Tax Problems: The Anatomy of Tax Resolution
Posted by Dean Alexander on Mon, Jul 26, 2010
Many taxpayers seek tax resolution services only after things go so bad. The IRS threatens you with wage garnishment or a bank levy or may have filed a tax lien against you. Now what will you do? An immediate call to your CPA or your tax lawyer to handle your tax problems to get IRS representation? Most likely this will be your first call to action.
Your CPA, IRS lawyer or enrolled agent will collect financial data from you. The priority is to remove the bank levy or the wage garnishment. Sometimes they cannot begin to negotiate any tax debt relief unless you are in compliance. Compliance for IRS tax settlement purposes means filing all your back taxes.
Assuming you have filed all your previous tax returns and now we know all your back taxes which with interest and penalties make up your tax debt. It is now time to search for a negotiated IRS tax settlement to get rid of this nagging IRS problem. We spoke in previous blogs about how to remove bank levies and wage garnishment through either an installment agreement or an offer in compromise which may provide your tax help that you are looking for when seeking IRS representation.
We want this time to talk about currently not collectible status as a way of settling IRS debt. For starters we want to state that both currently not collectible status and offer in compromise are available to people who owe back taxes to the IRS; qualifying for one most likely allows you to qualify for the other.
If you qualify for one as a tax resolution, you probably qualify for the other except when you have net assets. If you have no income to pay your tax debts and you do have assets the best alternative to settle your IRS problem is currently not collectible and not offer in compromise. Please consult your CPA, tax attorney or other tax professionals to discuss in further detail.