General Description
IRS tax problem resolution is a special area of our professional
practice involving unfiled tax returns, unpaid taxes, tax liens or
levies, audit representation and any other type of tax controversy. As
members of the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers who have earned
recognition as Certified Tax Resolution Specialists, we are uniquely
qualified to represent taxpayers before the IRS and other tax
authorities. Some of the specialized services we provide in this arena
include the following:
Offer In Compromise
Installment Agreement
Penalty Abatement
Audit Representation
Your IRS File
Unfiled Returns
Statutes of Limitations
Liens, Levies and Garnishees
Innocent Spouse
Offer In Compromise
Offer In Compromise is the government's
"Let's Make A Deal" program that allows you to pay an amount you can
afford to satisfy your entire tax liability. It even includes the
penalties and interest. Yes, the amount you pay is based on what you
can afford, not the amount you owe!The program allows an eligible
taxpayer to pay what they can afford to pay regardless of the amount
they owe. Once the offer is accepted and paid the taxpayer is then
current with all their tax liabilities.
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Installment Agreement
We can secure an agreement with the IRS
to allow monthly payments on your tax liability. The agreement keeps
them from filing liens and levies as long as the payments are made.
Without an agreement the IRS may take money from your paycheck or bank
accounts, they can file liens against your home or other property. We
may be able to combine an Installment Agreement with Penalty Abatement,
described below.
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Penalty Abatement
The IRS increases the amount a taxpayer
owes by adding penalties and interest to the unpaid tax. In many cases
a taxpayer could pay the tax, but thanks to the penalties and interest,
the ever-growing balance quickly becomes unmanageable. Often we are
able to have the penalties and interest reduced or eliminated by
providing reasonable cause. Further, we may be able to couple penalty
abatement with and Installment Agreement.
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Audit Representation
You shouldn't consider going before the
IRS without representation any more than you would go to court without
a lawyer. We know how to properly represent taxpayers under audit. We
understand the implication of "friendly inquiries" from auditors and
are aware of the red flags that may not be apparent to a taxpayers
representing themselves. We are able to close audits quckly and avoid
expansion of the audit scope. Generally, the cost of representation is
far less than the amount saved through qualified representation.
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Your IRS File
We will secure your IRS file without
raising any red flags. Filing under the Freedom of Information Act we
can review and interpret the IRS transcripts for you. This record
reveals your history with the IRS (according to them.) We may also
anticipate their moves based on the information posted to your account.
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Unfiled Returns
Failure to file a tax return is a
criminal offense that may be punishable by one year in jail-for each
unfiled year! In most situations we can prepare and file delinquent
returns avoiding exposure to such harsh penalties. In some cases the
IRS has prepared a return for you and assessed the tax based on that
return. These returns will reflect income items without credit for
deductions or exemptions you are entitled to. Therefore, the amount of
tax assessed is higher than the amount we would calculate considering
appropriate deductions and exemptions.
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Statutes of Limitations
The IRS only has so long to assess the
tax they want from you. And, there is a limitation on the time they
have to collect tax once it is assessed. As part of our engagement we
will review the statutes to see if any have expired or are about to
expire.
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Liens, Levies and Garnishees
The IRS may take money from your paycheck
or bank account by garnishee or levy. They may place liens on your
house or other assets. We can often prevent this or have these lifted
so you can afford to pay your bills. If you are presently dealing with
or concerned about a lien, levy or garnishee we can help. Remember, the
earlier we address the problem the more successful we are likely to be.
Ignoring a tax problem is usually asking for a bigger problem.
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Innocent Spouse
Special new rules went into effect under
the 1998 IRS Restructuring Act. The new rules protect innocent spouses
from exposure to IRS collection actions related to a spouse or former
spouse's tax liability. If the IRS is trying to collect tax related to
the income of a (current or
former) spouse that you believe you don't owe, call us for a free
consultation.
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