Let’s talk credit card debt

I realize that this is a blog about taxes, but if you have tax debt, I assume that you have other debts as well. It has only been within the last few months that the IRS has softened their stance on allowing you to claim your minimum credit card payments as an allowable expense, so it’s a topic worth addressing.

Credit card debt in general is one of the biggest problems in our society. If you rack up a lot of it, and can’t pay it, life starts to suck when the creditors start calling. Five years ago, when I was heading into bankruptcy, one of my favorite days was the day that Qwest cut off my phone service because I couldn’t pay the bill. That was when the credit collection calls finally stopped!

If you’re looking to address your credit card debt, and other consumer debts as well, there is a simple and often repeated formula for paying down and eliminating those debts. You’ve probably heard two variations of this before, but I think they’re worth hearing again now and then.

The process is pretty simple: Make a list of all your debts, and rank them by priority based on either interest rate from highest to lowest, or by debt amount from lowest to highest. Then, take any extra money you have each month and put it towards the first item on the list.

Mathematically speaking, it’s best to … Read the rest

The Truth About Tax Resolution Fees

Within the tax resolution industry, there are a variety of fee models that you should be aware of. Different fee models have different potentials for abuse by the firm offering the services, and it is important to do your due diligence and fully understand what you are paying for, how much, and when, before ever paying a single dime to a tax resolution firm.

One of the most common fee models is a retainer model, which is a carryover from the world of legal and CPA firms from which many tax practitioners come. Under this model, you pay an up front amount, which the firm holds on to and then bills against on an hourly basis. Close to the time when the retainer is all used up, you will  get a bill showing what was done, how long it took, and the hourly rate it was billed at. This bill will usually also include a request for additional retainer. The key thing to remember here is that if you don’t keep paying, they don’t keep working.

If you’ve been researching particular companies online, you may already have come across BBB, forum, Attorney General, and other complaints against some firms that aggressively bill down retainers, and are constantly asking their clients for more money, without making much significant progress on a client’s actual tax case. It is important that you thoroughly vet a company before giving them money, in order to … Read the rest

Overseas assets, FBARs, and FATCA

Last month while I was in Switzerland, I had the “opportunity” of visiting the US Embassy in Bern so that I could obtain a replacement for my stolen U.S. passport.

While I was there, I met several interesting people. One was attempting to obtain a U.S. Social Security Number so that she could file the U.S. income tax returns that the IRS was demanding that she file, since she was born in America, although technically German and Swiss. She had never been to the U.S. since she was 5 years old, and was now in her 50’s and the IRS wanted her returns.

Another lady was there to renounce her U.S. citizenship, under very similar circumstances. She had also been born on U.S. soil, technically making her a U.S. citizen. She had no family or other ties to the U.S., and not visited the U.S. since her teens, but had dutifully filed a U.S. tax return for the past dozen years. She was in her mid-30’s, had no intention of ever living in the U.S., and was very happily Swiss. She was renouncing her U.S. citizenship and turning in her U.S. passport for no other reason than to get away from the hassle of filing a U.S. tax return.

For those two individuals, it made absolutely no sense for them to being filing an American tax return.

But what if you do live in America, or intend to keep your … Read the rest

Are you ready for IRS collections season?

June is an interesting month at the IRS. It’s the month that marks the transition every year for the IRS from tax return processing season to tax collecting season. If you filed your 2011 tax return on time and had a balance due that you didn’t pay, then you’re now entering (or re-entering) the collections process.

If you had a 2011 tax balance, then you’ve probably already received a bill, and it’s about time that a lien gets filed if you haven’t paid the balance yet. If this is your first rodeo with the IRS, then you’re in for a not-so-fun ride. To learn what to expect, I suggest you read my article on How the IRS Works Collections Cases.

If 2011 brought you an increased balance on top of an existing tax debt, then you’ve already been through the drill. With return processing season finishing up, IRS personnel that were removed from other functions are now starting to be cycled back into their normal job functions. Many of these personnel are cycled from ACS, the IRS’ centralized collections agency. Now that they are going back to their normal jobs, the collections process will pick up.

I would encourage you to learn about your rights as a taxpayer (yes, you have rights), and to look at your options as soon as possible. Do not just ignore your tax debt, it doesn’t just go away. It is best to deal … Read the rest

Options for Low Income, Low Tax Debt Situations

A friend of a friend was recently referred to me for some help with a tax problem. This individual isn’t rich, works a regular job for a paycheck, and simply got behind on personal income taxes. The situation is compounded by the possibility of some errors on the originally filed tax returns, which I have yet to examine to make that determination one way or the other.

This is NOT an uncommon situation these days. Regular, working class folks that owe a few thousand this year that they can’t pay, and the same thing the next year, etc. Do this for 3 or 4 years, and suddenly you owe the IRS $10k, $15k, $20k…with penalties and interest growing it daily. So, what to do?

First and foremost, remember this: Don’t get ripped off by a tax resolution firm promising you the world when you can easily fix the problem yourself.

Yes, the IRS carries a big stick. But they’re not going to hit you upside the head with it if you take care of the situation.

First of all, if you believe you’ve made mistakes on your tax returns that caused the liability, then you should have the tax returns amended. You have three years from the date a return was filed in order to correct it, so if you’re in that time window and you think you would owe less if they were fixed, start there.

Second, if … Read the rest

IRS finally fixes the worst problem with the Offer in Compromise program

Yesterday, the IRS rolled out a shiny, brand new version of Form 656-B, the Offer in Compromise application booklet. After years of complaints from every corner of the tax world, including tax professionals, taxpayer advocacy groups, the government’s own Taxpayer Advocate panel, and even members of Congress, the IRS has finally fixed the worst problem that has ever existed with the Offer in Compromise program.

For the past 15 years, the IRS expected you to include in your offer amount the equivalent of your next 4 or 5 years worth of disposable income. In other words, the IRS would look at your current income, deduct your allowable household expenses, and then multiply that number by either 48 or 60…and then expect you to come up with that amount of money (plus the value of your assets) within the next few months, which obviously isn’t practical and defeats the very purpose of the OIC program.

Here’s an example: If you make $4,000 per month, and the IRS “allows” you credit for $3,500 in monthly expenses, then you have $500 per month left over. If you agree to pay your Offer amount in 5 months or less, they multiply that $500 times 48 months, which is $24,000. If you also happen to have $20,000 of equity between a car and your house, your minimum offer amount suddenly becomes $44,000, or almost an entire year’s salary…and they expect you to come up … Read the rest

Understanding the IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

One of the most common points of confusion among business owners in regard to their tax debt has to do with the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. I’d like to explain what “trust fund” taxes are, where they come from, how the IRS holds somebody personally responsible for them, and, most importantly, what you can do about them.

What Are “Trust Fund” Taxes?

“Trust fund” taxes are any tax that is collected by you, on behalf of somebody else. There are many different trust fund taxes, but the two most common are sales taxes and income withholding taxes.

Most states are very aggressive about collecting sales taxes (North Carolina will physically arrest you for not paying them). Technically speaking, sales taxes are owed by the person making the purchase. However, because they are collected at the point of sale, they are a trust fund tax. This is because the person paying them (e.g., your customer) is “trusting” you to hold that tax money and pay it on their behalf. When you receive sales tax money from your customers, you are supposed to hold it in a separate “trust” account, and then hand it over to the tax man when it is due (usually monthly, in most states/counties).

Income withholding taxes are also “entrusted” to you by your employees. Specifically, these are income taxes you withhold from paychecks, and the employee’s half of Social Security and Medicare that you take out of … Read the rest

Final Thoughts For 2011 Tax Returns on Deadline Day

Today is April 17th: Tax day. I’m sure that it will be discussed during the day’s talk shows and news broadcasts, and there will be long lines at the post offices that stay open until midnight. There will be reminders aplenty around you today that this is the day, the final day, the deadline, the “do it or go to jail” day.

In reality, that’s all hogwash.

In all actuality, there is only one firm, hard deadline today for most taxpayers: Today is the last day the IRS will accept e-files. If you file tomorrow, you have to mail it in.

What about an extension? Yes, if you want to file an extension, it’s a good idea to do so. But NOT filing an extension doesn’t have any real consequences.

If you owe the IRS money for 2011, then yes, today is theoretically the deadline to pay it. But for most people reading this particular article, the reason they’re reading this info in the first place is because they don’t have the cash on hand to pay their tax bills. So what really happens if you don’t file and pay on time?

Really, nothing of non-monetary consequence.

Yes, you’re going to pay some interest and penalties if you owe. There are both late filing penalties AND failure to pay penalties, and yes, they’re steep. These penalties are a percentage of what you owe, as are interest charges. Interest is … Read the rest

Jury Awards TaxMasters Victims $113 Million

TaxMasters, a tax resolution firm based out of Houston, TX, had been under investigation by the Texas Attorney General since 2010 for unethical sales practices. After finally going to trial earlier this year, a jury has passed down a verdict of $195 million against the firm. This amount includes $113 million in restitution to the firm’s customers, $81 million in civil penalties, and $1 million in attorney fees. The company was found guilty of 110,000 violations of Texas consumer protection laws.

Founder and CEO Patrick Cox himself must pay well over $40 million of the award from his own personal fortune.

The firm was primarily accused of failing to disclose it’s no-refund policy, and for failing to immediately start work on a client’s case, but rather waiting until fees were fully paid before even doing anything to protect clients.

The firm recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the course of the trial.

If you were a TaxMasters client, however, don’t expect to get any money. In it’s bankruptcy filing, the company only listed $50,000 in assets, and it is unlikely that Patrick Cox possesses the $40 million assessed against himself.

So, what can you do if you are a victim of TaxMasters, or any other company? Here are some quick tips:

  1. Contact your Revenue Officer immediately, to find out the status of your case in the collections process.
  2. If you have tax returns that are overdue, get them
… Read the rest

Stop Hitting Yourself: The Conundrum of IRS Collections

Note: This is a guest post written by an attorney that formerly worked in the tax resolution industry, and later went on to work with the US Attorney’s Office. He has asked to remain anonymous, but wanted to share some personal insights about the IRS Collections process.
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For those that don’t work much with the Collections Division of the Internal Revenue Service, there is a stigma attached to both the methods and people involved. On one side, the IRS is seen as bullying taxpayers, especially the “little old ladies” and the “working men.” On the other side, the taxpayers are seen as being inadequate business people and as “stealing” from the government. Is the IRS an evil organization created by bureaucrats to systematically take the wealth of it’s citizens? Are the individuals caught up in the system evildoers needing to brought to justice? Both statements are a little extreme.

In all reality, the Collections Division of the IRS does not care where the money goes. Sometimes, it does not even care if it gets it. It, like many administrative agencies, seems more caught up it’s own procedures. Anyone having worked with the IRS might wonder if they are on a fool’s errand, considering how many of the installment agreements entered into by the IRS default.

The Collections Division is concerned primarily about getting taxes that should have been paid, but were not (a.k.a. “the tax gap”). These can be … Read the rest