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Archive for the ‘Tax Problems’ CategoryWhat are Back Taxes and What Can you Do About Them?Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 Five tactics to reduce or pay off your IRS back taxes Despite your best efforts you might find yourself in a situation where you owe back taxes. People owing back taxes typically have filed their returns, but then failed to actually pay them. If you find yourself in a situation where you owe back taxes, you’ll find a number of unpleasant consequences: Advice for IRS Non Filers Who Owe Back Taxes to the GovernmentFriday, December 9th, 2011
Are you someone who hasn’t filed your taxes with the IRS in several years? Are you scared, stressed, and unsure what to do? Perhaps you haven’t filed for one of the following reasons:
And now, you’re trapped in a position where you believe that if you come clean with your actions, you’ll get sent to jail. Fortunately, the IRS only prosecutes the most egregious cases of non-filing, and the occasional common person in order to demonstrate a point. Broken Promises: IRS Tax Problems Settled for Pennies on the DollarSunday, November 6th, 2011Have you seen the TV commercials where the advertiser says your IRS tax case will be resolved for ‘pennies on the dollar’? Some of my former competitors that have had major legal and business problems with this practice include tax attorneys JK Harris, Roni Lynn Deutch and more recently TaxMasters. In the case of JK Harris, they have a record of run-ins with State Attorney Generals in many states and most recently they settled a million dollar lawsuit in Texas for misleading sales practices. This month the JK Harris tax law firm filed for bankruptcy. Not exactly what you want in the team representing you before the IRS. The video below discusses the case, has statements from former clients, and the Texas State Attorney General. This news is close on the heels of TV Lawyer Roni Lynn Deutch shutting down her national firm in California after continued pressure from the California State Attorney General for what amounts to poor business practices and broken promises. She surrendered her license to practice law and resigned from the state bar in May 2011 TaxMasters, another ‘big’ firm with TV advertising, is facing pressure of their own from State Attorney Generals for the same kinds of misleading advertising and sales practices where clients are promised a successful offer in compromise.
These tax firms all have something in common.
You won’t find any of those things about me or my team here at tax attorney Jeff Fouts and Associates. We have an A+ BBB rating, no complaints with the State Attorney General in any state and no bad press from mainstream media.
It’s often difficult for businesses to stay true to their original vision and ethics when they grow too fast or seemingly get greedy. I take a different approach with my tax law practice. That’s probably why we’re in our 18th year of service. We work hard for our clients and we fight the IRS even harder. I have a small but tireless staff that are very experienced. Here’s an example. Dale is my Special Assistant and he’s one of the people you’ll speak with when you first contact my office. Dale’s been with my firm a long time, he knows your issues, he’s patient and understanding. He doesn’t make promises that I can’t keep and he follows up promptly to all your issues. Pennies on the dollar Pennies on the dollar is possible, but not because of some legal voodoo. Basically, the IRS determines what percentage of your outstanding tax liability it can reasonably collect in the next 2 years. This is called your “reasonable collection potential” and it’s why pennies on the dollar cases happen. Think about your ability to pay if you presently have a high income vs. if you’ve been out of work for six months and haven’t found a new job. What we do here at my firm is a proper analysis of your case facts and history. My special assistant Dale will tell you that we can’t make any promises on your case, and can’t assess your chances of a successful offer in compromise case until I’ve completely reviewed your case facts. Even then, we don’t promise success. What I can do is promise that everyone on my team will do our best. With 18 years experience and and A+ rating with the BBB I’d encourage you to call us and find out if we can help you. Until next time, Jeff Fouts, Tax Attorney Here’s a bio of sorts. I’m happily married with two kids. I’m a real small town tax lawyer, (Ellijay, pop. 1,584) not some fictional marketing character. I’ve represented tax clients against the IRS in all 50 states, and in 21 foreign countries. I have 18 years experience, thousands of satisfied clients, about 8 critics at last count, and an A+ BBB Rating. I’m a member in good standing of the bar and have active memberships in courts from Georgia to Washington D.C., including the U.S. Supreme Court. My competitors covet my Google ranking but my clients covet my sound legal counsel. I deal directly with my clients and have a small, tireless staff of tax specialists. You can put off your tax problem, or put us to work for you. IRS Tax Problems: Jail or Offer in Compromise?Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Choosing between jail time and negotiating with the IRS to reypay back taxes and fines seems like an easy choice. But for many, their fear keeps them from acting and before long the IRS comes calling. If you have a tax problem, you don’t have to repeat this mistake. Many people don’t realize that you can often negotiate a lower tax bill with the IRS using what is called an IRS Offer In Compromise or OIC. With an IRS offer in compromise, you can lower your overall tax debt and make monthly payments that let you not only avoid jail time, but wage garnishments and IRS levy’s as well. Here’s an example of what not to do and more on the IRS Offer in Compromise: 5 Online Tax Resources for Small Business OwnersMonday, June 6th, 2011
Two common small business tax problem areas:
Small Business Tax Problem #1 – New to Running a BusinessNew to running your own business? We often start our small business with a dream, the back of a napkin and a credit card. Tax planning generally isn’t on the short list. If and when taxes come up it’s often at the last moment and complex financial and tax decisions are not given their due. Later, you hear about tantalizing tax write offs. These exist, but only if you qualify. This false expectation of entitlement and lack of understanding about all the arms and legs of running a business is often what gets small business owners in trouble. Small Business Tax Problem #2 – Confusing & Overwhelming ChoicesJust the question of how you should structure your business, be it a sole proprietorship, LLC or Corporation can turn into a maze. These structures have potential benefits and pitfalls and cover more areas of business than just taxes. There are the legal protections , then the different methods of accounting, record keeping, business licenses, and the list goes on. It’s easy to get bad advice. 5 Resources to Help Small Business Avoid Tax PitfallsStay out of trouble by educating yourself and then investing in advice from experienced resources. Even when you’re putting your business together on the cheap, you can minimize high cost resources like CPA’s, Attorneys, or Tax Experts by reading up on the basic issues and then keeping your time short and focused with your chosen advisers. Here’s a list of five resources on the web where you can further your small business tax education.
Here are two bonus links. Employment TaxesPayroll taxes, Social Security and Medicaid are particularly confusing. This is a common small business tax problem that I help solve for my clients. The IRS page is one of those pages that might make you cringe (it looks like a lot of work!) but it’s a necessary resource nonetheless. » Read More This article on BusinessWeek is useful for s-corp shareholders wondering if they need to pay themselves a salary (and therefor payroll taxes). » Read More Until next time, Jeffrey I. Fouts, Tax Attorney Here’s a bio of sorts. I’m happily married with two kids. I’m a real small town tax lawyer (Ellijay, pop. 1,584) not some fictional marketing character. I represent tax payers before the IRS in all 50 states. I have 18 years experience, thousands of satisfied clients, about 8 critics at last count, and an A+ BBB Rating. I’m a member in good standing of the bar and have active memberships in courts from Georgia to Washington D.C. My competitors covet my Google ranking but my clients covet my sound counsel. I deal directly with my clients and have a small, tireless staff. You can put off your tax problem, or put us to work. What To Do If You Can’t Pay Your TaxesTuesday, May 31st, 2011
File an extension Negotiate a Payment Plan with IRS Settle with the IRS File your taxes no matter what Until next time, Jeffrey I. Fouts, Tax Attorney Here’s a bio of sorts. I’m happily married with two kids. I’m a real small town tax lawyer (Ellijay, pop. 1,584) not some fictional marketing character. I represent tax payers before the IRS in all 50 states. I have 18 years experience, thousands of satisfied clients, about 8 critics at last count, and an A+ BBB Rating. I’m a member in good standing of the bar and have active memberships in courts from Georgia to Washington D.C. My competitors may covet my Google ranking but my clients covet my sound counsel. I deal directly with my clients and have a small, tireless staff. You can put off your tax problem, or put us to work. Need a Tax Attorney But Afraid You Can’t Afford to Hire One?Thursday, April 14th, 2011Are you trying to choose a tax attorney to fix your IRS tax problem but you’re concerned you can’t afford the cost? Here’s a really good reason to pick me over my fellow attorney’s: The money you’ll save on legal fees and the peace of mind of a capped legal fee. Every day prospective clients ask me why they should hire me as their tax attorney over a competitor. I share my qualifications and tell them the story of how I’ve built my tax law practice over 18 years by helping people win against the IRS. But my clients get most excited when we talk money, especially when I tell them I offer a capped legal fee for handling their IRS tax problem. Every tax attorney has an hourly rate and most also charge an initial retainer to begin work on your behalf. Top Sources of Tax Problems That Lead to Hiring a Tax Attorney – Part 2Thursday, March 31st, 2011 Low cost tax preparation services might be more trouble than their worth Yesterday, I talked about one of the biggest sources of tax problems that lead individuals and businesses to hire me to represent them as their tax attorney before the IRS. If you are coming here new, please read my previous post about the ‘gotchas’ that can occur with tax software. Today, I want to talk about the next biggest source of tax problems that my clients experience and then give you 5 ways to avoid tax problems when working with a tax preparer. Low Price Tax Preparation ServicesYou know the old saying “If I had a nickel for every time a _________ I’d be rich!”? Well, I’m not rich but I have built a successful tax law practice over 19 years because of the number of people who have been burned by low cost tax services. With apologies for my dry humor, in my practice these firms rank almost neck and neck with tax preparation software as my highest performing sales channel! So why do so many tax problems stem from low cost tax services? (more…) Top Sources of Tax Problems That Lead to Hiring a Tax AttorneyWednesday, March 30th, 2011
Let me put it this way, if it wasn’t for popular tax return software, and other problem areas I’ll discuss later this week, I might not be able to make a living as a tax attorney. Tax Return software Most of the tax return preparation programs today use an interview format to make it easier on you to complete your taxes. Sounds great, but in practice this leads to one of my client’s biggest problem areas. The interview based approach favored by tax software can lead to double counting in areas like your expenses. In other words, it looks like you owe less tax than you really do. The minute you submit this inaccurate return you’ve potentially triggered an IRS audit flag. Ultimately, you’ll also owe back taxes and interest on the tax amount you should have paid. You’d think by the tone of my comments that I was selling tax return preparation but I’m not. I just fix the problems once they’ve already happened. What’s the solution to avoiding tax problems with Tax Return Preparation software? (more…)Even if the IRS is Wrong – They Can Still Crush You.Friday, October 8th, 2010
Some good folks believe that the IRS may be unconstitutional. But it doesn’t matter that they may be incorrect in their views. They’re convinced they are right and it is very difficult to convince them to the contrary. Even Idaho’s Republican lawmaker Phil Hart believes the IRS is unconstitutional. As a result, he stopped paying his taxes to protest the IRS. Not surprisingly, the IRS wasn’t convinced by his position and they slapped a $300,000 tax lien on him. One would hope that an elected US government official would choose a different method to express his feelings than stop paying taxes, increasing the tax burden on his constituents. Apparently Mr. Hart felt that it was alright for the people who elected him to pay his salary, benefits and social programs and he should not contribute. (Read the article at KHQ.com) What’s the lesson here? Taxpayers are free to believe that the IRS and the current system of taxation is unconstitutional, but believing that doesn’t make the IRS go away. The best way to change a system is to work to change the system using legal means, not by breaking the law, or causing the government to come after you. It doesn’t help you, or change the tax laws, if you damage your financial life by having the IRS come collecting. If you owe back taxes, you should strongly consider dealing with the IRS – sooner rather than later. [Image source: Phil Hart Constitutional Income Book] | |
What Should Non-Filing Taxpayers Do?
