Tax Relief

Important information you should know:

You have the right to be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies (PCAs) contacting you on behalf of the IRS. Among other rights, you have the right to:

• disagree with your tax bill
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handles your tax case
• appeal most IRS collection actions,
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason (such as if you move),
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters, and receive a receipt for any payment you make.

If you want someone to represent you when dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you may choose to represent yourself, or you may have an attorney, a certified public accountant, an enrolled agent, or any person enrolled to practice before the IRS represent you. For example, you may want your representative to respond to a tax bill that you believe is incorrect.

Also, you can be represented by a member of your immediate family, or in the case of a business, by regular full-time employees, general partners or bonafide officers.

Before you hire professional representation always check to ensure they meet the following standards:

5 Quality Standards for Tax Resolution Companies

If you choose to work with a Tax Resolution company, it's important to work with a company that will provide the best possible service. Thoroughly examine any company you choose to work with and make sure they meet the following quality standards.

• Better Business Bureau: Check a company's Better Business Bureau rating before hiring them. They should to be BBB Accredited members with a Rating of A or higher. Additionally, it's important to make sure the company has no unresolved
  complaints.
• Stability: Companies with at least 10 years of experience are ideal to work with. You want a company to display stability in the industry.
• Experience: Check for client testimonials on the company website or paperwork. A variety of diverse cases completed shows experience.
• D&B Listed: Each company should adhere to Dun & Bradstreet's highest quality standards. Dun & Bradstreet is the world's premier source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling consumers to decide with confidence.
• Chamber of Commerce: Only work with companies that are official members of their local chambers of commerce.

Types of Resolution:

An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an agreement between the taxpayer and the government that settles a tax liability for payment of less than the full amount owed. The IRS will generally accept an Offer in Compromise when the tax liability is unlikely to be paid and the amount offered reasonably reflects collection potential. An OIC is a legitimate alternative to declaring a case currently not collectible in a lump sum or through a protracted installment agreement. The goal is to achieve collection of what is potentially collectible at the earliest possible time and at the least cost to the government. Alternatively, an Offer in Compromise is method of attacking a tax debt when the taxpayer does not owe the tax.

A Penalty Abatement is when a taxpayer claims a refund or requests an abatement of certain taxes, interest, penalties, and additions to tax. Use a
Penalty Abatement to claim or request the following:

• A refund of tax, other than a tax for which a different form must be
  used.
• An abatement of tax, other than income, estate, or gift tax.
• A refund of excess social security or railroad retirement (RRTA) tax withheld by any one employer, but only if the employer will not adjust the overcollection.
• A refund of social security or Medicare taxes that were withheld in error.
• A refund of excess tier 2 RRTA tax when you had more than one railroad employer for the year and your total tier 2 RRTA tax withheld or paid for the year was more than the tier 2 limit.
• A refund of employment taxes when you reported and paid more federal income tax on your employment tax return than you actually withheld from an employee.
• A refund or abatement of interest, penalties, or additions to tax caused by certain IRS errors or delays, or certain erroneous written advice from the IRS.
• A refund or abatement of a penalty or addition to tax due to reasonable cause or other reason (other than erroneous advice) allowed under the law.
• A refund of the penalty imposed under section 6715 for misuse of dyed fuel.

An Installment Agreement allows the payment of your debt in smaller, more manageable amounts. The IRS has several types of installment agreements. Most require you to provide a financial statement. In most cases the IRS will restrict your standard of living standard. Professional assistance is recommended because of the possible risk of financial hardship.

Installment agreements generally require equal monthly payments that will result in full payment of the tax you owe within the time left in the 10-year period during which the IRS can collect the tax from you. If you cannot pay your tax in full by the end of the collection period, but can pay
some of the tax you owe, you may qualify for a partial payment installment agreement.

For all installment agreements, the amount of your installment payment will be based on the amount you owe and your ability to pay that amount within the time left in the 10-year period. To be eligible for an installment agreement, you must file all required returns. If you are an employer, you must be current with federal tax deposits.

In order to qualify for any type of resolution you must be compliant or have made a promise to be compliant with the IRS, meaning all required tax returns are filed up-to-date.

IRS Collection Process:

Before they take any enforced collection action, the IRS will contact you, providing a chance to voluntarily pay what you owe. They will send you a
Notice of Tax Due and Demand for Payment, a bill that tells you how much you owe in taxes. They may send you other bills asking for payment. If you have an income tax refund, they will offset the refund against your tax liability. If you do not pay your taxes in full and do not contact them to let them know why you cannot pay or why you disagree with their decision to take enforcement action, the law requires them to take action.

They may:

• File a Notice of Federal Tax Lien against your property (make a legal claim to your property as security for the payment of your tax debt)
• Serve a levy on your property or salary (legally seize your property to satisfy a tax debt)
• Serve a Summons to secure information, records, or testimony, r
• Assess a trust fund recovery penalty for failure to pay withheld employment taxes or collected excise taxes.