Blog - Page 2 of 49 - Howard Levy is a Cincinnati tax attorney with the experience to find solutions to your IRS problems.

Why the IRS wants to levy your wages, and how to get them to back off

By Howard S. Levy, Esq., IRS levies and property seizures

One of the biggest fears in owing the IRS is not knowing what will come next. You may feel as if you are always looking over your shoulder, wondering if today is the day the IRS will show its teeth - it's a horrible feeling. Maybe you have not heard from the IRS, or they have not heard from you. When the IRS is kept in the dark, they tend to get aggressive. This aggression rears its head in the form of the IRS levying your wages, income, accounts, and property. Or maybe your account is active in the IRS collection queue, with the IRS calling you or sending letters threatening to ... Read More

Protect your passport from the IRS: Responding to letter CP508C

By Howard S. Levy, Esq., IRS Collection Problems

The IRS has the power to take your wages, bank accounts, house, and even your retirement account. Additionally, they have the power to restrict your travel. Maybe you are getting ready to travel overseas on a business trip, or have a long-planned trip abroad to visit friends or family members. Maybe you are overseas now and want to return to the states. If you owe money to the IRS, your travel plans can be in jeopardy. Internal Revenue Code Section 7345 allows the IRS to revoke, deny, and limit your passport if you have unpaid taxes. To notify you that they want to take away ... Read More

How to avoid IRS Form 433A financial disclosures

By Howard S. Levy, Esq., Automated Collection Service, Collection Financial Standards, Form 433A, Installment agreements, Interest and penalties, IRS Financial Statements, IRS levies and property seizures, Retirement accounts and the IRS, Revenue Officers

A local IRS collection agent, known as a Revenue Officer, has contacted you, possibly with a surprise visit to your home or work. The Revenue Officer has been assigned your IRS debt for collection, and is about to launch a full investigation into your finances. Or, maybe you are getting up the nerve to give the IRS Automated Collection Service a call, prepared to discuss your debt and make payment arrangements. Either way, at the core, the IRS wants to know how they can get paid. They will want the following information: Where you bank, and how much is in the account. Name of ... Read More

Your IRS agent: Not always the “Bad Guy”

By Howard S. Levy, Esq., Automated Collection Service, IRS Audits, IRS Collection Problems, Revenue Officers

IRS agents - are they as bad as you think they are? Receiving a demand letter from the an IRS Revenue Officer on a Friday can ruin your weekend. Preparing to call and speak with an agent of the IRS Automated Collection System can splinter your nerves. Responding to an IRS auditor's investigation of your tax return can make your pulse run and mind wander with anxiety. An IRS Revenue Officer once told me "I am not a bad guy, but just the face of the bad guy." They have families, children, hobbies, friends outside of work, and take vacations. They are just like you. And, like you, ... Read More

IRS allowable living expenses: Collection guidelines you need to know

By Howard S. Levy, Esq., Automated Collection Service, Collection Financial Standards, Form 433A, Installment agreements, Revenue Officers

You want to repay the IRS, and have a number in mind of what you can afford monthly, but will the IRS accept it? Well, maybe. It all depends on how your monthly living expenses match up to IRS budgeting guidelines. The IRS calls these budgeting guidelines "allowable living expenses" (also referred to as "collection financial standards"). Allowable living expenses can be rigid, as the IRS has their own standards for your living expenses - they will need you to budget in an effort to increase the amount you can repay them. That's right: the IRS will not necessarily accept your ... Read More