You have worked hard all of your life, creating a business, serving customers, taking care of employees, and providing for your family. Suddenly, your business ran into a few bumps in the road, and money got a little tight. Then, it is time to make payroll, but you are short on funds to pay your employees' withholding taxes to the IRS. You can keep the business afloat, but it is at the cost of keeping the payroll taxes to run the business. The result: You fall behind on your IRS tax obligations. And that can be scary - your livelihood now being put up against the IRS collection ... Read More
IRS collectors can say the darndest things – are they true?
You pick up the phone, and call the IRS Automated Collection Service, maybe with some questions, or just to try to resolve your account. Or you have a meeting with an IRS Revenue Officer, who has contacted you to investigate your finances and gather any unfiled tax returns. During the conversations, statements will be made to you about how the IRS collects taxes, and what they can do to you, and what your rights are. The good news is few IRS agents will lead you astray, are familiar with the tax laws that regulate the IRS's collection power, and will give it to you straight. But ... Read More
IRS computer-generated collection letters: How to protect yourself.
A common fear is that an IRS agent may show up one day at your door, take your house, your wages, and your property. But if the IRS wants to get your attention on a tax debt, chances are you can expect to find an aggressive collection letter in your mailbox rather than find them at your front door. The IRS only has a few local collection agents, with most enforcement staffing located at several call centers, known as the IRS Automated Collection System. As the IRS has more computer resources than local agents (known as Revenue Officers), they assign most cases to call centers. Only ... Read More
Warning signs: Is an IRS Revenue Officer about to contact you?
Surprises can be fun - birthdays, anniversaries, maybe even one in a scary movie. But one surprise that you don't want is an unannounced visit from an IRS Revenue Officer. That can make you feel like a scary movie is coming to life. A Revenue Officer can take your house, levy your wages, clean out your bank account, and even take your business equipment. You may feel like confronting Freddy Krueger is a better option. If you owe money to the IRS, Revenue Officers have more power than any other IRS employee. An IRS decision to send a Revenue Officer to you is not random, but ... Read More
Why the IRS wants to levy your wages, and how to get them to back off
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