A Payment Arrangement Can Let You Take That Vacation

Posted on May 14, 2012 by ChristineM

Did you file your taxes this year and find that you owe a lot more than you thought? Maybe you were convinced you’d get a refund but because of a specific stipulation, or just the wrong amount of taxes taken from your paycheck, you owe. And maybe you had great plans for this summer that are now being threatened because your vacation money may become your tax debt money.

If you get a payment arrangement set up, you can still head off on that great vacation while paying off what you owe. Because you can pay in installments, it’ll suit your financial needs while still letting you do the other things you wish to do.

Working with the IRS towards a proper payment arrangement can be a bit daunting, especially if they try to get you to pay more than you can currently handle. Talking to a tax attorney may help ease the issues, where as they can advise you about the best approach and the maximum amount you can pay without hurting yourself or your family’s plans.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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IRS Offer In Compromise For Those Financially Strained

Posted on May 7, 2012 by ChristineM

There are times when you get hit with taxes due and you have no idea how you’ll be able to pay them off. You might stress out and think that you are stuck having to pay a chunk of money you can’t really afford, because it is the IRS after all. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that there is an option for an IRS offer in compromise.  The IRS can let you settle your tax debt at a smaller amount if you can successfully prove that paying the full amount would put you into financial hardship.

To figure out if you qualify,  you need to go through the proper paperwork. You also have to be up to date on all your past payments and not have an open bankruptcy case. It can be helpful to have a tax attorney on your side, to help you figure out all the nuances and what kind of offer you can get.

Don’t feel trapped just because you got the piece of paper in the mail saying you owe a certain amount. The IRS is always willing to work with people, within their means.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Now is the Time to Look Into Innocent Spouse Relief

Posted on April 23, 2012 by ChristineM

With tax day having come and gone, you know if your spouse owes a large amount of money or not. And you also know whether you are responsible for any of that sum. There are times when our loved ones make choices or bring themselves into a certain amount of debt and we know that we will also be held responsible for payment, even if we didn’t have a part in it. Innocent spouse relief proves to the IRS that you had no fault in the money that is owed and can be exempt from any collections or debts due.

It is hard for anyone to go through the process because they don’t want to make their spouses think they are trying to shift the blame on them, or aren’t being supportive. But they have to understand  that they cannot use you as an accomplice and try to get you to pay as well if it is not your responsibility.

Of course, permission from your spouse isn’t needed. What you do need is a great tax attorney to help take a look at the paperwork and the return and see if they can help you with innocent spouse relief. You should be able to walk away if you aren’t liable and they can help you do just that legally.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Tomorrow Is Tax Day!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by ChristineM

Due to today being Emancipation Day in Washington D.C, you get a little reprieve for getting everything in order. So tomorrow, April 17th, is this year’s tax day. If you haven’t filed yet, it’s time to stop what you are doing, get your paper work together, and head out to either a preparer or jump online and file them yourself.

Before you start panicking, take a deep breath and make sure you have everything. Your w-2s, your ID number from last year’s filing, any other forms of income and receipts that may garner you a tax deduction this year.

In some cases, you can get an extension for IRS collections and filing, but you better ask for one as soon as possible so you don’t garner any extra charges in the meantime. The IRS are pretty willing to help you out, as long as you call and explain your situation.

Make time today or tonight to file your taxes. It’s best to use E-file, but if you must send it out through snail mail, get that April 17th stamp on it or it’ll be considered late and that can affect the results of your IRS collections.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Unfiled 2008 Tax Returns Amount to $1 Billion

Posted on April 9, 2012 by ChristineM

It may be odd to some to think that those who get a refund didn’t file their tax returns. But it happens fairly often. And right now, the IRS says it has about $1 billion in refunds to give away to people who did not file their 2008 returns. To collect the money, the 2008 return has to be filed by April 17th.

The biggest reason why people do not file is because they feel they have made too little to either get a refund, or it’s just such a small yearly amount that they don’t, by law, HAVE to file. But these people probably would have gotten a return.  In fact, over 60,000 people in New York alone didn’t file for 08.

If you or anyone you know may have skipped out on their 2008 filing, it’s time to hurry up and send it in. In fact, filing now can help you with tax debt relief. If you have a refund coming to you, the IRS can apply it to any debt you may have. That can make a big dent in an otherwise stressful situation.

Let tax debt turn into tax debt relief and make sure you filed your 2008 return!

 

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Keeping Up With Tax Laws

Posted on April 2, 2012 by ChristineM

We don’t realize it, but there are  often a lot of changes in tax laws in a variety of states. You might be surprised how much changes every year if you do a little searching. And no matter who you are, an individual, freelancer, or owner of a business, we all need to be aware of these changes and how they might affect us.  But sometimes, it’s not so easy to be on top of it until we realize IRS collections are hitting us hard for changes in laws we didn’t know about.

That’s often why consulting a tax attorney can be a good thing. Even if you aren’t bringing a case to court, their legal services can also help you in understanding the recent changes that have been made, if they may affect you as an individual or business, and what you need to do about it. It may be as simple as changing the way you file a certain deduction, or it may be even greater than that. But you want to be on top of changes so they don’t surprise you, come tax day.

 

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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IRS Collections on Extra Income and Prizes

Posted on March 26, 2012 by ChristineM

When it comes to filing your taxes, you think that you just have to plug in some of the information from your W-2s and you’re done. But you need to take a very close look at any extra income you may have made along the way, because you need to pay taxes on those as well. And if you don’t properly file them this year for your IRS collections, you might find yourself in trouble or even audited.

Extra income can come from any source, whether you worked freelance or privately for a company. If you get paid for being part of major research studies, you may be taxed. If you win a vacation, that needs to be properly taxed as well, so don’t just think you can head off to Fiji without a care in the world! It’s important that you have all the paperwork in order to properly fill out the right amounts for everything.

Don’t get into trouble with IRS collections; make sure you have everything on hand so there are no surprises.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Filing Late Tax Returns

Posted on March 19, 2012 by ChristineM

You still have plenty of time to get your tax returns filed, but things creep up on us. Family events, business endeavors, and other such distractions that may make you lose track of time.  And before you know it, you find yourself filing a late tax return, scared of IRS collections and other incurring charges for missing the deadline. These are called back taxes and just because you missed the deadline, doesn’t mean you should forget about filing them.

You want to make sure you get your taxes filed as soon as possible because the IRS imposes strict time limits for getting a refund, collecting tax debts and auditing your returns. If you miss the window, you could lose out on extra cash or pay a penalty for not paying on time. There’s no reason to get yourself in such a situation.

You may want to look into hiring a tax preparer to help you out and get it done as fast as possible. In these sort of situations, the faster you can get tax debt relief, the better.

 

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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How to Invest Your Tax Return

Posted on March 12, 2012 by ChristineM

If you are getting a healthy tax return and have avoided IRS collections, you might be excited to go off on vacation or buy a new big screen television. But the best thing you can do with your return is invest it in a few different things.

First, take some of that money to pay off credit  cards. You may not be able to pay off the entire bill, but if you contribute a good amount to it, you’ll be able to cut it down immensely.

Second, put some of it towards the mortgage or save some to have a back up on rent. You never know what could happen so you should have a couple months rent saved up, just in case you come into a financial problem.

You should also take the time to see how an extra bit of cash can be put into retirement plans. It is getting harder and harder to have a set financial plan for retirement, so doing what you can now will really help you in the long run.

It’s good to know that you won’t have to deal with IRS collections, just make sure you put money where it should go and not just splurge.

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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Payroll Tax Info For Employers

Posted on March 5, 2012 by ChristineM

As an employer, you have to make sure that you properly report payroll tax info to the IRS. Normally,  this is reported by taking the gross pay and various deductions to come up with a net pay. But calculating various payroll deductions can be a bit confusing, in that your accountant  needs to be detail oriented and very careful with numbers as to not make a mistake that the IRS might come back to you on.

Your responsibility continues long after you give paychecks to your employees. You have to make sure you deposit tax dollars withheld from employee paychecks , preparing reports,  and filing payroll tax returns, plus a lot more other paperwork.

If you find yourself in hot water with the IRS and you believe that it may have just  been a mistake on your part, you should contact a tax attorney to find out what steps you can make next. An experienced tax attorney will know how to get you out of a situation that you didn’t mean to find yourself in.

 

 

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: Per regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, any tax advice contained herein is not intended or written for use, and cannot be used, to avoid tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

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