In the back of your mind, a question lingers: When is the best time to file an offer in compromise? You are right to wonder. The timing of your filing can make a big difference to the outcome. Before jumping in, here is what you should know about the best and worst time to file an offer in compromise: Now may be the best time to file an offer in compromise if: If your earnings are at a low point, and will likely stay there for the next 12 months. If the IRS sees your income heading up while they are looking at your offer, so could your settlement. It can take the IRS at ... Read More
I just got my taxes back and owe the IRS. What happens next?
You just got your tax return back from your accountant. Or maybe you completed the return on your own with tax software. Either way, the result was terrifying. You owe money to the IRS that you cannot pay. And your mind begins to run with worst case scenarios. How will I ever pay them back? Are they going to take my house and car? Bank accounts? Wages? Can I actually stop the IRS and find a reasonable solution? Will I ever be able to get out from under this? The good news is there are ways to settle your taxes, prevent loss of property, and not have the IRS wreck ... Read More
Offer in Compromise: What you should know about calculating your income
If you are self-employed and own a business, you know there are good months and not-so-good months. It can be seasonality (lawn care), or the ebbs and flows of the stock market (financial advisor), or simply waiting for an account receivable to be paid. One thing is constant: Your income goes up, and goes down, and tomorrow can be different from today. At one point, you got behind on taxes, and are considering filing an offer in compromise with the IRS to put the past behind you. But before you jump in, it is important to understand how the variances in your income impacts the IRS ... Read More
Considering an offer in compromise? What to expect after you file
You are tired of owing money to the IRS. That is understandable. Now, you find yourself considering filing an offer in compromise to settle and get a fresh start. Before you jump in, it is important to know what happens inside the IRS to your offer after you send it in. After all, the IRS is a big, often impersonal bureaucracy, and you are asking them to cut you a much needed break. First, let's take a look at the IRS offer in compromise process - what happens after you file, when you will hear back, how long it takes the IRS to work your file, and role of the IRS Offer Examiner. ... Read More
How your living expenses can doom an IRS offer in compromise
You want to the get the IRS off your back, and are considering an offer in compromise. After all, at the end of each month, after you pay your bills, you have little money left to pay the IRS back. Settlement seems logical, right? Hold on, not so fast. The IRS may not give you full credit for all of your living expenses, and calculate that you can pay them more than you actually can. This is because the IRS limits living expenses as part of their offer in compromise analysis. In other words, the IRS will put you on their budget, and disregard yours. If your living expense ... Read More