An offer in compromise allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe. It may be a legitimate option if you can’t pay your full tax liability or doing so creates a financial hardship. We consider your unique set of facts and circumstances: We generally approve an offer in […]

A Summary of the IRS Fresh Start Initiative Recently, you may have heard a lot about the Fresh Start Initiative in radio ads, tv advertisements, online and more—like it is some recent change the IRS made. In reality, the IRS officially launched the Fresh Start initiative (FSI) in 2011 in order to help taxpayers get […]

From Accounting Today As IRS budgets and audit staff continue to diminish, audit numbers are at an all-time low. But when you file your clients’ returns, the most common question persists: “How likely am I to be audited?” Taxpayers whose returns stray far away from the norm or have “large, unusual or questionable items” can […]

How one man used the ‘innocent spouse’ rule to win some relief in Tax Court From the Wall Street Journal Rick Jacobsen’s wife embezzled nearly $500,000. After her conviction, the Internal Revenue Service asked him to pay more than $100,000 of taxes due on her theft. Yes, embezzled funds are taxable, and Mr. Jacobsen and […]

 “Settle Your Back Taxes for a Fraction of What You Owe – Tax Evaluation Waiting! Stop IRS Collections Now.” –Google search ad results, September 2018 What’s true is that the IRS has a program that allows taxpayers to settle their tax debts for less than the amount they owe. The formal name for this tax […]

The U.S. Tax Court has rejected Wesley Snipes’ appeal of the IRS’s rejection of his offer in compromise. Snipes has federal deliquent tax liabilities of approximately $23.5 million for tax years 2001-2006, largely as a result of his failure to file tax returns. The movie actor served three years in prison for failure to file […]

Warwick, R.I.: Preparer Raymond Petrarca has pleaded guilty to 44 counts of filing fraudulent returns for clients. According to documents and information provided to the court, Petrarca owned and operated the tax prep business Stratus Financial Group. He admitted to falsifying 44 returns prepared for clients between tax years 2010 and 2015, seeking undeserved federal refunds. […]

The IRS Collection Process: A Review of the Basics Procedure & Administration The IRS is the largest collection agency in the country and by far the strongest, empowered by Congress to take actions necessary to collect taxes owed to the federal government. Such a wide-ranging power can easily create some fear among those who do […]

Will my IRS debt ever just go away?  Will there ever be a time that the IRS will just leave me alone? Yes, and yes. The collection of most every IRS debt eventually ends, and that would include yours.  This is called the statute of limitations on IRS collections.  The Internal Revenue Code gives the […]

To encourage prompt payment of withheld income and employment taxes, including social security taxes, railroad retirement taxes, or collected excise taxes, Congress passed a law that provides for the TFRP. These taxes are called trust fund taxes because you actually hold the employee’s money in trust until you make a federal tax deposit in that […]