The offer in compromise is a tremendous tool if you owe back taxes to the IRS.

Last year 78,000 offers in compromise were filed and the IRS accepted 38% of those offers for national average of $9500 per offer.

Please understand this is done on a case-by-case basis a may not be a good measuring tool for your case.

 IRS will use or current financial statement to make a determination whether you are eligible and can settle your tax debt for pennies on the dollar.

I was a former IRS agent and teaching instructor with the Internal Revenue Service.

I worked the offer in compromise program.

It was my job either to accept or deny an offer in compromise. I am a tax expert in the area of tax debt settlements which essentially is the offer in compromise.

 IRS has a pre-qualifier tool which you can use yourself to find out if you qualify for an offer.

Listen closely: Do not give your money to any tax firm unless you know you are a qualified candidate for the offer in compromise. Someone that has a lot of experience can probably tell you within two minutes after examining your financial statement whether you are a qualified candidate to get an offer in compromise accepted by the Internal Revenue Service.

It takes a lot of work and expertise to get the OIC through the system. The average agent spends about ten to twenty hours working these cases. I know this because I was one.

What is a Offer in Compromise

(OIC) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service that settles a taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.

Taxpayers who can fully pay the liabilities through an installment agreement or other means, generally won’t qualify for an OIC in most cases.

To qualify for an OIC, the taxpayer must have filed all tax returns, made all required estimated tax payments for the current year, and made all required federal tax deposits for the current quarter if the taxpayer is a business owner with employees.

In most cases, the IRS won’t accept an OIC unless the amount offered by a taxpayer is equal to or greater than the reasonable collection potential (RCP).

The RCP is how the IRS measures the taxpayer’s ability to pay.

The RCP includes:

The value that can be realized from the taxpayer’s assets, such as real property, automobiles, bank accounts, and other property. In addition to property, the RCP also includes anticipated future income less certain amounts allowed for basic living expenses.

Reasons for the Offer

The IRS may accept an OIC based on one of the following reasons:

1. The IRS can accept a compromise if there is doubt as to liability. A compromise meets this criterion only when there’s a genuine dispute as to the existence or amount of the correct tax debt under the law.

2. The IRS can accept a compromise if there is doubt that the amount owed is fully collectible. Doubt as to collectibility exists in any case where the taxpayer’s assets and income are less than the full amount of the tax liability.

3. The IRS can accept a compromise based on effective tax administration. An offer may be accepted based on effective tax administration when there is no doubt that the tax is legally owed and that the full amount owed can be collected, but requiring payment in full would either create an economic hardship or would be unfair and inequitable because of exceptional circumstances.

The Forms Necessary to File the OIC

When submitting an OIC based on doubt as to collectibility or effective tax administration, taxpayers must use the most current version of Form 656, Offer in Compromise, and also submit Form 433-A (OIC), Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals, and/or Form 433-B (OIC), Collection Information Statement for Businesses.

A taxpayer submitting an OIC based on doubt as to liability must file a Form 656-L, Offer in Compromise (Doubt as to Liability) (PDF), instead of Form 656 and Form 433-A (OIC) and/or Form 433-B (OIC). Form 656 and referenced collection information statements are available in the Offer in Compromise Booklet, Form 656-B (PDF).
Application Fee

In general, a taxpayer must submit an application fee for the amount stated on Form 656. Don’t combine this fee with any other tax payments.

However, there are two exceptions to this requirement:

1.  no application fee is required if the OIC is based on doubt as to liability.
2.  the fee isn’t required if the taxpayer is an individual (not a corporation, partnership, or other entity) who qualifies for the low-income exception.

There are two alternative options for qualifying. The first is that the individual’s adjusted gross income, as determined for the most recent taxable year for which such information is available, falls at or below 250 percent of the poverty guidelines published by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The second is that the household’s gross monthly income x 12 months falls at or below 250 percent of the poverty guidelines published by the Department of Health and Human Services.

For both options, section 1 of Form 656 contains the Low-Income Certification guidelines to assist taxpayers in determining whether they qualify for the low-income exception. A taxpayer who claims the low-income exception should complete section 1 of Form 656 and check the certification box.

Payment Options For the Offer on Compromise

1. Lump Sum Cash Offer 

Taxpayers may choose to pay the offer amount in a lump sum or in installment payments. A “lump sum cash offer” is defined as an offer payable in 5 or fewer installments within 5 or fewer months after the offer is accepted.

If a taxpayer submits a lump sum cash offer, the taxpayer must include with the Form 656 a nonrefundable payment equal to 20 percent of the offer amount.

This payment is required in addition to the application fee. The 20 percent payment is generally nonrefundable, meaning it won’t be returned to the taxpayer even if the offer is rejected or returned to the taxpayer without acceptance.

Instead, the 20 percent payment will be applied to the taxpayer’s tax liability. The taxpayer has a right to specify the particular tax liability to which the IRS will apply the 20 percent payment.

Periodic Payment Offer.

An offer is called a “periodic payment offer” under the tax law if it’s payable in 6 or more monthly installments and within 24 months after the offer is accepted. When submitting a periodic payment offer, the taxpayer must include the first proposed installment payment along with the Form 656.

This payment is required in addition to the application fee. This amount is generally nonrefundable, just like the 20 percent payment required for a lump sum cash offer. Also, while the IRS is evaluating a periodic payment offer, the taxpayer must continue to make the installment payments provided for under the terms of the offer.

These amounts are also nonrefundable. These amounts are applied to the tax liabilities and the taxpayer has a right to specify the particular tax liabilities to which the periodic payments will be applied.

Upon acceptance of an OIC, the taxpayer may no longer designate offer payments to any tax liability specifically covered in the offer agreement.

Suspension of Collection

Ordinarily, the statutory time within which the IRS may engage in collection activities is suspended during the period that the OIC is pending, for 30 days immediately following the IRS’s rejection of an OIC, and for the period in which a timely appealed rejection is being considered by the IRS Office of Appeals.

Offer Terms

If the IRS accepts the taxpayer’s offer, the taxpayer will have agreed to fully comply with the tax laws.

Additionally, any refunds due within the calendar year in which the offer is accepted will be applied to the tax debt. If the taxpayer doesn’t abide by all the terms and conditions of the OIC, the IRS may determine that the OIC is in default.

For doubt as to collectibility and effective tax administration OICs, the terms and conditions include a requirement that the taxpayer timely file all tax returns and timely pay all taxes for 5 years from the date of acceptance of the OIC.

When the IRS terminates an OIC, the agreement is no longer in effect and the IRS may then collect the amounts originally owed (less payments made), plus interest and penalties.

Right to Appeal the Offer in Compromise

If the IRS rejects an OIC, the taxpayer will be notified by mail. The letter will explain the reason that the IRS rejected the offer and will provide detailed instructions on how the taxpayer may appeal the decision to the IRS Office of Appeals.

The appeal must be made within 30 days from the date of the letter.

Return of an Offer in Compromise

In some cases, an OIC is returned to the taxpayer rather than rejected, because the taxpayer didn’t submit necessary information, filed for bankruptcy, failed to include a required application fee or nonrefundable payment with the offer, hasn’t filed required tax returns, or hasn’t paid current tax liabilities at the time the IRS is considering the offer.

A returned offer is different from a rejection because there’s no right to appeal when the IRS returns the offer. However, once cured, the offer may be submitted again.

Is the Offer in Compromise Your Way Out of Tax Debt + Former IRS Agent Explains