Filing Back Taxes

The tax payer drove up from Indianapolis IN. He has not filed a tax return in over a decade. He has not filed in such a long time the IRS does not have him in their computer system. The tax payer retained the firm to file his back returns, determine what he owes and negotiate a repayment plan. This client is the most basic of successes. He presented the firm a problem and paid the firm to resolve the problem. We are a results orientated company we strive to make a success story out of every engagement.

The tax payer is from Ohio. He owns a sole proprietorship. The company is involved in the construction trades. The tax payer’s case had already been assigned a Revenue Officer. This particular Revenue Officer was rather agitated with the tax payer. The Revenue Officer went so far as to describe how lavish a home the tax payer lives in. The firm needed to file back tax returns otherwise, the Revenue Officer was going to levy the tax payer’s bank account. The firm filed 6 years of back taxes. The tax payer went from owing $70,000, to owing just over $10,000. This case was a smashing success. The firm has since advised the tax payer to form a corporation. The firm is working with the client to get the corporation’s books straight, and the tax payer is taking a payroll check. The relationship has been a fantastic success for the client and the firm.

The client travels 50 weeks per year. This client needs help he has not filed a tax return in a number of years. We helped him identify his prior employers, and now we are preparing his back taxes. We have helped this client, we have been patient and we have worked diligently with him to get him compliant. He probably will not owe very much money. This is another client that the firm has had incorporate. The client now operates out of a corporation, he has a payroll check and a retirement plan.

The tax payer lives and works abroad. He needed a couple of years of back taxes prepared. After we prepared the returns the client ended up owing $40,000. However, if we had not helped him with the foreign income tax exclusion, he would have owed $70,000 or more. Penalties and interest would have pushed the balance over $100,000. We saved this client tens of thousands of dollars. This was a smashing success story. If you have worked abroad, call the firm we might be able to save you some tax money.

The firm had a meeting with a prospective new client Thursday November 19th. The tax payer has a really large problem. The IRS has decided the best method of collections would be a wage levy. The client hired the firm to stop the wage levy. Friday November 20th, the firm contacted the IRS to find out that the client has not filed an income tax return since 2003. You cannot stop a wage levy if the tax payer is not compliant. Monday November 23rd, the firm prepared all outstanding tax returns. The client still owes back taxes, but they are compliant and we can now work on a more appropriate repayment option.

Settled a $270,000 debt for a $90,000 installment agreement. This payment plan gave the taxpayer a manageable payment plan. This particular taxpayer has a home that is paid for free and clear. The goal of the taxpayer was to keep the home so that his extremely ill spouse does not have to move. We protected the asset and resolved the client’s tax problem.

Business Consulting

The tax payer owns a company that sells agricultural implements. The company makes several hundred thousand dollars per year. This is a successful company. The family leads a very nice life; however, they are currently being investigated by The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Internal Revenue Service. The firm is comprised of Certified Public Accountants and accounting professionals. We are not lawyers and we do not represent people before CID. We do have a role to play. We can assist the lawyer in sorting out complicated tax issues; furthermore, if compiled financial statements are needed we can prepare accurate financial statements. We may not represent a client, but we won’t avoid a client that is being investigated by CID. For this particular client, we have prepared many years of back taxes, we have generated compiled financial statements, we have compiled interim financial statements and we have assisted in the preparation of Personal Financial Statements. We have filed all back taxes, and applied for a loan to fully pay all back taxes, penalties and interest. We have helped save a family business that makes a substantial living. This case is a landmark case of tax payer representation.

I just wrote a blog article about a client just like this client. The client owns a local ethnic grocery store. The store serves its community as a source of food and as a financial institution. The store offers many financial products, wire transfers, check cashing, Western Union, phone cards and utility payments. The client’s books are a mess. The prior accountant had no accounting methodology, come to find out the prior accountant isn’t even a CPA. In the State of Indiana, you are supposed to be a CPA to issue a compiled financial statement. The client in my blog entry is serving multiple years in prison for not paying income taxes. I don’t think my client is avoiding or deferring income taxes; however, without an accurate set of books and records, how would anyone know? The firm has spent many man hours developing a trial balance and a set of accurate books. We have just completed the accounting and are ready to issue the first set of financial statements. This client is a fantastic success story. The client owns a large complicated company, they now have an accurate set of books.

Payroll Tax Problems

This client was bankrupt. She owed $20,000 in back payroll taxes. The client bankrupted her corporation and sold the assets to a new company. She is now operating with a new entity and no more debt. The IRS debt has been negotiated down to $0, she paid nothing in additional taxes, penalties or interest. This case is a fantastic success. This client allowed the firm to use its creativity and followed every instruction to the letter.

The client has started a bad trend. He has started to not pay the United States Treasury. He has chosen poorly, he is paying creditors that can be discharged under a bankruptcy. He has decided to not pay a creditor that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. The firm has advised the tax payer to bankrupt his current corporation. He needs to shed the debt load that he is currently trying to support. He cannot make all of his payments. It is time for him to file bankruptcy and start over. The firm will be there every step of the way. We will assist him in choosing the correct lawyers and following the plan that allows him the most financial freedom. Soon, the client will have a fresh start.

The firm represented this client before the Collection Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Initially, the client hired the firm to protect him from the filing of a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. The firm protected him from a Federal Tax Lien, his largest client was the county recorder. He would lose his largest client if the IRS filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Unfortunately, things have not worked out for this client. He has now filed for bankruptcy. However, that does not mean that the firm cannot help him. We are advising him of how to handle the IRS now that he has filed bankruptcy. The client now needs the firm to defend him against a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty and setup a repayment plan. The firm’s goals change when the client’s goals change. We adapt, so that our solution solves your problem.

The tax payer hired the firm to file multiple years of unfiled payroll tax forms. The client had several employees and had never filed payroll tax forms. The client paid the firm to file the forms. She had actually paid the taxes that were owed; however, she had never filed the forms. The firm prepared the forms, submitted the forms for payment and ensured that all forms posted correctly. The client’s case was resolved in a matter of weeks.

The tax payer came to the firm for help. No sooner did we meet with the client, the Indiana Department of Revenue levied the client’s bank account for $36,000. The client needs payroll tax forms filed for multiple years and multiple states. Unfortunately, the tax payer has no documents. He has no quarterly forms, or monthly forms. The firm has ordered W-2 information from the Social Security Administration. We are in a race against time the Indiana Department of Revenue wants more money. They continue to threaten additional levies against the tax payer’s bank account. This client has been a successful engagement. The firm has shown the ability to forestall additional bank levies while working diligently to get the client compliant.

Abatement of $22,000 of penalties for a taxpayer. The taxpayer used his diagnosed medical illness as the basis for the penalty abatement. The diagnosed illness was clinical depression. This taxpayer is a high net worth individual. We then got a second mortgage on his house and full paid the base taxes that were owed.

Offer in Compromise

The firm had to ruffle some feathers for this client. This client owes over a million dollars to the United States Treasury, he owes almost $100,000 to the State of Indiana. We contacted an executive at the Indiana Department of Revenue, the firm wanted a wage garnishment. Initially, the Indiana Department of Revenue would not comply. They would not take their money from the client, even though he wanted to give it to them. The firm will not tolerate any action that violates a tax payer’s rights. A taxing authority’s inaction could have hurt this client. The firm had to fight for this client’s rights. We have now entered another phase of this client’s case. We are now preparing an Offer in Compromise for this client. We will most likely settle this case for thousands of dollars, not anywhere near the million dollars that the client owes.

Payment Plans

Many of our clients come to the firm a complete mess. This client did not know he was not compliant and he owed over $100,000. His wife had been hiding this secret from him for nearly six years. The firm examined his payroll records. We corrected his forms and filed payroll tax forms that were accurate. The additional accuracy saved the client $60,000. This client owed back payroll taxes and back income taxes. The firm has successfully negotiated a repayment plan. The tax payer is compliant, and on a path to recovery.