So, you owe a lot of money to the IRS. Perhaps you have heard or seen the online ads about Offer In Compromise where it is claimed that the IRS settles for pennies on the dollar. However be careful here you pay a large fee up front and your Offer in Compromise gets denied or returned to you.
The IRS does not accept very many self-prepared Offers in Compromise.
Mostly they fail.
Here is why. Look at the equity in your home (that is, the market price over what you owe). If this number is greater than what you owe the IRS, the IRS will not accept an offer in compromise. The IRS will tell you to sell your home and pay off the IRS. Or the IRS may simply take your home and sell it, pay off the IRS and give you what is left. So now you are homeless!
The IRS may try to set you up on a payment plan
Another reason is if you have a reasonable income. The IRS may decide you can simply pay off the IRS before the statute expires. The IRS may try to set you up on a payment plan that you cannot afford to keep up the payments. The IRS does not care if you can keep up the payments because if you do not, they will simply levy your assets. The IRS enjoys a levy on your assets like your wages, your bank account or your house.
There is an alternative if you do not qualify for an offer in compromise. It is called a partial pay installment agreement. It is based on what you can afford to pay. You simply pay that amount for the life of the statute, and you are done. The IRS will write off the balance you owe at the end of the statute. (The statute of limitations can run for ten years although the partial pay installment agreement may only run for 72 months.)
So, the partial pay installment agreement is truly a viable option for some taxpayers. This takes considerable skill in Tax Problem Resolution to get the IRS to accept it. The Tax Problem Resolution specialist may have to deal with an untrained unsupervised IRS person to do this. Most times it does involve talking with the IRS manager.
This is not a do-it-yourself project. Every time you get upset and call the IRS it works against. The IRS will ask leading questions and document what you say and use it against you. So feel free to contact us at Philip Garnett Tax Resolution Specialist and we can help you. Our number is 360-623-1375 or email is [email protected]