Make this the year you solve your tax problem – Be Resolute!
The holiday season can be a terrifyingly stressful time of year. If you have been living with unfiled tax returns, unpaid tax balances and looming penalties owed to the IRS, then you have undoubtedly felt an additional burden during what is celebrated as a cheerful season.
This is the special time of year when people make wish lists for treats delivered by a boldly dressed man with a jolly attitude and another list of ambitious goals for the New Year. I sincerely hope that you include fixing your tax problem on both of your lists. I will leave the discussion of the new gym membership for the tax and financial planning related posts…don’t worry, I will wait until after February to publish them.
Resolving a tax problem takes more than hope but it does not have to be out of reach. Not to say that the other items on your lists are out of reach but looking back on some of my own prior New Year resolutions, I begin to question what was in the egg nogg that year.
While there are specific processes, bureaucratic departments and timelines to be adhered to in order to solve a tax problem, the road map to getting your tax issue resolved can be simplified into these three steps:
Understand the issues – let’s find out how it really looks, then run some math
a. What does the IRS think you owe?
b. Which tax returns are required to be filed?
c. What does your current collection ability look like using available allowances?
Become eligible for a resolution – return to being in compliance in the eyes of the IRS
a. File all required tax returns (it may not be as many as you think)
b. Confirm you are currently withholding correctly or making required estimated tax payments, including employer payroll tax deposits, if applicable
Request a resolution – receive closure for your tax problem with a collection alternative
a. Offer in compromise – settle your balance due for less than the IRS believes you owe
b. Installment agreement – enter a payment plan that either partially or fully satisfies the balance due
c. Change your status to Currently Not Collectible – convince the IRS that you cannot be collected from at this time and defer collection activity and unwelcomed notices until your income or circumstances change enough to renegotiate your options
d. Penalty abatement – Nobody enjoys paying more than they must, especially when it comes to taxes. Under specific administrative procedures and IRS guidelines, you may be able to reduce the additional amounts tacked on to your balance owed
If this is the year that you are ready to move on from living with prior tax problems and take back control of your financial future, then use the road map outlined above to resolve your tax problem. Each and every household has a different set of circumstances and story to share, why not get your story told and tax problem resolved?
One call or e-mail message is all that is required to schedule a consultation to better understand your specific tax problem. While the formal processes and procedures of the IRS may be new and unfamiliar to you, you are most definitely not alone. There are millions of others with tax issues to be resolved but you are the only one who can take control of when you want to solve yours. Have you added “fixing tax problem” to your list?