Why do people get behind in paying their taxes? There are many reasons it happens ?  laziness, procrastination, illness, divorce, loss of job and/or income ,just do not know what to do. These are probably some of the most common reasons we seen by Fresh Start Tax. The IRS knows this and offers some settlement options for taxpayers who have experienced financial hardship and gives the taxpayers various ways to remedy their problems. The following are the most common way cases are settled by IRS:
1.Pay the tax in full ? This is the fastest and the very best way to resolve any back tax IRS issue, is to send payment in full to the IRS. If you are able to do this, it should be done as soon as possible to avoid accruing further interest and penalties on you account. Make sure IRS has not filed a Federal Tax Lien, if they have be sure to get the tax lien released.
2. Installment agreement or payment agreement ? If you are unable to full pay your tax debt, you can work out an Installment Agreement ( payment agreement) to repay your tax debt to the IRS. This allows the taxpayer to pay back the debt in  monthly payments.  IRS will require  financial documentation in the process of negotiating your payment plan since an installment agreement is based on comparing income to expenses. Interest and penalties will continue to accrue while payments are being made to the IRS.For a complete list of documentation required see our site for more details.
3. Streamlined Installment Agreement ?  You can find info on this on IRS.GOV. A streamlined installment agreement was designed for the taxpayer who owes less than $25,000 in individual income taxes to the IRS. While the streamlined Installment Agreement is also a monthly payment made to the IRS, the streamlined installment agreement is based on how much your tax liability is. You will qualify for a Stream Line Agreement if your tax liability is less than $25,000 and the liability does not expire in less than five years. As with a traditional Installment Agreement based on financial ability to pay, interest and penalties will continue to accrue while payments are being made to the IRS.If you can pay your liability down to $25,000, these agreements are guaranteed.
4. Offer in Compromise ( OIC) ? An Offer in Compromise, or OIC, is a program that benefits both the taxpayer and the IRS. The taxpayer submits an offer in compromise form 656 to the IRS detailing what they can pay, based on what they can afford to pay. The Offer program requires the taxpayer to provide full disclosure of financial to prove they would not be able to repay the IRS. The IRS benefits by gaining at least a portion of the taxes owed, as well as getting a compliant taxpayer back into the system. A taxpayer submitting an Offer in Compromise must be current with his/her current tax obligations by filing and making the appropriate payments to the IRS in addition to meeting any payment terms of the Offer in Compromise. If the Offer goes through the taxpayer will have to stay current for the following 5 years or the agreement is null and void.
5. Currently Not Collectible or  Hardship If you are truly in true hardship financial difficulty, you may qualify for the IRS Currently Not Collectible status.or uncollectible. If you qualify, the IRS will not pursue collections from you during the period you remain in this status. IRS will have you fill out a financial statement with complete documentation
6. Innocent Spouse In some cases, a spouse may be considered an innocent spouse when the other spouse files a joint tax return and there is a tax liability without the one spouse’s knowledge. The burden of proof lies on the party submitting the Innocent Spouse Request  but if proven innocent, it eliminates the debt, interest and penalties from the Innocent Spouse’s taxpayer account. The spouse who filed the return will become solely liable for the taxes, interest and penalties. The Innocent Spouse must document that he/she did not have any knowledge of the tax liability, nor did the individual benefit from the items generating the tax liability.
7. File a Bankruptcy Proceeding ? A possible solution, and as last resort for most people, would be to attempt to get your back taxes discharged in bankruptcy, chapter 7 or chapter 13.  Payroll taxes cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. You should speak  to a bankruptcy.
8. Just wait  out  the statute of limitations. Statues are Ten are years If your back tax debt is from many years ago, you may be close to the point where the IRS can no longer collect. It is very important to note that certain things may extend your statute of limitations,such as litigation or bankruptcy or being out of the country.
Let Fresh Start Tax help you through this process today.