• Call our office today to find out if you qualify for an Offer or payment arrangement.
• We do legitimate offers!
• We will not accept one cent unless you pre-qualify.
• We're here to do whatever is in our client's best interest.
Options:
1. Full pay
2. Payment plan
3. OIC--Equity
4. CNC--debt doesn't go away
New IRS toll-free help line for Appeals
• The Internal Revenue Service now has a toll-free help line for questions related to the Appeals process. The number is 1.877.457.5055. The system will automatically route callers to the appropriate Appeals Office site. Previously, each of the 33 Appeals offices nationwide used a local number that was not toll-free. The toll-free service will make it easier and more convenient for taxpayers to obtain assistance. Taxpayers may call for help in preparing their appeal of an IRS Collection or Examination matter. They may also use this service after their tax matter has been transferred to Appeals. Appeals Officers will assist taxpayers during their administrative appeal as well as handle complaints regarding the Appeals process. For more information about the Appeals operation, visit the recently updated Appeals section of the IRS Web site at Appeals.
Unfiled Tax Returns
• If you haven't filed your tax returns, you should know that you could be charged with a crime. But even if the IRS does not pursue a criminal investigation, they could prepare a return for you. This is known as a "Substitute for Return" or an "SFR."
• When the IRS prepares a SFR they usually prepare the return in such a way that does not take advantage of all the deductions and credits that you are entitled to. They allow no dependents and they often use a filing status which is not to your advantage. For example, if they know that you were married in the past, they will file the return as "married filing separately" which, in most cases, creates the highest tax. But perhaps you're not married anymore, or maybe filing joint with your wife is best. If you have a child living with you, maybe you should be considered "head of household."
• If the IRS filed a return for you, we can get them to accept a real return that you file. We've done it at least a dozen times and we can do it for you. If you no longer have your W-2s and other tax information, we can get it for you. And we can get access to other information that the IRS has about you on its computer which might help reconstruct your income and expenses. Call our office today and let us put you back on track with filing your tax returns. (603) 893-9336
Audits and Notices
• Being audited is very unpleasant, even if you filed a perfectly correct return. As an Enrolled Agent, I've learned first hand how the IRS tries to use the rules to their own benefit. I have seen how the IRS takes advantage of those who don't know the ways that exist to fight the IRS. The key to fighting the IRS in an audit is preparation. You need to go in there with what the law requires. If you have that, there's not a thing they can do to you. The trick is knowing what to bring. (and of course, finding it!)
• When an Enrolled Agent handles a tax audit, the IRS knows they are dealing with a professional. They see a polite, respectful, but firm individual who will settle for nothing but the best result possible for his client. My approach is to make sure that every IRS employee who ever meets me knows I am always prepared for anything they can throw at me. Too many practitioners just go in guns blazing. It's the wrong approach. You've got to be likable without trying too hard. You have to earn their respect. You have to make them want to help the client.
• We also provide advice to those who desire to handle IRS audits and notices on their own. Enrolled Agents are authorized to represent taxpayers in all fifty states and clients living abroad. If you have received that dreaded notice "your return has been chosen for an audit" from the IRS call our office at once (603) 893-9336. We can go for you.
Penalty Removal
• The IRS is more penalty happy than ever. There are late payment, late filing, negligence, fraud preparer, substantial understatement, over valuation, failure to file information, trust fund recovery, underestimation of tax, premature distribution, late distribution, excess distribution and dozens of other penalties.
• Many of these penalties can be abated through showing "reasonable cause" (beyond your control). The most notable exception to this is the Trust Fund penalty under IRC section 6672 which we will discuss later.
• Reasonable cause )beyond your control) is a term which means that a reasonable person would not have been expected to comply with whatever rule was broken because of the difficult circumstances that affected the taxpayer. Illnesses usually work, or reliance on incorrect professional advice is also a good one. Obviously the excuse has to be true, we're not telling anyone to lie, especially about illnesses.
• The Trust Fund Penalty is a penalty which is imposed on someone who was supposed to withhold taxes such as payroll taxes and send them to the government, but didn't do so. Most often the IRS takes the "shotgun" approach and assesses the penalty against all the officers. This is incorrect. The person under the law who should be hit with this penalty is the "responsible person." This person is the one who made the decision to not pay the government in favor of paying someone else. It could also be the officer who knew about the problem and didn't take any steps to do anything about it. Consideration is given to check signing authority, who signed checks, who paid bills, signed tax returns and made other financial decisions.
• Even if the IRS determined that a person is a "responsible person," that does not mean that nothing can be done to get someone off the hook. One thing is clear, if you have been hit with penalties, consider applying for abatement. Call our office to get started on making your penalties go away.
Garnishments and Levies
• The IRS has the power to collect taxes owed to them by forcing your employer to pay them out of your paycheck and leave you with next to nothing. This garnishment is known as a wage levy. This levy will continue until the IRS is paid in full or the IRS agrees to remove the levy.
The IRS may also levy your bank account and take whatever is there at the time. The IRS can seize your car, your house, and just about everything else you own. They frequently put liens against all property as well.
• There is no one strategy to handle a lien or levy. The right course of action depends upon your particular circumstances. If all back returns are filed and the current year's taxes are being paid in through withholding or estimated taxes, the IRS can most likely be convinced to substitute an installment arrangement for the levy. If the tax is incorrect, an amended return might do the trick. If the tax is correct but the levy is creating a hardship for the family, especially when small children are involved, a hardship application could get the levy released.
• Rules regarding bank levies. If your bank account is levied, the bank is only allowed to send the IRS the amount that was on deposit at the bank at the time the levy was received. They are not allowed to give the IRS any funds that were subsequently deposited. In order to get at those funds, the IRS must issue another levy. Many banks do not know this, so they must be alerted to this law.
• IRS does not have forever to pursue you. The fact is, that the statute of limitations on collection is ten years from the date of the assessment. Once the ten years is up they can't collect the money unless the US Attorney's office initiates a lawsuit and obtains a judgment. This is usually only done in large dollar cases. The IRS may ask you to sign a form to extend the period in which they may pursue collection. Don't sign this form without seeking advise from our offices. If you are employed and refuse to sign this form they will levy your wages, but what if there are only a few weeks left to go? Or what if you're unemployed and have no assets? What can they take? Each case is different.
• IRS liens and joint ownership of a home with a spouse. When a couple owns property together in a "tenancy by the entirety" situation, (which is the case when most married people purchase a home) each person is deemed to own the entire property so that if only one spouse owes the IRS and that spouse dies, the lien no longer attaches to that property. The IRS will be forced to relinquish their claim on that home. As long as the debtor spouse is alive, the lien will remain on the house but the IRS can not take the house.
• Divorces can create problems in the case where one spouse owes taxes and there is a lien on the jointly held home. Suppose the husband owes taxes but the wife doesn't and they get divorced but the house isn't sold yet. The IRS can now take the property because they are no longer married and can no longer be considered as owning the property in a "tenancy by the entirety" situation. Now we are not lawyers so you should check with an attorney before you take any action regarding ownership of your home, but the aforementioned rules have been borne out during many conversations with IRS personnel during the completion of many cases we have handled. Your state laws regarding ownership of property may vary. Call our office for more information.
Offer in Compromise
• The IRS allows a taxpayer to file what is known as an "Offer in Compromise" (OIC) in order to settle all taxes, interest, and penalties owed. This program has been much celebrated, but is little understood.
• An OIC (or just "Offer") is where a taxpayer proposes to pay less (sometimes a lot less) than is owed. If the Government cannot collect the receivable in a reasonable period of time, and there is doubt as to collectibility, then Uncle Sam is willing to collect less and write off the rest. There usually is very little consideration of how the debt came to be, or why it is owed. Most often the taxpayer just owes more than he will ever be able to pay.
• The taxpayer cannot be in bankruptcy proceedings, must be current on filing all tax returns (1040, 941 etc.) and must have made any necessary estimated tax payments for the current year before an Offer can be considered for processing. Once the IRS accepts the offer and the taxpayer pays what he proposes, the remaining debt is completely wiped out forever. The taxpayer, however, must comply with all tax laws for five years. There are various other conditions as well. If you don't consult with us you should seek help elsewhere.
• The amount of the offer the IRS will accept varies, depending upon the circumstances of the taxpayer. There are asset and income formulas which must be taken into account. The values of what you own must be determined, but in a different manner than what most of us are used to. The IRS will need a list of your personal living expenses to determine how much money you have left at the end of the month. This is how they tell whether you would be able to pay the whole debt off over time. The monthly expenses, however, are limited to certain averages. You must know these limits before you file.
• IRC Sec. 7122 states: "We will accept an Offer in Compromise when it is unlikely that we can collect the full amount owed and the amount you offer reasonably reflects the collection potential..." The key to a successful offer is experience. We know how to work the system. We have been successful in getting more than a dozen OIC's accepted and closed as well as putting numerous installment agreements in place. In at least one case we were successful in negotiating 20% of what was owed to the IRS. If you don't qualify for an OIC you can probably qualify for a long-term payment arrangement or be classified Currently Not Collectible (CNC) code 53.
If you have any kind of IRS tax liability (large or small) and would like to be considered for an streamlined Installment Payment Plan (liabilities under $50,000), Offer in Compromise, partial payment plan for existing life of statute or noncollectable status) contact us for a FREE confidential consultation regarding your options please call Stephen B. Jordan EA at 603.893.9336 or go to our website Stephen B Jordan EA
• The Internal Revenue Service now has a toll-free help line for questions related to the Appeals process. The number is 1.877.457.5055. The system will automatically route callers to the appropriate Appeals Office site. Previously, each of the 33 Appeals offices nationwide used a local number that was not toll-free. The toll-free service will make it easier and more convenient for taxpayers to obtain assistance. Taxpayers may call for help in preparing their appeal of an IRS Collection or Examination matter. They may also use this service after their tax matter has been transferred to Appeals. Appeals Officers will assist taxpayers during their administrative appeal as well as handle complaints regarding the Appeals process. For more information about the Appeals operation, visit the recently updated Appeals section of the IRS Web site at Appeals.
Unfiled Tax Returns
• If you haven't filed your tax returns, you should know that you could be charged with a crime. But even if the IRS does not pursue a criminal investigation, they could prepare a return for you. This is known as a "Substitute for Return" or an "SFR."
• When the IRS prepares a SFR they usually prepare the return in such a way that does not take advantage of all the deductions and credits that you are entitled to. They allow no dependents and they often use a filing status which is not to your advantage. For example, if they know that you were married in the past, they will file the return as "married filing separately" which, in most cases, creates the highest tax. But perhaps you're not married anymore, or maybe filing joint with your wife is best. If you have a child living with you, maybe you should be considered "head of household."
• If the IRS filed a return for you, we can get them to accept a real return that you file. We've done it at least a dozen times and we can do it for you. If you no longer have your W-2s and other tax information, we can get it for you. And we can get access to other information that the IRS has about you on its computer which might help reconstruct your income and expenses. Call our office today and let us put you back on track with filing your tax returns. (603) 893-9336
Audits and Notices
• Being audited is very unpleasant, even if you filed a perfectly correct return. As an Enrolled Agent, I've learned first hand how the IRS tries to use the rules to their own benefit. I have seen how the IRS takes advantage of those who don't know the ways that exist to fight the IRS. The key to fighting the IRS in an audit is preparation. You need to go in there with what the law requires. If you have that, there's not a thing they can do to you. The trick is knowing what to bring. (and of course, finding it!)
• When an Enrolled Agent handles a tax audit, the IRS knows they are dealing with a professional. They see a polite, respectful, but firm individual who will settle for nothing but the best result possible for his client. My approach is to make sure that every IRS employee who ever meets me knows I am always prepared for anything they can throw at me. Too many practitioners just go in guns blazing. It's the wrong approach. You've got to be likable without trying too hard. You have to earn their respect. You have to make them want to help the client.
• We also provide advice to those who desire to handle IRS audits and notices on their own. Enrolled Agents are authorized to represent taxpayers in all fifty states and clients living abroad. If you have received that dreaded notice "your return has been chosen for an audit" from the IRS call our office at once (603) 893-9336. We can go for you.
Penalty Removal
• The IRS is more penalty happy than ever. There are late payment, late filing, negligence, fraud preparer, substantial understatement, over valuation, failure to file information, trust fund recovery, underestimation of tax, premature distribution, late distribution, excess distribution and dozens of other penalties.
• Many of these penalties can be abated through showing "reasonable cause" (beyond your control). The most notable exception to this is the Trust Fund penalty under IRC section 6672 which we will discuss later.
• Reasonable cause )beyond your control) is a term which means that a reasonable person would not have been expected to comply with whatever rule was broken because of the difficult circumstances that affected the taxpayer. Illnesses usually work, or reliance on incorrect professional advice is also a good one. Obviously the excuse has to be true, we're not telling anyone to lie, especially about illnesses.
• The Trust Fund Penalty is a penalty which is imposed on someone who was supposed to withhold taxes such as payroll taxes and send them to the government, but didn't do so. Most often the IRS takes the "shotgun" approach and assesses the penalty against all the officers. This is incorrect. The person under the law who should be hit with this penalty is the "responsible person." This person is the one who made the decision to not pay the government in favor of paying someone else. It could also be the officer who knew about the problem and didn't take any steps to do anything about it. Consideration is given to check signing authority, who signed checks, who paid bills, signed tax returns and made other financial decisions.
• Even if the IRS determined that a person is a "responsible person," that does not mean that nothing can be done to get someone off the hook. One thing is clear, if you have been hit with penalties, consider applying for abatement. Call our office to get started on making your penalties go away.
Garnishments and Levies
• The IRS has the power to collect taxes owed to them by forcing your employer to pay them out of your paycheck and leave you with next to nothing. This garnishment is known as a wage levy. This levy will continue until the IRS is paid in full or the IRS agrees to remove the levy.
The IRS may also levy your bank account and take whatever is there at the time. The IRS can seize your car, your house, and just about everything else you own. They frequently put liens against all property as well.
• There is no one strategy to handle a lien or levy. The right course of action depends upon your particular circumstances. If all back returns are filed and the current year's taxes are being paid in through withholding or estimated taxes, the IRS can most likely be convinced to substitute an installment arrangement for the levy. If the tax is incorrect, an amended return might do the trick. If the tax is correct but the levy is creating a hardship for the family, especially when small children are involved, a hardship application could get the levy released.
• Rules regarding bank levies. If your bank account is levied, the bank is only allowed to send the IRS the amount that was on deposit at the bank at the time the levy was received. They are not allowed to give the IRS any funds that were subsequently deposited. In order to get at those funds, the IRS must issue another levy. Many banks do not know this, so they must be alerted to this law.
• IRS does not have forever to pursue you. The fact is, that the statute of limitations on collection is ten years from the date of the assessment. Once the ten years is up they can't collect the money unless the US Attorney's office initiates a lawsuit and obtains a judgment. This is usually only done in large dollar cases. The IRS may ask you to sign a form to extend the period in which they may pursue collection. Don't sign this form without seeking advise from our offices. If you are employed and refuse to sign this form they will levy your wages, but what if there are only a few weeks left to go? Or what if you're unemployed and have no assets? What can they take? Each case is different.
• IRS liens and joint ownership of a home with a spouse. When a couple owns property together in a "tenancy by the entirety" situation, (which is the case when most married people purchase a home) each person is deemed to own the entire property so that if only one spouse owes the IRS and that spouse dies, the lien no longer attaches to that property. The IRS will be forced to relinquish their claim on that home. As long as the debtor spouse is alive, the lien will remain on the house but the IRS can not take the house.
• Divorces can create problems in the case where one spouse owes taxes and there is a lien on the jointly held home. Suppose the husband owes taxes but the wife doesn't and they get divorced but the house isn't sold yet. The IRS can now take the property because they are no longer married and can no longer be considered as owning the property in a "tenancy by the entirety" situation. Now we are not lawyers so you should check with an attorney before you take any action regarding ownership of your home, but the aforementioned rules have been borne out during many conversations with IRS personnel during the completion of many cases we have handled. Your state laws regarding ownership of property may vary. Call our office for more information.
Offer in Compromise
• The IRS allows a taxpayer to file what is known as an "Offer in Compromise" (OIC) in order to settle all taxes, interest, and penalties owed. This program has been much celebrated, but is little understood.
• An OIC (or just "Offer") is where a taxpayer proposes to pay less (sometimes a lot less) than is owed. If the Government cannot collect the receivable in a reasonable period of time, and there is doubt as to collectibility, then Uncle Sam is willing to collect less and write off the rest. There usually is very little consideration of how the debt came to be, or why it is owed. Most often the taxpayer just owes more than he will ever be able to pay.
• The taxpayer cannot be in bankruptcy proceedings, must be current on filing all tax returns (1040, 941 etc.) and must have made any necessary estimated tax payments for the current year before an Offer can be considered for processing. Once the IRS accepts the offer and the taxpayer pays what he proposes, the remaining debt is completely wiped out forever. The taxpayer, however, must comply with all tax laws for five years. There are various other conditions as well. If you don't consult with us you should seek help elsewhere.
• The amount of the offer the IRS will accept varies, depending upon the circumstances of the taxpayer. There are asset and income formulas which must be taken into account. The values of what you own must be determined, but in a different manner than what most of us are used to. The IRS will need a list of your personal living expenses to determine how much money you have left at the end of the month. This is how they tell whether you would be able to pay the whole debt off over time. The monthly expenses, however, are limited to certain averages. You must know these limits before you file.
• IRC Sec. 7122 states: "We will accept an Offer in Compromise when it is unlikely that we can collect the full amount owed and the amount you offer reasonably reflects the collection potential..." The key to a successful offer is experience. We know how to work the system. We have been successful in getting more than a dozen OIC's accepted and closed as well as putting numerous installment agreements in place. In at least one case we were successful in negotiating 20% of what was owed to the IRS. If you don't qualify for an OIC you can probably qualify for a long-term payment arrangement or be classified Currently Not Collectible (CNC) code 53.
If you have any kind of IRS tax liability (large or small) and would like to be considered for an streamlined Installment Payment Plan (liabilities under $50,000), Offer in Compromise, partial payment plan for existing life of statute or noncollectable status) contact us for a FREE confidential consultation regarding your options please call Stephen B. Jordan EA at 603.893.9336 or go to our website Stephen B Jordan EA
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