What are the First Steps to Know Whether a Georgia Offer in Compromise is Right for You?

Have you ever wondered “What are the first steps to know whether or not a Georgia Offer in Compromise is right for you?”  I’ll tell you.

Hi, I’m Jeff Fouts, a tax attorney located in metro Atlanta, with a state-wide, and nationwide, law practice helping clients who have serious Georgia tax problems.

So, “What are the first steps to know whether or not a Georgia Offer in Compromise is right for you?”

In recent months the State of Georgia has radically changed their attitude about their own Offer in Compromise program, and about their other programs.  The Georgia Department used to not accept many Offers, but that has now changed, for the better.

Spurred on by the State’s need to generate cash flow, and a recognition that using really aggressive, hardball tactics wouldn’t achieve that goal, they decided to take the opposite tact and actually offer some great solutions to help delinquent Georgia taxpayers deal with their tax problems, which, at the same time, generated cash flow for Georgia.  A win-win solution for all parties.

Now that there are some real solutions on the table to solve your Georgia tax problem, the question is which ones fit your situation, and which solutions are best for you.  For example, you should not assume that the Offer in Compromise program is the very best option for you, although it is a truly great solution.

First Steps First

So, how do you know which solutions best helps you with your Georgia tax debt?  You must do the hard work of gathering all of the needed data and then properly analyze it.  There is no short cut to this.

Several different types of data and information must be gathered.  These include: your financial data, tax debt info, tax withholding data, and tax return data.  I’ll first discuss gathering the financial data.

Financial Info

For some clients, the whole process of solving a tax case is more involved than they want it to be.  Even though I too wish we could simply fill out a piece of paper and file it with Georgia and get whatever solution we want, it doesn’t work that easy.  We must take the time and effort to gather all your financial data.

To know what direction you’re going to go in with your tax case, you’ve got to have a road map, and your financial data is an important part of that road map.  You must get the financial information needed to correctly fill out either a Form CD-14A, Form CD-14B or a Form CD-14C.  The specific form you use will depend on your particular circumstances.

•           Individual taxpayers seeking to compromise, or settle, an income tax liability of less than $25,000 (not including any interest and penalties) must prepare a Form CD-14A (Collection Information Statement).

•           For other types of tax debt, and income tax liabilities in excess of $25,000, individual taxpayers must fill out a Form CD-14C (Statement of Financial Condition For Wage Earners and Self-Employed).

•           Delinquent business entities (such as corporations, partnerships, LLCs, etc.) should use a Form CD-14B (Statement of Financial Condition For Businesses).

Don’t be confused by all the forms I’m talking about, because it’s not really that confusing.  The thing to remember is that regardless of which financial form is the correct one for you to use, it is imperative that it be filled out completely and correctly.  You must realize that when the State of Georgia, or the IRS for that matter, reviews your financial information when it is filed along with a request for an Offer in Compromise, that they sometimes mess up their analysis of the data we send them.

Our firm sends in very detailed, very well organized Offer packages, and we have received many, many compliments on our work over the years from government employees, but still some IRS and Georgia employees who handle Offer requests fail to correctly understand what our Offer package is telling them.  I mean, it’s right there in front of them, but some of them simply can’t seem to understand it properly.  There doesn’t appear to be any justifiable reason for their confusion except maybe they are overworked, or maybe they’re undertrained, or just doing a sloppy job, or maybe they want to deny a taxpayer’s request for a settlement Offer. No matter what the reason is, you must be ready to quickly respond back to them quickly and thoroughly to show them that their interpretation is wrong and that our interpretation is correct.

In order to not have any bad surprises later in your case, it is best to also review the backup documentation necessary to verify the information you’ve placed on the forms.  This is something that we always do in an effort to give you the best chance of success.  The need to review the backup documentation is another unexpected thing for a few clients.  They don’t realize that we must verify that all the financial number is accurate and verifiable.  If we didn’t do this, it would be disastrous for your case if Georgia challenged the correctness of the data and we couldn’t prove that the numbers were correct.

Other Info Needed

In other videos I’ll talk about the other important pieces of information you’ll need in order to know which solutions you have to solve your tax problem, including your tax return information, your tax debt info, and your withholding or estimated tax information.

Conclusion

I hope this important video tip has helped you understand the Georgia Department of Revenue a little better and about how tax problems are solved.  Chances are you have questions or concerns about your own particular tax problem.  What I encourage you to do is pick up the phone and call me.  I can answer your questions.  Over the past 20 years I’ve represented clients all across Georgia, and in 50 states and 29 foreign countries, and I welcome your call.  You can reach me at (888) 995-6785 or by email at jfouts@taxhelpattorney.com.  I’m Jeff Fouts and thanks so much for watching.  Have a wonderful day.