If you are need a Offer in Compromise/Tax Debt Settlement you may first want to see if you qualify for the Offer in Compromise Program/ Tax Debt Settlement before running off and filing to settle your back taxes.
Most taxpayers simply do not qualify for the Offer Program and get ripped off from tax resolution companies claiming they have high success rates and these back taxes. 12,000 Offer cases are accepted by the IRS last year and over 58,000 were filed. My guess thousands of taxpayers were ripped off into the filing of Offers in Compromise that never had a chance.
I recommend qualifying your case with Fresh Start Tax LLC, a tax company who knows the system. Save yourself time and a lot of money.
Call us today for a free tax consult and hear more. 1-866-700-1040
We are IRS Tax Experts and know the Offer in Compromise Program like the back of our hand.
This that said, we have never seen the Offer in Compromise Program so backed up, it is a huge mess.
The Offer in Compromise cases are just sitting in piles being unattended to because of the large volume of cases that the IRS has received.
The combined impact of a weak economy and efforts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to promote the Offer in Compromise (OIC) Program has increased the number of requested offers by 28 percent between Fiscal Year 2007 and FY 2011.
At the very same time sadly, the IRS resources available to work the offers in compromise have decreased, creating a huge inventory.
These are the findings of a report publicly released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
An tax settlement program called the Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS to settle a tax liability for payment of less than the full amount owed.
TIGTA’s audit was initiated to assess the effectiveness of the OIC Program to timely process requests, consistently apply OIC guidelines, accurately measure Program results, and effectively promote the Program.
TIGTA reviewed a statistically valid sample of offers and found that the IRS did not process all offers timely.
In 73 (74 percent) of 99 offers, the IRS failed to contact the taxpayer by the promised date. The report estimates that 9,509 taxpayers who submitted offers between July 1 and December 31, 2010, may not have been contacted when promised. A promised date, will never happen.
Additionally, as of October 25, 2011, there were 7,472 unassigned offers in holding ( WOW )queues awaiting assignment to OIC staff.
TIGTA found that one processing site had more than four times as many unassigned offers from self-employed taxpayers compared with the other site, and 37 percent of those offers were more than six months old.
TIGTA auditors also determined that an incorrect date was used when offers were returned to the IRS because of some IRS processing errors. The report estimates that the wrong date may have been used for 712 taxpayers who submitted offers between July 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010. Finally, the IRS does not have formal performance measures for the streamlined offer process, which allows IRS employees to make taxpayer contact by telephone rather than by mail so they can quickly make a determination on an OIC request.
TIGTA recommended that the IRS revise OIC processing procedures, train employees, and add a formal performance measure for the streamlined offers or apply the streamlined process to all offers.
IRS officials agreed with TIGTA’s recommendations and the report’s outcome measures and plan to take appropriate corrective actions. Specifically, the IRS plans to:
1) try to better inform taxpayers by lengthening the time by which they will be contacted or issued an interim letter,
2) initiate reassignment of offers between IRS sites as needed, and
3) apply most aspects of the streamlined process to the remainder of the OIC cases.
If you need to hear the truth about Offers in Compromise, Tax Debt Settlement call us today.
We have on staff, Tax Attorneys, CPA’s and Former IRS agents.
