Eight IRS settlement options that could save your skin

I think we’ll have to be honest here. Tax settlement companies have a pretty bad rap. The reason? Perhaps they don’t know exactly what they are doing, perhaps they are ethically challenged, and perhaps they prey on people emotions with fear-based marketing instead of empowering taxpayers with real information.

Well, in this article we will go over Eight IRS settlement options you have to negotiate your IRS tax debt based upon what you can pay and based upon if the IRS assessed your tax correctly.

No matter which tax settlement option you chose, for the IRS to find favorably for you, you must package up your proposal nicely.

  Read More…

What to do if your medical practice can’t keep up with tax payments.

In an article today on CNNMoney,  Doctors driven to bankruptcy , Parija Kavilanz, writes:

As many doctors struggle to keep their practices financially sound, some are buckling under money woes and being pushed into bankruptcy.

It’s a trend that’s accelerated in recent years, industry experts say, with potentially serious consequences for doctors and patients. Some physicians are still able to keep practicing after bankruptcy, but for others, it’s a career-ending event. And when a practice shuts its doors, patients can find it harder to get the health care they need nearby.

This doctor is probably writing an S.O.S.

Kavilanz notes the story of one Florida doctor who has a solo practice in Broward County:

As the economy worsened in the wake of the recession, fewer patients could afford to come in. Cash payments and reimbursements dropped. To come up with money to keep the practice going, she took a second job at a hospital. Still, her debt ballooned. She fell behind on state tax payments.

Two years ago, Florida tax officials showed up at her door to shut the clinic down. She quickly called Langley and he was able to file an emergency bankruptcy for her online while the officials were still in the waiting room. He gave them the bankruptcy case number, and they left without closing the clinic. Langley eventually helped the doctor restructure her debt and the clinic is still open, he said.

Read More…

6 Advantages to filings an Offer in Compromise for back IRS payroll taxes.

Very few tax professionals and business owners realize, that just like a personal IRS tax debt, back payroll taxes can be negotiated down using the IRS Offer in Compromise program.  This article will discuss the six advantages of using an Offer in Compromise to settle back payroll tax debt, along with giving some warnings and caveats for those whether or not an Offer in Compromise would be the right move.

Read More…

What to do when you owe the IRS back payroll taxes

A payroll tax problem is the most serious type of tax you can owe the IRS. The IRS monitors all employers to see when you are late with  payroll deposits. I don’t mean to twist the knife, but if you have back payroll taxes, you will be assigned a Revenue Officer. He or she  will come to your place of business and will be very aggressive about collecting from you and finding information. The Revenue Officer will subpoena a bunch of financial documents.  The Revenue Officer may or may not show you respect and understanding. The Revenue Officer will one one hand, ask that you borrow money on one hand, and then on the other hand, file a Federal tax lien against you on the other hand so that you can’t borrow money.  (Note: this is not their fault, this aggressive lien filing stance is the policy of the highest level of the IRS)

The process of owing the IRS back payroll taxes is an invasive, horrible, stressful feeling. If you are experiencing this, you are not alone.  And through this all, you have to assure your employees that everything will be alright, assure your customers all will be well, when in fact, you may not be sure of any of these things.

Back payroll taxes can be explosive situations. Use expert diffusers only

To help stop that slow sinking feeling, this article will show you all the options available to you when you owe the IRS back payroll taxes.

Read More…

Common Questions answered about the IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

The IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty has nothing to do with a trust funds for opulent lifestyles. No, unfortunately, it is a tax assessed against those who said they were going to send money to the IRS on behalf of others but never did.  In this article, we will answer some of the most common questions we are asked about the IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.

Unfortunately, this IRS-type of trust fund won’t put you on a beach in Waikiki.

What is the IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty?

Read More…

Does the IRS charge  interests rates higher than a loan shark for late federal payroll tax deposits?

For employers suffering a cash flow problem and not able to make federal payroll deposits on time, many may wonder “am I better off trying to borrow money from a loan shark?”

The answer to this question – legalities of aside — vary, as I shall explain.

Who will take a bigger bite? The IRS or a loan shark?

Read More…

By Anthony E. Parent, Esq.

Surviving the IRS Form 4180 interview

Unfortunately, this is not the type of trust fund that your rich uncle would make you the beneficiary of. That would be nice, but today we have other things to discuss. Namely the trust fund interview form the IRS uses, known as Form 4180. 

First what is the “Trust Fund” we speak about?

The “trust fund”  is a type of tax. Namely a type of tax that makes up most of the payroll taxes due to the United States Treasury.

It works like this: Payroll taxes are those taxes an employer withholds from employees for income tax and FICA (Social Security/Medicare), long with matching amounts of social security and Medicare taxes that are due from the employers.

Read More…