by Fresh Start Tax | Nov 30, 2018 | Tax Help
Michael Sullivan Offer Expert, How Do You Know the Offer in Compromise is Right For You To Settle Back Taxes
I am a former IRS agent and teaching instructor with the Internal Revenue Service.
When I was employed by the Internal Revenue Service I work the offer in compromise program.
We are a local South Florida tax firm that had specializing in IRS tax debt settlement since 1982.
Not only did I accept and reject offers in compromise, I was also a teaching instructor at the service center to help qualified revenue officers decide which offers to accept and reject.
Given the above information, I can tell you I am a true expert for the IRS offer in compromise and I wish to explain to you whether an offer in compromise is a viable option for you.
Due to social media, marketing and advertising the assumption by the general public is that IRS can settle tax debt for pennies on the dollar.
Let me first let you know that IRS does accept offers in compromise and as a matter of fact last year approximately 32,000 offers in compromise were accepted out of the 78,000 that were filed.
That number varies from year to year but the percentages usually remain the same of acceptability.
The average settlement was $9500 per case but remember that is just an average in not everybody can settle their tax debt for $9500.
There is much information you need to know before you go off filing an offer of compromise and giving your money to some firm to try to pull off some amazing trick because you have been sold a bill of goods and bought in to some marketing ploy and they’ve convinced you are a settlement candidate.
It first starts with the review of your personal financial statement which is found on the 433 OIC.
When the offer in compromise gets sent in to the Internal Revenue Service it is met with the reviewer that make sure that you are truly qualified candidate for the offer in compromise program.
That reviewer checks the completed form to make sure it is a valid agreement. The offer in compromise is a legal document between you and the Internal Revenue Service. If IRS were to accept the offer and the next day you win the lottery the accepted offer still stands.
Also reviewer make sure that all the documentation is attached so that the revenue officer who will work your offer in compromise can move forward.
Approximately one third of all offers in compromise are sent back to the taxpayer because the offers are not filled out correctly or the appropriate documentation is not attached.
IMPORTANT :IRS will check to make sure all your tax returns are current and filed on the IRS system. It is critically important you know that you must have all tax returns filed before IRS will process your offer.
You should know that the Internal Revenue Service rejects an offer before it accepts an offer. one of the basic rules is that the revenue officer is lazy and is easier to mark rejected then they go through all the work of accepting an offer in compromise.
I should know this is a former instructor of the offer in compromise I see many revenue officers simply send offers back because some of the eyes were not dotted in the T’s were not crossed.
Due to the volume of cases the IRS has, which is over 7500 cases waiting in the IRS Q, is far easier for the IRS to say no then to accept because an average of anywhere between 20 and 40 hours are spent on accepting the offer in compromise. If you have an offer in compromise accepted, four signatures are generally required for signature as it goes up and down the chain.
So how do you know if the offer in compromise is right for you. Call for a free initial tax consultation and hear the truth from a true IRS tax debt settlement former agent.
The first place to go is to fill out the IRS pre-qualifier tool for the offer in compromise. Because of so many scrupulous tax companies that have been ripping people off, the IRS wanted to make sure the general public has a tool that they can use to find out if they are prequalified to file the offer in compromise to make sure it is a viable option.
It contains all the necessary information in regard to your income, your expenses and your assets and it predetermined for you whether the offer in compromise is even a viable option for you.
IRS will take a very close look at the liquidity of your assets, your current income, and your monthly expenses before it renders a decision as IRS wants to make sure it collects all the money from you that they can within the 10 year statutory period of time.Even though IRS has a very specific methodology and system new accept the offer in compromise still the judgment of the revenue officer who was seasoned and experience comes into play.
One of the questions the agent will want to consider is, can we collect more money over 10 years than accept the current agreement on the table for the IRS offer in compromise.
As a general rule, you will have to give IRS your total liquidity of all your assets before they will even consider the acceptance of an offer in compromise.
IRS on larger dollar cases is a tremendous amount of due diligence. The IRS has a wealth of information on the various computers they can use to dig and find assets or income.
Why? you may ask is because all offers in compromise are open for public inspections at eight regional offices throughout the United States.
Your offer in compromise must be thoroughly documented which includes all your bank statements for the last six months to a year, all your pay stubs, all your monthly expenses along with certain documentation for assets that have value.
IRS also takes a look at the values of your pensions, your IRA, your business as well.
The offer in compromise is one of the most reviewed documents, it is like going through a mini audit.
Some of the due diligence that IRS will conduct on a larger dollar cases is checking Google, the accurate search engine, Department of Motor Vehicles, real estate records, insurance policies, credit reports, loan applications, insurance policies, and inter-government agency records including those garnered by Homeland security and other such agencies.
Before you contemplate filing the offer in compromise and wasting your money on a company that has promised you they can settle your case for pennies on the dollar, you would be wise to give us a call to have an actual former IRS agent and teaching instructor of the offer in compromise give you the green light.
When you call our office you will speak to true IRS tax experts who knows the system and can tell you what to expect and tell you how to settle for the lowest amount possible.
Call us today for a free initial tax consultation, you will hear nothing but the truth from former IRS agents who know and understand the methodologies of the offer in compromise to make sure it is right for you.
How Do You Know the Offer in Compromise To Settle Back Taxes is Right for You + Former IRS Settlement Agent + + Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee
by Fresh Start Tax | Nov 29, 2018 | Tax Help
If you have any problem with the Internal Revenue Service it only makes sense to hire former IRS agents who know the system.
Since 1982, we have been practicing IRS tax debt relief services.
Our firm has over 100 years of direct IRS work experience in the local, district and regional offices in Florida, and our staff is composed of former IRS agents, supervisors, managers, and teaching instructors.
As a result of all our knowledge, we know all the systems, methodologies, and every possible way possible to get you the fastest, most affordable, and the most effective IRS tax debt relief possible.
IRS deals with billions of dollars of tax debt on any given calendar year.
IRS has a very specific system that is used, that is a nationwide and/or worldwide system to deal with IRS tax debt.
HOW IRS WORKS TAX DEBT CASES ON BACK TAXES
When dealing with a taxpayer who owes back taxes, one of the first things IRS does when they work a case is to conduct a full compliance check.
A full compliance check means that the IRS will check on the filing statuses of every year to make sure you are in full compliance and they will request and mandate that all tax returns are on the IRS system before they will close your case off the enforcement computer.
If you have not filed all tax returns we can file all back tax returns and make sure you pay the lowest amount of tax by law. With or without tax records we can reconstruct your tax return because being former IRS agents we know the system. You should also know that if you have not filed for many back years IRS will only require filing of the last six years.
In some cases you can make an IRS payment agreement online if you meet the various requirements that IRS has. When you call our office we will let you know whether you qualify for an installment payment online.
For those of you who do not qualify for an online payment the Internal Revenue Service will require a current financial statement.
As a general rule, those financial statements will be on a form 433F, 433A.
If the cases at the service center the service center will request the F and if it is in the local office they will require the A. The Internal Revenue Service will a current financial statement fully documented along with bank statements, pay stubs, and copies of all expenses.
IRS will look to see if you have any assets that you can liquidate to pay in full and if that cannot be done there are two other options.
The first is the payment agreement and the second, you can be deemed currently not collectible and IRS can put you in a hardship status if you are truly having a financial hardship in your life.
Some taxpayers can qualify for an offer in compromise which they can settle their debt for pennies on a dollar.
Upon calling our office we first try to find out if you can settle your debt to completely extinguish the liability.
The offer in compromise is the very best way to completely take care of your IRS debt. There are very specific formulas to settle your debt and we make sure you are a qualified candidate to settle your IRS debt before taking any money and working your case. C
Call us today for a free initial tax consultation and we will let you know the best possible status given your current financial statement.
We are a full-service firm we can prepare all back tax returns, settle your case if necessary, and we can go to appeals if necessary. All our work is handled in-house by true IRS tax experts on IRS tax debt relief for back taxes.
When you call our office, you will speak to a true IRS tax expert and not a salesperson like most companies.
We are a nationwide tax firm that does work not only in these United States but all over the world for any US citizen or any person that owes taxes to the United States Department of the Treasury.
We look forward to hearing from you.
IRS Tax Debt Relief Services For Back Taxes + What You Need Know, Former IRS = Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee
by Fresh Start Tax | Nov 21, 2018 | Tax Help
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Get a IRS bank or wage garnishment levy released immediately through formal IRS agents who know the system, since 1982.
You should know the chief collection tool of the Internal Revenue Service is both the bank and wage garnishment levy.
They collect for the Internal Revenue Service billions of dollars a year and will continue through the years to be the chief enforcement tool and moneymaker for the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of treasury.
The IRS over the years typically files anywhere between 1/2 a million to a million, both Bank and wage garnishment levies.
It requires no manpower for the Internal Revenue Service to actually file an IRS bank lev, it is done systematically out of the IRS CADE2 computer.
THE LEVY
The Internal Revenue Service keeps its levy sources by collecting your financial information on their computerized system and recording it over the last six years, yes all 1099, W-2, and any financial institution that has required information to file with the Department of treasury appear on this system.
Also if you have written a check to the Internal Revenue Service in the past six years records that is a levy source as well.
If you have not paid the Internal Revenue Service, a final notice of a bank or wage garnishment levy is systematically filed.
IRS generally sends out a series of 4 to 5 letters six weeks apart notifying you of their intent of pending action that they plan to take.
What is surprising many people are not even aware that this is going to happen because they’ve never received their mail and one day they find out from the bank IRS has frozen their money or their employer told him they’re not getting a paycheck.
The good news about the IRS bank levy is this, your money is frozen in the bank for 21 days, that is, you have 21 days to contact the Internal Revenue Service and they will issue a release of the bank levy but you have to know how to accomplish that and how to make sure that takes place within 21 days.
If the Internal Revenue Service has sent your bank a tax levy and you wish to get an immediate release, call us today. Since 1982.
We have over 200 years of professional tax experience, over 100 years of working directly for the Internal Revenue Service and our staff is composed of certified public accountants, enrolled agents, and former IRS agents, managers and teaching instructors.
We are true experts in IRS bank levies. As former IRS agents we have filed hundreds and hundreds of bank levies so we know the process of getting immediate releases of the documents.
When you call us we will give you a free initial tax consultation, walk you through the program and not only get you your IRS levy release but settle your case at the same time.
There is a very methodical way to get your IRS levy released.
THE HOW TO:
IRS will require a basic financial statement along with documentation and after review decide whether to put you into a currently not collectible, payment agreement or may encourage you to file an offer in compromise. The Internal Revenue Service will have to be contacted and complete documentation of your current financial statement must be given to the Internal Revenue Service or they will make an immediate determination if the financial statement is complete.
We generally immediately send in a power of attorney for all our clients complete and prepare the financial statement along with the documentation, call the Internal Revenue Service and get immediate releases of the federal bank or wage garnishment levies.
After a review your financial statement we will be able to set up a course of strategy and get your levy released immediately.
As a general rule within 24 hours of receiving your current financial statement we can get your bank levy released by the Internal Revenue Service.
Information you need to know about the IRS bank levy.
A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt.
IRS Levies are different from IRS liens. Many people get the two confused and they are quite different.
A lien is a legal claim against property to secure payment of the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt. The filing of a federal tax lien will completely mess up your credit report and it must be dealt with.
Where does Internal Revenue Service (IRS) authority to levy originate?
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) authorizes levies to collect delinquent tax. See IRC 6331. Any property or right to property that belongs to the taxpayer or on which there is a Federal tax lien can be levied, unless the IRC exempts the property from levy.
What actions must the Internal Revenue Service take before a levy can be issued?
The IRS will usually levy only after these three requirements are met:
• The IRS assessed the tax and sent you a Notice and Demand for Payment (a tax bill);
• You neglected or refused to pay the tax; and
• The IRS sent you a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to A Hearing (levy notice) at least 30 days before the levy.
The IRS may give you this notice in person, leave it at your home or your usual place of business, or send it to your last known address by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. If you have moved and not let the Internal Revenue Service know, many tax payers find themselves between a rock and a hard place because IRS sends the last final notice to the last filed address on the tax return.
Please note: if the IRS levies your state tax refund, you may receive a Notice of Levy on Your State Tax Refund, Notice of Your Right to Hearing after the levy.
When will the IRS issue a levy/garnishment?
If you do not pay your taxes (or make arrangements to settle your debt), and the IRS determines that a levy is the next appropriate action, the IRS may levy any property or right to property you own or have an interest in.
For instance, the IRS could levy property that is yours, but is held by someone else (such as your wages, retirement accounts, dividends, bank accounts, licenses, rental income, accounts receivables, the cash loan value of your life insurance, or commissions). Or, the IRS could seize and sell property that you hold (such as your car, boat or house).
What if a levy on my wages, bank, or other account is causing a hardship? Call us immediately if this is the case.
If the levy on your wages is creating an immediate economic hardship, the levy must be released. If the levy on your bank account or other account is creating an immediate economic hardship, the levy may be released.
An economic hardship occurs when we have determined the levy prevents you from meeting basic, reasonable living expenses. In order for the IRS to determine if a levy is causing hardship, the IRS will usually need you to provide financial information so be prepared to provide it when you call.
A levy release does not mean you are exempt from paying the balance.
The IRS will work with you to establish a payment plan or take other steps to help you pay off the balance. To help ensure quick action, please have the fax number available for the employer, bank or other financial institution that is processing the levy.
When the levy is on a bank account, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides a 21-day waiting period for complying with the levy.
The waiting period is intended to allow you time to contact the IRS and arrange to pay the tax or notify the IRS of errors in the levy.
Generally, IRS levies are delivered via the mail. The date and time of delivery of the levy is the time when the levy is considered to have been made.
PLEASE NOTE: In the case of a bank levy, funds in the account are frozen as of the date and time the levy is received. Normally, the levy does not affect funds you add to your bank account after the date of the levy.
IRS Wage Levies may Follow. Even though IRS usually files a bank or a wage garnishment levy in some cases they will take both enforcement actions.
If the IRS levies (seizes) your wages, part of your wages will be sent to the IRS each pay period until:
• You make other arrangements to pay your overdue taxes,
• The amount of overdue taxes you owe is paid, or
• The levy is released.
Part of your wages may be exempt from the levy and the exempt amount will be paid to you. The exempt amount is based on the standard deduction and an “amount determined” calculated in part based on the number of dependents you are allowed for the year the levy is served.
The IRS mails Publication 1494 (PDF) with the levy which explains to your employer how to determine the amount exempt from levy.
Your employer will provide you with a Statement of Dependents and Filing Status to complete and return within three days. If you do not return the statement in three days, your exempt amount is figured as if you are married filing separately with no dependents (zero). If you have other income sources, the IRS may allocate the exemptions to the other income source and levy on 100% of the income from a particular employer.
Levies are different from liens, So please take note.
A lien is a legal claim against your property to secure payment of your tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt.
A federal tax lien comes into being when the IRS accesses a tax against you and sends you a bill that you neglect or refuse to pay it. The IRS files a public document, the Notice of Federal Tax Lien, to alert creditors that the government has a legal right to your property.
You have the right to appeal if the IRS advises you of the intent to file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Your appeal rights are explained in IRS Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights (PDF).
When filed, the Notice of Federal Tax Lien is a public document that alerts other creditors that the IRS is asserting a secured claim against your assets.
Credit reporting agencies may find the Notice of Federal Tax Lien and include it in your credit report. An IRS levy is not a public record.
Call us today for a free initial tax consultation and speak to a true IRS tax expert regarding your IRS bank levy or wage levy garnishment.
IRS Bank/Wage Garnishment Levy Released Immediately + Jacksonville, Tampa , Orlando, Miami, Tallahassee
by Fresh Start Tax | Dec 18, 2013 | Tax Help
Get Offer in Compromise Approved
I am a Former IRS agent and teaching instructor of the offer in compromise program.Firm has over 206 years of combined IRS work experience and over 60 years of direct working experience in the IRS local, district, and regional tax offices.
We are comprised of tax attorneys, certified public accountants, and former IRS and state tax agents.
We been in practice since 1982 in our A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.
We are the affordable tax experts for offers in compromise.
Being Former IRS agents we understand the complete inner workings of the Internal Revenue Service and how to get an offer in compromise approved. Not only did we work the program and IRS we were instructors that taught the program to other IRS agents.
Offer in Compromise getting easier to be approved
The Internal Revenue Service is making it much easier for taxpayers to get an offer in compromise approved. In the past, IRS made it very difficult to have offers in compromise accepted because the sheer amount of time it would take to get an offer approved. It was much easier to deny the offer compromise that to work the offer in compromise.
Stats for Offers in Compromise
- Last year, 58,000 offers in compromise were filed by taxpayers with the Internal Revenue Service.
- IRS accepted 38% of all offers in compromise filed by taxpayers.
- The average settlement was $.14 on a dollar.
- Taxpayers should know that there are 7500 cases sitting in the Internal Revenue Service queue at this time and offers in compromise take anywhere from four months to eight months to work.
How to Get Your Offer Approved by the IRS
It is all about knowing the IRS settlement formulas.
To get your offer in compromise approved you must know the systems, the formulas, and be familiar with the national standard test used by Internal Revenue Service to accept offers in compromise.
IRS will look at two main factors in settling your case.
The Internal Revenue Service is concerned about your income and your assets.
Regarding Your Assets
You must give IRS the total liquidity you have in all your assets or your offer in compromise will not improved.
This includes equities in vehicles, IRA, pensions and basically anything that has value. IRS will want you to surrender that equity to them and make them part of the settlement. Since the Internal Revenue Service can seize all those assets they absolutely mandate that that liquidity be part of the offer.
Regarding Your Income
IRS will want to know what the value of your current monthly income. IRS will compare your current income against the national, regional and local standards tests that you can find on our website or on IRS.gov.
Internal Revenue Service will find out if you have any disposable income after subtracted against the national, regional and local standards.
Any money left over monthly is multiplied by 12.( a yearly factor)
IRS will simply add up your total asset liquidity plus the value of your disposable monthly income and that will be the base amount of your offer to the Internal Revenue Service. The Internal Revenue Service will accept no less than that amount.
Other Factors that may come in to play
IRS will also at the full body of the case such as age, education level , medical conditions, prospects for more income. There is a full-page checklist that IRS requires the agent complete so IRS sees and understands the full body of a taxpayer’s financial life.
The Brand New Fresh Start Tax Program to get your Offer in Compromise Approved
The Internal Revenue Service another expansion of its Fresh Start initiative by offering more flexible terms to its Offer in Compromise (OIC) program that will enable some of the most financially distressed taxpayers to clear up their tax problems and in many cases more quickly than in the past.
This focuses IRS on the financial analysis used to determine which taxpayers qualify for an OIC. This announcement also enables some taxpayers to resolve their tax problems in as little as two years compared to four or five years in the past.
In certain circumstances, the changes include:
1. Revising the calculation for the taxpayer’s future income,
2. Allowing taxpayers to repay their student loans,
3. Allowing taxpayers to pay state and local delinquent taxes,
4. Expanding the Allowable Living Expense allowance category and amount.
What is a Offer in Compromise OIC
The OIC is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
An OIC is generally not accepted if the IRS believes the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or a through payment agreement.
The IRS looks at the taxpayer’s income and assets to make a determination of the taxpayer’s reasonable collection potential.
Offers in Compromise are always subject to acceptance on legal requirements and always must be approved by District Council of the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS recognizes that many taxpayers are still struggling to pay their bills so the agency has been working to put in place common-sense changes to the OIC program to more closely reflect real-world situations.
When the IRS calculates a taxpayer’s reasonable collection potential, it will now look at only one year of future income for offers paid in five or fewer months, down from four years, and two years of future income for offers paid in six to 24 months, down from five years.
All offers must be fully paid within 24 months of the date the offer is accepted. we have had many clients have their offers in compromise accepted only to failed to meet the terms. If that happens IRS keeps all monies paid to IRS and starts the enforcement action in the cycle all over again.
Other changes to the program include narrowed parameters and clarification of when a dissipated asset will be included in the calculation of reasonable collection potential.
In addition, equity in income producing assets generally will not be included in the calculation of reasonable collection potential for on-going businesses.
Allowable Living Expenses per the National Standards
The Allowable Living Expense standards are used in cases requiring financial analysis to determine a taxpayer’s ability to pay.
The standard allowances provide consistency and fairness in collection determinations by incorporating average expenditures for basic necessities for citizens in similar geographic areas.
These standards are used when evaluating installment agreement and offer in compromise requests.
The National Standard miscellaneous allowance has been expanded to include additional items. Taxpayers can use the miscellaneous allowance for expenses such as credit card payments and bank fees and charges.
Guidance has also been clarified to allow payments for loans guaranteed by the federal government for the taxpayer’s post-high school education.
Payments for delinquent state and local taxes may be allowed based on percentage basis of tax owed to the state and IRS.
Taxpayers wishing to settle their case with an offer to compromise should do so by the use of a professional tax firm that has filed at least 100 offers in compromises.
Unless you have extensive working knowledge of the Internal Revenue Service the odds of getting an improved offer in compromise are slim.
I’ll suggest taxpayers who want to do this on their own walk through the IRS pre-qualifier tool that they can find on our website.
It is understandable that taxpayers do not want to pay in the neighborhood of $5000 for a professional firm.
If you do this on your own, hazards exist.
However , this pre-qualifier tool at least will give the taxpayers a better understanding of the offer in compromise program.
Contact us today for free initial tax consultation and we can walk you through the process of helping you get in IRS offer in compromise approved.
We have an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau have been in private practice since 1982.
Also on staff are former IRS appellate agents for those who have had their offers in compromise rejected and need to take it to the next level.
Get a Offer in Compromise Approved, Former IRS, Affordable – Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa
