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Have you received a letter or notice from a tax agency and don’t know what to do next?
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Are you ready to catch up on your overdue tax responsibilities and want to confidentially and privately find out what the next steps might be?
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Do you have a complicated tax issue that requires expert advice from a tax professional?
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If you said yes to any of these questions, then you’re in the right place to get some expert help with your tax problems. We’ve represented and negotiated before the IRS for clients with tax problems of all kinds, and we can help you, too.
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You’re not alone if you have a tax problem. An IRS spokesperson estimated that over eight million people in the U.S. owe more than $83 billion in past due taxes, interest, and penalties in 2009.
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It’s taxing on your peace of mind to have this kind of burden weighing you down. You can get relief by having a tax professional on your side, walking you through the entire process.
The Dreaded Letter from the IRS
If you’ve received a tax notice, IRS letter, audit notice, or other tax correspondence from the IRS, a state agency, or a local agency, it can be difficult to know what to do next. We frequently represent clients with IRS penalties, interest, and taxes due, and we can help you, too.
The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and local entities will send a letter if one of the following happens:
- You miss a payment deadline for payroll taxes due.
- You miss a deadline for filing payroll tax reports.
- You miss a deadline for filing your personal or corporate income tax returns.
- You miss a deadline for paying tax due from your personal or corporate income tax returns.
- You miss a deadline for filing and/or paying corporate franchise tax due.
- An amount paid is short or over what the IRS or another tax agency calculates as due.
- The agency notices a discrepancy on any of your tax returns and needs an explanation.
- You have been selected for an audit.
- You fail to respond to previous correspondence.
Please note: The IRS will never send you an email about any of the above situations. They always send physical letters. If you get an email, it’s a scam.
If the letter says you have penalties and/or interest due, it’s very important to respond quickly so the penalties and interest will not accumulate and grow to a higher amount due. If you don’t respond, the IRS and other tax agencies can apply liens, levies, garnishments, and seizures in an attempt to collect payment. For example, they have frozen bank accounts so that the owner cannot access their money. You don’t want it to escalate to this level.
Failure to File Your Tax Returns
Sometimes life just gets in the way. You feel too busy or have experienced a divorce, illness, job loss, or death in your family that sidetracked you from filing your tax return on time. Or you could just be overwhelmed with the whole process of filing your taxes. Perhaps you don’t have the money to pay your taxes and thought you should wait to file (this is NOT a good idea).
You may also have a special situation with your spouse if they promised to file and didn’t or they don’t file correctly or they don’t pay. In some cases, you can claim that you were the “innocent spouse” and get your account corrected.
Whatever your situation, we are here for you when you are ready to get caught up, and the sooner, the better. We can help you relieve that huge psychological burden so you feel lighter and free from all that stress.
The IRS is very aggressive about coming after non-filers and non-payers. So even if you don’t owe that much, you’ll want to file right away to stop the penalties and interest from adding up.
Failure to Pay Taxes
If you owe money to the IRS but can’t pay, you can work out an arrangement with the IRS to make payments. In accounting terms, this is called an Offer in Compromise, and often, a tax professional can negotiate the amount due to a reasonable total that you can pay.
If this is your first “offense” with the IRS, you may be eligible for a First-Time Penalty Abatement, which waives your penalties.
If you can’t pay the amount due at once, you can try to work out an Installment Agreement, like a loan, to make payments until your debt is satisfied.
Working with a Tax Professional
It’s serious business to owe the IRS money. They do not fool around. It’s a great idea to get a tax professional working for you. They can help you:
- Respond professionally to IRS correspondence
- Contact the IRS on your behalf so that you don’t have to face them directly
- Act as a bridge or buffer between you and the IRS
- Get you caught up on filing back tax returns that are late
- Understand the IRS Collections process and your rights
- Negotiate penalties, interest, and taxes due to lower your debt
- Work out a payment plan on any money you owe to the IRS
- Fight for you on issues that come up, such as innocent spouse situations or positions taken on tax returns
- Help you get levies and liens removed from your assets.
Please be cautious in this area: there are many unscrupulous companies on the internet that advertise tax representation services. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. We also discourage you from representing yourself, since trained professionals who know the ropes and the red tape can often get a better outcome for their clients.
Solutions for Your Toughest Tax Challenges
Our trained and certified tax professionals work diligently to find the best outcome we can on your tax issues. Your situation is handled with the utmost confidentiality and privacy. Please feel free to call or email us at no obligation to confidentially discuss your tax problem and how we can help.
