IRS REPRESENTATION
The tax resolution business can be a very nasty business. Most tax resolution companies are sharks. They use outside salespeople that are not licensed to promise prospective clients the world. These clients will be charged a large retainer, and the company will do nothing to earn the money that they have been paid.
In tax controversies, who represents you can be the ballgame. “Tax controversy” is a term or art meaning a contested matter before the IRS, civil or criminal, administrative or judicial.
Enrolled Agents specialize in tax resolution. EAs are the only representatives granted the right, after passing a rigorous examination, by the IRS to represent taxpayers before the IRS. All EAs specialize in taxation and representation issues. Unlike attorneys, who don’t have to take a tax class in law school, and CPAs, who take one tax class in college and only one part of the CPA Exam deals with tax, EAs take a two day four part examination that encompasses all tax law, and representation matters.
In our 28 years of experience, we have represented hundreds of clients interests before the IRS in matters of Audits, Collections, and Appeals.
When Do You Need IRS Representation?
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Collection matters, including wage garnishments, liens, levies, seizures, currently not collectible postings, installment agreements, and offers in compromise
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Claim for refund
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Penalty relief
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Adjustment of assessment
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Innocent spouse case
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Asset forfeiture case
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Voluntary disclosure case, including OVDP matter
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Appeals Office matters
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Complex examinations
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Any matter involving potential for criminal prosecution
During our representation of you before the IRS, our job is to protect your rights. We will NOT let the IRS push you around anymore.
We can provide you expert representation all the way through the United States Tax Court so you can Let YOUR Voice Be Heard®
In 1997, the Internal Revenue Service was under heavy scrutiny from Congress for their aggressive examinations of tax returns and collections practices. Congress ordered the IRS to reorganize and change their practices. In 1998, the “Kinder, Gentler IRS” was formed. Examinations of tax returns decreased dramatically, and revenue collections decreased as well. Enforcement of the Tax Code was non-existent. Since the IRS was not enforcing the Tax Code, a “Tax Gap” was created. The Tax Gap is what taxpayers should be paying in taxes, versus what they are actually paying. In 2008, Congress ordered the IRS to begin enforcing the Tax Code again. The IRS has been reorganized, and is back to aggressively enforcing the Code.
In the last few years, Internal Revenue Service has increased audits, and is again aggressively pursuing collections of tax. Many individuals and businesses are being scrutinized and intimidated by the IRS. In short, we are right back where we started from.
If you find that you need representation, please contact our office, and we can discuss what strategies we can employ to help you. We will provide you expert representation all the way through the United States Tax Court to Let YOUR Voice Be Heard®. We will make sure that your back taxes are taken care of and help you resolve your IRS problems by working with you regarding your collection issue, IRS audit, and appeals. If we are not satisfied with the negotiation process, we can file United States Tax Court petitions as well. We are not scared of the Internal Revenue Service, and we are on your side.
Removing Wage Garnishments
The IRS wage garnishment is a very powerful tool and can be financially crippling to the taxpayer. Once a wage garnishment is filed with an employer, the employer is legally required to collect a large percentage (usually 30-75% or more) of the taxpayer’s NET paycheck and send it to the IRS. The wage garnishment stays in effect until the IRS is fully paid or until the IRS agrees to release or modify the garnishment.
You received a notice of “Intent to Levy” 30 days ago and you forgot about it or ignored it. Now the levy date is here, and you do not know what to do or where to go. Expecting a paycheck, you may open the envelope or check your direct-deposit balance online only to find that the IRS has taken nearly all of your money. No matter how much you plead with an employer, they cannot give you your money. Because a wage garnishment is filed with your employer, your employer is bound by law to send a large percentage of your paycheck to the government instead of you.
Your wage garnishment matters may be much more urgent than you originally think. The IRS can place a levy on your income that will garnish your wages on a continuous basis. This means that a wage garnishment from the IRS will not only take money from your current paycheck, but will also apply to future paychecks. Money will continuously be taken from your pay until your tax debt is satisfied or until the levy is lifted.
Additionally, when you owe money, you could experience both creditors and IRS agents trying to collect from you. While state and federal laws govern how much creditors can take from your paycheck, tax laws only govern how much the IRS can leave in your paycheck. When the IRS can take as much as they want and leave you with the minimal amount of money as determined by tax laws, you could find yourself in serious financial trouble, especially when you can no longer pay credit card bills, your mortgage, and daily expenses like food or transportation.
If you have received threatening collection notices from the IRS, do not try to work with the IRS on your own without legal guidance. Many people get themselves in deeper trouble by unknowingly incriminating themselves while talking to the IRS. We will handle your communications with the IRS and file an IRS collection appeal on your behalf to permanently release your wage levy and negotiate a tax relief settlement with the IRS on your behalf.
Liens & Levies
Few things are more overwhelming than living with the fear of having your possessions and assets being taken away at a moment’s notice. Your tax debt burden may feel endless, but once the IRS gets ahold of a lifetime investment, such as your home, the full weight of your financial situation could devastate you. Every day, people choose to live with the pain of debt and the fear of having their property taken away from them.
IRS Liens vs. IRS Levies:
IRS liens and IRS levies are very different from one another, but it is easy to get the two terms confused or use the terms interchangeably. An IRS lien secures the government’s interest in your property if a tax debt is not satisfied on time. An IRS levy, on the other hand, actually refers to the act of the IRS seizing and selling any type of property or assets that you own.
If you’ve been threatened with an IRS levy, lien, or seizure, we will file an IRS Collection Appeal to stop it.
Levies
Levies can do a lot of damage and can even ruin your life. A levy is the IRS’s way of getting your immediate attention when you continuously ignore notices from the IRS. Levies are used to seize your wages and whatever other assets you may have. If you own it, the IRS can take it. The IRS can seize and sell any type of property that you own in order to settle a debt.
Such assets and actions could include:
Any real estate property you hold
Any property that is yours but is held by someone else
Your home, car(s), motorcycle(s), or boat
Wage garnishment, or garnishment of income or commission
Your retirement account
Your rental income
Your bank accounts
Dividends
Your licenses
Cash value of insurance
Your accounts receivable, if you own a business
If you want to avoid an IRS levy to protect your assets and avoid its potentially devastating consequences, contact us.
Liens
You owe taxes and can’t seem to pay your bills. The IRS has placed an IRS lien on your home, your assets, and your bank accounts. You may feel as though there is nothing that can help you resolve this issue. We can reassure you that there is hope, No tax problem is too big, or too complex for us to handle.
How IRS Liens Work:
When your taxes are not paid, the IRS establishes a lien against all of your assets, particularly real estate. This gives the IRS the legal right to collect your taxes from the sale of your assets, which can include just about everything you own. A lien against your company could be especially detrimental for business owners as the lien would seize your accounts receivable. At this point, everything you own and your income is just one short step away from becoming the property of the United States government.
The IRS will initiate a federal tax lien by placing a public notice on your property and your accounts. The notice will alert creditors that the government has a priority over your property and has legal right to take the property when the IRS seizure is necessary to clear a debt. Liens filed against you by the IRS will show up on your credit report and credit score. Liens will often prevent you from opening a checking account, taking out a loan for a new car or home, or borrowing money. We can potentially have your lien removed.
You could be close to a solution without even knowing it! If you are a struggling taxpayer and have a federal tax lien filed against you, contact us. We can determine whether you are eligible for tax alternatives such as an IRS payment plan or an offer in compromise.
IRS Seizures
Failing to pay back taxes could cause the IRS to issue an IRS lien, which allows the IRS to place a claim on your personal assets – including your home – as a security for your tax debts. Should you continue to ignore notifications from the IRS, the IRS may seize your property and sell it to square off the debt that you owe. Unfortunately, IRS seizures often come as a surprise and can leave unprepared taxpayers without a home, a car, or money.
RS property seizure notifications should never be taken lightly. Acting quickly after receiving a seizure notice could help protect you and your family from losing your home to the IRS. If the IRS has notified you of a property seizure due to the inability to pay an outstanding debt, there are many things you need to be aware of before taking action.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) was established in 1999 to independently oversee the IRS. The TIGTA promotes high standards of integrity in IRS activity and prevents fraud and abuse within the IRS. Not surprisingly, however, the TIGTA reported that nearly 30% of all IRS property seizures were conducted wrongfully and did not comply with the legal standards of IRS tax codes. Not only should this statistic be shocking to taxpayers, but it should encourage you as a taxpayer to challenge the IRS if you have been notified of an IRS levy or an IRS lien.
Statistics such as this should not exist, but they do prove that the IRS makes mistakes frequently. You may not know every stipulation or intricacy in tax law, but by definition, it is the job of an IRS Agent to know, understand, and execute tax law efficiently and accordingly. When you and your family suffer due to the error or oversight of an IRS agent, we are able to help you with this.
IRS seizures typically only happen in aggravated cases. This means that the IRS will actively pursue individuals who continue to ignore IRS notifications over a long period of time to pay their taxes by seizing their personal property. Unlike an IRS levy, which could involve intangible assets such as your bank account, an IRS seizure can include the taking of your personal assets, such as your home or car.
The IRS will continue to pursue seizure of your assets until your debt is paid off. Do not think that you can hide your assets from the IRS. With increasingly advanced computer technology, the IRS can track down and recover essentially any or all information that they need to take your belongings in order to satisfy a debt.
Many individuals and homeowners have experienced the unfortunate process of losing their homes to IRS seizures. Their homes and belongings are sold in IRS auctions, often for as little as half of the original value. There are many ways to prevent an IRS seizure from occurring.
