Fresh Start Installment Agreements You can make monthly payments through an installment agreement if you’re not financially able to pay your tax debt immediately. However, you will reduce or eliminate a number of penalties and interest you pay and avoid the fee associated with setting up an installment agreement if you pay your tax bill […]

Estimated Taxes Estimated tax is the method used to pay tax on income that is not subject to withholding. This includes income from self-employment, interest, dividends, alimony, rent, gains from the sale of assets, prizes and awards. You also may have to pay estimated tax if the amount of income tax being withheld from your […]

An offer in compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles and resolves the taxpayer’s tax debt. The IRS has the authority to settle, or “compromise,” federal tax liabilities by accepting less than full payment under certain circumstances. A tax debt can be legally compromised for one of the following reasons: […]

A taxpayer can appeal most collection actions. If the request for appeal is timely, in most cases, all collection activity will stop during the appeals process.  The main options for appeals are the following: Collection Due Process (CDP) The purpose of a Collection Due Process hearing is to review collection actions that were taken or […]

My client and Mr. X purchased an automobile repair shop, which they owned 50/50. Initially, Mr. X ran the business. My client was the signatory on the company checking account, but signed few checks and was generally not kept apprised of business matters. Suddenly, Mr. X disappeared.  A few weeks later, he was arrested in […]

While life can get in the way and cause you to miss filing timely tax returns, the IRS is notoriously unsympathetic when it comes to money they allege you owe. While filing late or having a backlog of unfiled returns can seem overwhelming, following these steps can protect you and your assets. If the filing […]

IRS Fresh Start Program Helps Taxpayers Who Owe the IRS The IRS Fresh Start program makes it easier for taxpayers to pay back taxes and avoid tax liens. Even small business taxpayers may benefit from Fresh Start. Here are three important features of the Fresh Start program: Tax Liens.The Fresh Start program increased the amount […]

Mystic Pizza Owner Gets Prison Sentence for Tax Evasion (From Accounting Today) The owner of Mystic Pizza, the Connecticut pizzeria made famous by the 1988 Julia Roberts movie of the same name, has been sentenced to over a year in prison on charges of tax evasion and structuring cash transactions. John Zelepos, 49, of North […]

IRS Warns of Latest Tax Scams (From Accounting Today) The Internal Revenue Service is cautioning taxpayers and tax practitioners against the newest scams as losses top $20 million in money stolen from victims by fraudsters claiming to work for the IRS and other government agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles. The IRS said Thursday […]

IRS Adopts Taxpayer Bill of Rights (From Accounting Today) The Internal Revenue Service has adopted a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” that it said would become a cornerstone document to provide the nation’s taxpayers with a better understanding of their rights. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights takes multiple existing rights that have already been included in […]