IRS Law Blog

It is always an honor to be invited to speak at the Annual Conference of the National Association of Enrolled Agents.  Over the past 20 years of working with enrolled agents, I have seen firsthand their strong commitment to education, to learning and staying at the forefront of IRS representation.  In addition to the education, the conference is a great opportunity to make lasting friendships with enrolled agents across the country.

This year, the conference is on August 3-5, 2014 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.

At the conference, I will be presenting on the use of bankruptcy to solve IRS problems; defending against IRS employment tax investigations and the trust fund recovery penalty; and how to prove to the IRS that a levy would cause economic hardship. Here is an overview of each topic:

• Using bankruptcy to solve IRS problems.

Bankruptcy can be a very effective tool to eliminate tax liabilities and get out of a tough bind with the IRS.  But the bankruptcy code has rules that must be followed detailing when a bankruptcy petition can discharge a tax debt.  We will learn those rules, and how bankruptcy operates on the IRS.  We we also dig into how the most common bankruptcies work (Chapters 7 and 13); cover the advantages of bankruptcy on the IRS, including benefits that are not available from direct negotiations with the IRS; and discover how bankruptcy can be a better alternative to offers in compromise, installment agreements or currently uncollectible.

• IRS employment tax investigations and the trust fund recovery penalty.

Liability for unpaid employment taxes can be a cancer, with the tax laws allowing the IRS to go past the business and sweep owners and employees into the collection mix. We will develop a comprehensive understanding of how the IRS can get tough in employment tax cases, and learn how to (1) defend against the IRS’s initial pursuit of collecting unpaid employment taxes from the business (2) defend against the IRS’s methods of finding out who in the business could be found personally liable for repayment of the taxes (known as the trust fund recovery penalty) and (3) prepare for the IRS’s eventual collection of the employment taxes from those who are assessed with personal liability.

• Preventing an IRS levy from causing economic hardship.

How do you prove to the IRS that an attempt to levy would cause economic hardship?  We will learn how to prove economic hardship – and prevent levies – in the tough cases, when the IRS wants a retirement account, or wants to seize equity in a house, or take a vehicle or valuable business equipment.  We will cover the limitations the Internal Revenue Code puts on the IRS’s ability to seize, including rules against no equity seizures and court approval for seizures of personal residences.  We will also learn the internal polices and procedures that the IRS must follow in the Internal Revenue Manual before making a seizure, all of which can prevent, not cause, economic hardship.

Hope to see you there!