Saturday, March 18, 2017

Choosing The Affordable Tax Relief Method That Works For You

By Virginia Adams


Most people have strong feelings about the Internal Revenue Service. Most of those feelings are negative. Many fear it, and the power it has to disrupt lives. Others resent it for taking hard earned money out of their pockets. Then there are those who actually owe it money and live every day with the dread of what might happen. You may think you will never be able to get out of debt once you have passed the deadlines and haven't paid the taxes you owe. There is affordable tax relief available however, for people in all kinds of situations.

The reasons for staying out of trouble in the first place are numerous. If you work for a living, the IRS can garnish your wages, which may threaten your employment. Retirees can have their Social Security checks cut by up to fifteen percent when they owe the government money and haven't paid. The Internal Revenue Service has seized property including houses, boats, planes, equipment, and cash. It can instruct your bank to withdraw all the available money in your account and forward it to them as payment on outstanding debt.

There are things you can do however to prevent some of this from happening. The most important thing you should do is to stay cooperative and communicate with them. It will not help your case if you ignore written notifications and hope the problem will go away. It will not. One of the most common methods of paying back taxes is by coming to an installment plan agreement with them. You will make monthly payments, much as you would with a credit card, until the debt is paid.

If you can get enough cash to pay them a lump sum or offer to pay the total over a short span of time, you might be able to reduce the amount you have to pay. In addition to paying less than you owe, you will have the added advantage of saving money that would otherwise go to penalties and interest.

If you prove you have no way to pay them, you may be considered by the Internal Revenue Service as currently not collectible. Persuading them will reduce the chances that they try to seize any assets you might have and give you a chance to come up with a plan.

There are such things as credit card debt settlement companies that market to individuals in trouble with the IRS. This may or may not be a good idea. If you decide to use their services, be sure you get all the agreements in writing.

Under certain circumstances you can be relieved of your IRS debt by filing bankruptcy. You shouldn't file though unless you know you qualify under the bankruptcy code. When you're the spouse of someone who owes back taxes, you may come under the IRS's innocent spouse guidelines and not be held responsible.

The easiest way to avoid IRS problems is to file your returns, electronically if possible, and pay anything you owe. When you can't do that, let them know as soon as possible.




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