Fortress Tax Relief, is the only significant tax resolution service provider located in Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Revenue requires attorneys and CPAs to be licensed in Oregon in order to represent taxpayers before the DOR. Fortress has multiple attorneys licensed by the Oregon. Since it is almost unheard of for out-of-state tax resolution service providers to have tax professionals licensed in Oregon, Fortress is your go-to if you owe Oregon Department of Revenue.
Fortress Tax Relief is a nationwide tax relief services company that offers assistance with all Oregon individual and business unpaid IRS debt and back tax matters. Our team of six Oregon tax attorneys have over 60 years of combined experience resolving tax liabilities and takes pride in seeing people who come to us get the tax relief benefits they need. We also sincerely care about our clients and handle all cases with the utmost compassion.
Our tax attorneys understand that your life has changed due to unresolved tax debt, and you are under a lot of stress simply trying to adjust. The added stress of having to deal with the IRS or other tax debt collection agencies doing everything possible to nickel and dime you more than you should have to handle. That is why we are here. We will handle it, and we will handle it correctly.
MEET OUR TAX RELIEF ATTORNEYS
Oregon Tax Resolution Experts
Our back tax advisers are dedicated to helping people in Oregon get the tax relief benefits they have paid for. We help clients in need of Oregon tax relief services in cities such as:
- Baker City
- Beaverton
- Bend
- Corvallis
- Eugene
- Gresham
- Hermiston
- Hillsboro
- Klamath Falls
- Lakeview
- Medford
- Pendleton
- Portland
- Redmond
- Salem
- Springfield
If you owe back taxes to the IRS or your state’s tax authority, you know how stressful and difficult the situation can be. Collection letters, threats of wage garnishment, liens, and property seizures are enough to make a person fear the consequences of not paying their taxes. You may worry that you’ll lose your home, bank accounts, or that you’ll be put in jail if you can’t pay what you owe. Even if your situation seems dire and you owe more than $10,000 in back taxes, all is not lost. In fact, there are several ways that you can resolve your back tax issues with the help of the tax attorneys at Fortress Tax Relief.
What Are Back Taxes and Why Do I Owe?
The term back taxes refer to taxes that are due, but not yet paid. Taxes can be due to a local government agency such as a city, the state that you live in, or the federal government. In addition to the back taxes, you will also be charged penalties and interest on the outstanding amount, which accumulates over time. You may owe back taxes if you have made a partial payment and have a balance remaining or if you haven’t paid yet. When you receive a letter from the tax authority, it will detail the amount of your tax burden and the additional fees that you owe.
Unpaid Back Tax Consequences
There are several avenues that the IRS and other tax authorities can take to collect the taxes that you owe. Among them are seizing your property or assets or placing a tax lien on property that you own including your bank accounts, investments, autos, and other real property. The good news is that as long as you have filed your returns, you cannot be put in jail for not being able to afford to pay your taxes. However, the longer you wait to take care of the problem, the more you will owe as interest and penalties add up.
I Can’t Afford to Pay My Back Taxes, What Should I Do?
There are a number of options available to people who find themselves in the situation of owing more taxes than they can pay. Although it is possible to negotiate with the IRS or other tax authority to reduce your taxes or to arrange for a payment plan, it’s a daunting task and it’s not always easy. The best course of action is to schedule a consultation to speak to one of our experienced tax attorneys about your situation. We will evaluate your situation and offer you the most viable solutions to resolve your tax issues. The tax relief and tax resolution services we offer are as follows:
Offers in Compromise (OIC)
Oftentimes, a taxpayer can negotiate a discounted amount to settle a tax liability through the IRS and many states as well. An Offer in Compromise, as it’s called, is an option for taxpayers who can’t feasibly pay off the debt in full, who dispute the accuracy of the taxes due, or for taxpayers that can prove a hardship that keeps them from paying in full. Although you can file an OIC on your own, it may not be in your best interest. Keep in mind that the IRS determines what you can afford to pay back based on their own formulas and their objective is to collect as much as possible. The amount of taxes that the IRS will hold you liable for depends on a variety of factors, however, they’ll determine what that figure is. If you attempt to file an Offer in Compromise and you make an offer that’s too low, the IRS will give you the opportunity to increase your offer, and if you don’t, they’ll reject your offer outright.
Despite the fact that you can file your own Offer in Compromise, it’s not necessarily the best idea. For starters, the IRS and other tax entities like to play hardball with people who owe them money. They’ll insist on a specific amount of payment and use fear tactics to get you to comply with their demands such as threatening to seize property, garnish wages, and they may even threaten to send you to jail. Those are all scary situations that you don’t want to deal with. Our tax attorneys have a vast amount of experience dealing with the IRS and we know how to negotiate fair Offers in Compromise for our clients, so they don’t have to worry about anything.
Abatement of Penalties
In some cases, a taxpayer doesn’t qualify for an Offer in Compromise to reduce the amount of back taxes that they owe, however, there is another alternative. An Abatement of Penalties can help reduce the total amount owed by eliminating the penalties associated with non-payment of taxes. In order for you to obtain an Abatement of Penalties with the IRS, you have to establish “reasonable cause” for the penalties to be dropped. This isn’t as easy as it sounds and generally speaking, you only get one chance to request an Abatement of Penalties, so you have to get it right the first time. Most taxpayers simply do not have the experience or knowledge to take on this task on their own and professional tax help is a must.
Our tax attorneys understand the importance of drafting accurate documents with persuasive legal arguments that apply the law to the facts of your case. We also know that it’s vital that we portray your situation in a light that is favorable to you and your goal of reducing your tax penalties and possibly even interest. We’ll carefully craft a professional request for Abatement of Penalties and make sure that documents that support your claims of reasonable cause are attached. We will submit your forms and act as a liaison between you and the IRS to come to an agreement that you can financially live with.
IRS Installment Agreements
If you agree to the amount of back taxes that you owe but cannot make payment in full, an installment agreement might be right for you. This is an agreement that allows you to make payments on your tax debt for an extended amount of time. If you enter into an installment agreement with the IRS, it is vital that you make your payments on time and continue to do so until the debt is paid, otherwise you face more penalties, interest, and additional collection activities.
Defaulting on an installment agreement is bad news for a taxpayer so it’s important to enter into an agreement that you can actually keep up with. The IRS will want a larger payment in order to collect sooner, but that may not be the best thing for you financially. Crafting an acceptable IRS installment agreement is something our tax attorneys are well versed in. We’ve helped many taxpayers, just like you, negotiate the fairest payments and best terms for repayment and we can help you too.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalties (TFRP)
If you own, or work for a company that fails to pay certain types of payroll taxes, you can be held personally responsible by the IRS for that debt via Trust Fund Recovery Penalties. This only applies if there is a willful intent to either evade paying taxes, a failure to collect taxes due, or if the taxes have been collected and not accounted for. While the IRS will vigorously seek repayment from the business entity, they will also pursue individuals. If you have found yourself in this situation, you have every right to be nervous about what will happen to you financially. If the IRS decides to take action against you personally, you will be assessed a penalty and your wages, bank accounts, and other assets may be seized in an effort to collect the debt that’s owed.
Losing your wages, bank accounts, or other assets due to your company’s tax issues can leave you and your family without means to survive. Our tax attorneys understand how important it is for you to resolve the issue quickly. Oftentimes, we are able to negotiate on behalf of individuals to protect their assets by showing that an acceptable agreement has been made with the company. We can also help mitigate tax issues by catching tax issues early and negotiating with the IRS to resolve the issue without penalties.
Get the Professional Tax Help You Need Today
Back tax and other tax problems aren’t something you should ignore. The longer you wait to resolve any issues with your taxes the more it will cost you in terms of penalties and interest. Waiting can also lead to the IRS placing a lien on your property, assets, bank accounts, and even your retirement accounts in some cases. The resulting financial hardship, stress, and worry are hardly worth it.
Don’t put yourself and your family through that kind of situation, call Fortress Tax Relief at 877- 777-7430, or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Need Answers?
Do you have questions about back taxes? Our experts focus on nothing else but resolving your tax liabilities.