not Collectible Status? Read More »
To some business owners, the accounting part of their business is the last thing they want to deal with. “Leave that to the accountant or bookkeeper and let me get to work” is the sentiment I get from a lot of small business owners. Accrual Method of Accounting Many business owners just don’t have the …
Cash And Acurral Methods Of Accounting Can Impact The Outcome Of A Tax Collection Case Read More »
Earlier this year, I received a voice message from a producer for a television show called Moving America Forward, hosted by William Shatner. The message stated that they were interested in speaking with me about possibly appearing on their nationally broadcasted television show. Moving America Forward Interviews Fortress Financial Services I was intrigued to say …
When the Internal Revenue Service created the Offer in Compromise program, the candidates they probably had in mind were those people who were struggling to keep the lights on, feed and clothe themselves and their children, and keep a roof over their heads. The ideal candidate, they most likely surmised, is not a for-profit business. …
Can My Business Settle IRS With Business Offer in Compromise? Read More »
As soon as the IRS files a Federal Tax Lien against a delinquent taxpayer, it becomes public record that the person or business has a balance due to the IRS. The lien is filed very soon after a liability is assessed. The fact that the lien is public record means that anybody who cares to …
I am Told I Qualify for an Offer in Compromise—Is it a Scam? Read More »
The Internal Revenue Service is one of the largest government agencies in the world. With around 90,000 employees and a budget in the billions, it’s truly an empire within our government, and its rules and regulations are not wholly known by any one single human being. Therefore, as you can imagine, it’s possible that the …
Recently I was engaged in a heated discussion with an IRS Settlement Officer. The subject was an Offer in Compromise (Tax Settlement) I had filed on a client’s behalf. The IRS did not want to approve our Offer because they noticed that my client had been late with a few tax payments during the time …
One of the most frustrating situations my clients confront is the IRS’s addition of large amounts of tax or Civil Penalties to tax periods that ended a long time ago. There can be several reasons for additions to tax or Civil Penalties, but the most common ones I encounter are reporting and reconciliation deficiencies across …
If you or your business have gotten behind with the IRS, a tax settlement, also known as an Offer in Compromise (OIC), might be the best way to get rid of your tax liability—if you qualify. There are three general categories of OICs: Doubt as to Liability (I don’t actually owe this tax), Effective Tax …
Get a Tax Pro to Settle Your IRS Tax Liability (OIC) Offer in Compromise Read More »
April 15th is right around the corner, and if you expect to owe 1040 income tax, but don’t have the resources with which to pay it, you are in the same boat as many Americans. First of all, don’t panic. Federal officers are not going to show up at your home on April 16th to …
It’s Almost April 15th, and I Can’t Pay My 1040 Tax. What Do I Do? Read More »
Question: Will the IRS garnish my wages or Levy my wages? How can I avoid this? Answer: In order to answer this question effectively, some background and definitions with regards to IRS procedures are warranted. A levy on wages is where the IRS effectively takes a portion of ones wages and applies it to the …
Any time a taxpayer incurs a balance due to the IRS, the IRS’s first response is almost invariably to demand that the debt be fully paid, immediately. However, in many situations, the taxpayer does not have the ability to fully and immediately pay the tax debt. This inability to quickly resolve the liability can lead …
