Georgia’s Offer in Compromise program gives some taxpayers options when it comes to addressing their tax liabilities. The Georgia program is based upon the IRS’ Offer in Compromise program in hopes of collecting more tax monies within a difficult economic period. However, not everyone who has a tax liability is eligible for this program.

If you wish to be qualified for Georgia’s Offer in Compromise program, you must have filed all of your required tax reports and forms and brought all of your estimated tax payments current. In addition, you cannot be in an active bankruptcy case at the time of filing. To conclude, you should have received a “Final Notice” for your Georgia state taxes. If you meet these requirements, you are eligible to submit an offer, but understand, there is no guarantee that your offer to settle will be accepted by the state authorities.

Three Offers in Compromise Available

Georgia has three different types of Offers in Compromise:

1. Doubt as to Collectability: If you believe that you will never be able to pay the full amount of the tax liability, even by liquidating your assets, paying the bill in full, or paying through Georgia’s current installment agreement, the Revenue Department will consider that fact when determining if your case falls into this category.

2. Doubt as to Liability: There is a legitimate doubt that you really do owe all or part of the assessed tax liability. The tax amount is incorrect, and you can document that fact.

3. Economic Hardship: You agree that the tax amount assessed is correct, but collection of that assessment would create economic hardship for you.

With all three categories, there are special forms which need to be filled out and documentation that the taxpayer would need to provide when submitting an Offer.

What An Audit Considers

Even with all of this paperwork, there is no guarantee that Georgia Revenue Department will accept your offer. This department will complete a thorough audit of your financial condition before any decision is made. In this audit, the Revenue Department bases their criteria upon the IRS criteria for the IRS Offer in Compromise.

Such criteria can include: a consideration of your expenses; not enough documentation of your claims or within your financial statement; inconsistent valuation of your property, especially in light of what is listed on your financial statement; any tax funds which are held in trust, such as withholding tax, that you have failed to pay; if you have a history of non-compliance with Georgia’s state tax laws; and lastly, the final decision is left to the State Revenue Commissioner, without any restrictions placed upon him.

A Tax Lawyer Can Help You

The best solution to all of this is to always pay your taxes. If you should get in a bind and feel that you may qualify for one of these offers, Jeff Fouts, a Georgia tax lawyer, would be able to assist you in getting the best possible chance of a positive outcome. When things get this complicated, you need an expert who knows tax law and how to comply with it. Jeff Fouts is the law specialist you need to have a good tax solution.