5 things to always do when talking to the IRS.

1.     Be courteous and respectful.  You will get nowhere with an angry or condescending attitude, and will just give the IRS reason to come down harder on you.  When your head is in the mouth of the bear, say nice bear.
2.     Abide by deadlines, or call for more time if one can’t be met.  Don’t [...]

Agreements to repay IRS debts under $25,000 can be simple and straightforward.

I often have new clients come in who owe the IRS under $25,000 and have the ability to repay the debt with monthly installment agreements.  If we determine they can repay the debt within 60 months, we secure from the IRS a repayment that is called a “streamlined installment agreement.”  The Internal Revenue Manual makes these [...]

IRS collectors moved to answering questions on economic stimulus refund

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has outlined the costs to the IRS collection function in implementing President Bush’s Economic Stimulus Refunds. 
Of the roughly 2,000 employees in the IRS Automated Collection Service, the GAO report stated that approximately half were moved in this spring from collecting delinquent taxes to answering taxpayer calls about the economic stimulus refund.  
Here’s the [...]