I received this question from a reader about a closed business that owes employment taxes to the IRS, and her personal liability for the taxes: The IRS is trying to collect on employment taxes from a company that has been out of business for several years. As an officer, I have already been held liable. [...]
Currently Not Collectible
If you cannot pay your delinquent taxes because of an economic hardship, the IRS can suspend collection efforts against you. This does not mean your debt is forgiven; just that the IRS will defer collection and not take your wages or bank account. Internal Revenue Service Policy Statement 5-71 permits hardship status on IRS accounts, [...]
The list of when the IRS cannot take property is fairly extensive, so I will do this in parts to break it down simply. Here is Part I of when the IRS is prohibited from taking collection action: When there is insufficient equity in the property. There must be sufficient net proceeds from the sale [...]
I have seen an increase in calls to my office from retirees who have received an IRS levy on their Social Security benefits. In most every case, the levy (1) relates to conduct from self-employment when they were younger, and that conduct has long ago ended and (2) creates a substantial hardship for the retiree, [...]
IRS enforced collection activity continues to heat up. Compromise settlements are down by 70% while bad debt accounts continue to accumulate. Here are the numbers: 1. 779,000 taxpayer accounts were assigned to the IRS collection queue. 2. The number of offers in compromises accepted by the IRS declined by 70% from 2001 (38,643) to 2007 (11,618). [...]
