Learn how to settle your tax debt with an offer in compromise.
The IRS is a tenacious debt collector. Even if you file bankruptcy, not all of your tax debts may be dischargeable. Because of how challenging it can be to deal with tax debts, the idea of paying off a tax debt for less than what you owe sounds very appealing. Luckily, the IRS has something for taxpayers called an offer in compromise.
Continue reading “Offer in Compromise: What to Expect”
With a new year comes new tax rules and laws to be aware of. Some of these are good and some of these are not-so-good. Let’s take a quick look at some of the more notable changes and what they could mean for your 2022 taxes.
Continue reading “2022 Tax Trends and Tips”
The weather is getting colder and signs of the holiday season have arrived. But besides spending more time with family and friends, now is the time to think about taxes. The following is a list of tax strategies to make the most of 2021 and prepare for the 2022 tax year.
Continue reading “End of Year Tax Planning Guide for 2021”
One of the reasons why tax debts are so challenging for taxpayers is because they’re so difficult to get rid of. They often can’t be discharged during bankruptcy. Then there’s the ability of the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to place liens on the taxpayer’s property and garnish wages.
Continue reading “Settling Your Tax Debt with an Offer in Compromise”
For the most part, we can’t get away with not paying our taxes. So what happens when you don’t pay your taxes when they are due? Does an IRS agent come to your bank and take money from your bank account? Or do you get a letter in the mail a month later saying the IRS has a lien on your property?
Both situations are possible, at least to some degree. However, a lot can happen from the moment a tax obligation comes into existence and the IRS takes action against you.
Continue reading “What Happens When You Owe the IRS and Don’t Pay?”
What Is an Offer in Compromise?
If you’ve found yourself drawing the ire of the IRS due to unpaid tax debts, you might be wondering what your options are. Well, one of the most enticing is the offer in compromise, or OIC. This allows you to potentially satisfy your tax debt for less than what you fully owe. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it? It is if you can get it, as the IRS has the right to reject a taxpayer’s OIC.
Continue reading “Offers in Compromise”
You may have heard those commercials about settling a tax debt for pennies on the dollar. It sounds too good to be true, but is it? Yes and no. While it’s possible to significantly reduce your tax debt with the IRS, you’re probably not going to be able to pay pennies on the dollar. The following blog post intends to explain what the offer in compromise (OIC) is and help you determine if it’s something you should consider. Continue reading “Using an Offer in Compromise to Settle Your Tax Debt”
We’ve previously written about tax scams, especially those involving the telephone. However, scams involving the telephone aren’t the only ones taxpayers need to be aware of. Another common scam, called phishing, uses e-mails and websites.
Perhaps you’ve seen or heard the television ads, where an individual claims to have their IRS tax debt settled for significantly less than what they owe. How is this possible? Through something called an offer in compromise, or OIC. But what is it and how does it work?
One of the IRS’ most powerful tools to collect a tax debt is wage garnishment. Wage garnishment is the ability to take a portion of an employee’s wages directly from his or her paycheck. Wage garnishment is a very intrusive method of collection and several ways to deal with it are discussed below.
Before the IRS can begin taking money directly from a taxpayer’s paycheck, it must go through several steps. It generally begins with written notice to the taxpayer regarding the amount of the tax debt along with any penalties and interest. Assuming the taxpayer doesn’t take suitable action in response to this first letter, the IRS will send another written notice, explaining the intent to place garnish the taxpayer’s wages.
Assuming the taxpayer still does not adequately respond within a certain period of time (typically 30 days), the IRS will start garnishing the taxpayer’s wages. The IRS does not need to get a court judgment before garnishment can begin.
The IRS will then directly contact the taxpayer’s employer and force them to deduct a portion of the taxpayer’s paycheck and send it to the IRS. The amount the IRS can garnish depends on the size of the paycheck. The law does not limit how much the IRS can garnish, but rather, how much the IRS must leave behind in each paycheck for the taxpayer. The amount the IRS must leave will depend on the taxpayer’s filing status.
The following is a list of methods for stopping or stalling wage garnishment. None of the methods will actually make the entire tax debt go away, but will allow the taxpayer to pay the outstanding tax bill using another method or buy time before wage garnishment resumes. Also, all of the below methods require any back tax returns to be filed with the IRS.
This method is idealistic, since the wage garnishment process probably wouldn’t have started if the taxpayer had enough money to pay his or her taxes. However, getting rid of the IRS debt, even if it means incurring interest charges by borrowing money, might be worth it for emotional well-being if nothing else.
An offer in compromise is a means of paying off a tax debt for less than the full amount. Taxpayers must apply for an offer in compromise and it’s up to the IRS’ discretion whether to accept it. For more information, check out our earlier offer in compromise blog post.
If a monthly installment agreement can be established where the tax debt can be paid off in three years or less, the IRS will usually agree to stop garnishing a taxpayer’s wages.
If the taxpayer can prove that the wage garnishment is creating a severe financial hardship, the garnishment can be halted until the taxpayer’s financial situation improves. The taxpayer will be required to show that the wage garnishment does not leave enough money for the taxpayer to pay for basic living expenses.
When a taxpayer changes jobs, the IRS eventually finds out, then goes through the process of contacting the new employer and re-establishing the wage garnishment. This can buy the taxpayer some time where his or her wages aren’t garnished, although it merely delays the inevitable.
This is an extreme option, given the financial repercussions to the taxpayer’s credit history and cost of filing for bankruptcy. Also, it won’t wipe out the tax debt, but it can stop the wage garnishment for a period of time.
Deciding which method is best will depend on each taxpayer’s unique circumstances. Figuring out which option to use and how to use it will almost always require the advice of a qualified tax professional.