Well this has been an exciting and stressful 2007 for me. I started this blog at the beginning of the year and it has steadily and consistently grown in page views and readership over the last several months. I have some plans to expand the writing and put some things in place where my readers will be able to get even more value out of this website each and every day.
If you have any ideas on how this blog can be improved, please do not hesitate to let me know.
As the title of this post implies, these are the Top 5 articles on this blog for the year:
- Top 5 Negotiating Tips. At the beginning of the year, I participated in an writing contest put on by Darren Rowse at www.problogger.net. This post generated a lot of visits and links to the site so I am happy to list this as one of my top posts of 2007. If anything, participating in the writing contest shows that by being "social" and participating on other blogs and web communities you can really get your name out and get your site out.
- Independent Contractor vs. Employee. I wrote a series of blog posts about the factors the IRS uses to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. As it usually happens, the IRS is trying to classify an "independent contractor" as an employee so the employer is stuck owing more taxes. If you think you are being mis-classified and are wondering what the IRS might think, check out this post to see where you may line up in the IRS’ eyes.
- Realizing How Good I Have It. I have been blessed so much, and 2007 was no exception. As an attorney, I am often working with people during one of the most difficult and stressful times of their lives. I wrote this post after meeting with a young girl who was drafting a Will to make sure her son was taken care of because she was about to undergo her second brain surgery to remove another tumor.
- IRS Tax Resolution. This post/page was set up to give a brief overview of the IRS tax resolution process and what can be done to assist clients who are on the wrong end of an IRS debt.
- Introduction to AtkinsSC.com. I wrote this post as my "manifesto" of what I wanted this blog to be. At this time of year, I want to go back through this and determine how close I was to what I wanted to be at the beginning of the year and make my plans for 2008 and beyond.
I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.
It covers:
- The best blogging techniques.
- How to get traffic to your blog.
- How to turn your blog into money.
I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.
I was asked recently whether it was too late to hire an attorney to assist someone with their offer in compromise because they had already submitted the offer and had some conversations with the offer examiner. Jokingly, I told that person that it was never too late to hire a tax attorney.
No matter what point you find yourself in your negotiations with the IRS, you can always use the expertise of a professional who works day in and day out negotiating with the IRS. If your offer in compromise has already been rejected, we can help you file an appeal. If your appeal was unsuccessful and the rejection was upheld, we can help you set up an installment agreement or analyze what you did in your previous offer in compromise and assist you in filing a "better" offer in compromise that may have a better chance of being accepted.
No matter where you find yourself in your IRS negotiations, if you are feeling overwhelmed, or you want to make sure you get the best deal, please contact a professional tax attorney who will tell you the truth, and not fill you with hype. Remember that it does not matter where you live, because the IRS is a federal entity, a lawyer anywhere may assist you with your tax liability.
I am excited to be able to wish you a Merry Christmas on Christmas Day. I hope that everyone of our readers and clients have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. For me, Christmas provides a short break that gives me an opportunity to reflect back on a year full of wonderful joys and stressful personal and professional situations. It also signals the impending end of one year and fresh start of another. It is refreshing to look forward at a new year to imagine how we will move forward and build on the things we achieved in the previous year.
I understand that many of the people that have retained our firm to assist them this year or who are considering coming to speak to us are feeling extremely anxious about what may happen to them because of the money they owe the IRS, and Christmas may seem like just another day of stress. I encourage everyone to take some time today to not worry about your tax liability and celebrate the true reason for Christmas, Christ’s birth.
After you have taken some time to be thankful for what you have been blessed with in 2007, I would encourage you to call our office to set up a free consultation to discuss the possible resolutions to you problems. No matter how dire your situation may sound, I would like to give you some hope this Christmas season so you know that there is a way to resolve your problems with the IRS. Please call our office for a consultation today. There is no charge and no obligation. We want to assist you with resolving your tax problems and take that burden off of you. I would also like to remind our readers that we also handle probate, real estate and family court matters and would be happy to discuss those matters with you for free as well. Call us soon for your free consultation.
Merry Christmas from the Greene Law Firm!
QUESTION:
In 1995 I closed a business that was failing. One of the main things affecting my business was the payroll tax that I owed the IRS. In February 1997, the IRS assessed the trust fund penalty against me because the business was closed and they could not get any money from that. I am trying to sell my property and now the IRS still says I owe them money from 10 years ago. I filed an offer in compromise in 2005, but it was denied. What gives?
ANSWER:
Well, you’re correct that the IRS may only collect from you for ten years. However, that ten year statute of limitations can be extended for several reasons. First, you can voluntarily extend the statute of limitations and that may be an acceptable strategy in some situations. But, in your case, the statute of limitations is extended by the filing of an offer in compromise. Filing an offer in compromise, collection due process hearing request or bankruptcy all "freeze" the statute of limitations. So long as your offer is being reviewed, the statute of limitations is not running. Therefore, if your offer was considered for one year, you will have to add one year on to the end of the ten year date. So unfortunately, you may have to wait to sell your land until that extra time runs off so you do not have to pay the trust fund amount to the IRS.
Many of my clients hope or expect their IRS problems to go away by using the "Ostrich Defense." They simply bury their head in the sand and ignore everything they receive from the IRS and hope it goes away. I’m afraid that this is not the right posture to be in when dealing with the IRS.
I recommend taking a more proactive stance and coming forward when the IRS asks for something. Why? Well, for one thing, they are not going away and they are not going to forget about you. Also, at some point the IRS is going to get fed up with your non-response and start levying your paychecks, bank accounts or customer lists and possibly subpoenaing you to produce documents.
I have no legal explanation, but many of my clients or prospects report that when they have responded to every notice sent by the IRS, it seems to keep the IRS at bay and prevent levies, but that one time when they forget to respond they are immediately slammed with a levy.
So, if you’ve been receiving collection notices from the IRS, call me today so we can sit down and discuss the situation and how I can help you get on the right track with the IRS.