Jassen Bowman EA
Jassen Bowman EA

Live Tax Resolution Training Schedule for the week of April 20-24, 2020

We have a jam-packed week for you, including a PPP update covering forgiveness criteria, del ret cases, sales training for tax pros, and our first ever webinar on the topic of IRS Examination.

Lettuce begin…

Tax Resolution Office Hours. April 20, 10am PDT (1pm EDT). For Tax Resolution Academy® members only. Bring your case work, marketing, and practice management questions for in-depth dissection. Members, click here to register.

Intro to Audits: A Sweeping Overview of IRS Examination Representation. April 21, 10am PDT / 1pm EDT. Dan Henn, CPA kicks off our brand new IRS Examination curriculum with this broad overview of the field examination process. 1 CE/CPE hour for both EAs and CPAs. Click here to register.

Basic Sales Training For Tax & Accounting Professionals. April 22, 11am PDT / 2pm EDT. Sorry to break it to ya’, but if you’re in business for yourself and you can’t close sales, then you’re not going to be in business very long. “Traditional” sales training is abhorrent to most accountants, so you need to learn a sales process that is a more natural fit for our profession. On this webinar, you’ll learn that process. No CPE, but your bank account will thank you. Register hither.

Inside the IRM™: Delinquent Return Investigations – Enforcement Determination. April 23, 11am PDT / 2pm EDT. What steps does the IRS take when they are unable to secure an original return from a taxpayer. What enforcement mechanisms are available to them? How can you, as the taxpayer representative, get closure on del ret investigations? All shall be revealed next Thursday. 1 CE/CPE hour for CPAs and EAs alike. Achieve awesomeness here.

And last but not least, we arrive at Friday…

SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP Loans). April 24, 11am PDT / 2pm EDT. The SBA released another interim final rule on April 15, four days after our last PPP CPE presentation, and 1 day before funding was exhausted. So, we’ve got that to talk about. Lots of stuff about forgiveness. Dan is working up a handy, dandy cheat sheet for you, too, which you’ll receive as a special bonus when you register. Plus, who knows what Congress might do in the next few days, we may have even more new stuff to talk about! 🤪 1 CPE hour for CPAs. Get the goodness.

Don’t forget that you … Continue reading

Common Sense Advice Regarding Offer In Compromise Scams

By now, everybody with a tax bill has heard the “pennies on the dollar” promises on radio and TV. Before handing over thousands of dollars to some Slick Rick salesman over the phone, here are some things you need to know about the Offer in Compromise program.

First and foremost: You probably don’t qualify. What’s that? How can I say that without even knowing you or your situation? Because the IRS statistics show that most people that apply don’t qualify, that’s why. In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, the IRS outright rejected 59% of all Offer in Compromise applications that were submitted.

Secondly, the Attorneys General of several states, the Federal Trade Commission, and multiple class action lawsuits have been won over the common sales practice of promising tax relief, and not being able to deliver. More often than not, clients in those situations are sold an Offer in Compromise program for many thousands of dollars, and are then converted to an Installment Agreement (monthly payment plan to the IRS) with no refund of the price difference. This has been going on for years, and and many tax debt resolution companies have been sued for this and other egregious sales practices that are designed to do nothing but part you from your money.

There are probably tens of thousands of other OIC settlements sold by these companies every year that are never actually filed, so they don’t even go into that number that the IRS tracks.

If somebody is trying to tell you that you qualify for an Offer in Compromise without doing a thorough analysis of your financial situation, RUN! They will often say that you can settle your debt for some fraction of what you owe. That fraction is a totally made up number! The formula the IRS uses to determine your required Offer in Compromise amount has absolutely nothing to do with how much you owe — it’s entirely based on what you own and what you earn.

To determine whether you even qualify for an Offer in Compromise, you need to examine the value of your assets, including your retirement accounts, cash, equity in your home, your vehicles, the value of business equipment, etc. If all that stuff is worth more than what you owe the IRS, then you are most likely ineligible for an Offer in Compromise.

Also, take a look at … Continue reading

Can’t pay your 2019 tax bill by July 15, 2020?

If you have a tax bill for 2019 that you can’t quite pay, you do have options.

Even if you can’t pay in full, I’d highly encourage you to file your return on time, which has been extended from April 15 to July 15 this year due to the pandemic and resulting recession. This way, you avoid the late filing penalties that can be added on to your tax liability, which can add up to 25% of your balance due. Also, try to pay as much as you possibly can with your return. If you are going to be filing an extension, pay as much as you can with your extension.

The IRS is currently charging a 5% annual interest rate, compounded daily, on all tax debts. On top of that, you will be subject to a failure to pay penalty, which will further increase your tax debt.

It may be worthwhile to consider using credits cards or a loan to pay your tax bill. When you consider the extensive penalties the IRS charges, your credit card interest rate may actually be quite a bit lower.

If you absolutely cannot pay your tax bill this year, then use either the online payment agreement request system at irs.gov, or complete Form 9465 to request a payment plan. You are not required to wait until the IRS bills you before requesting a payment plan.

The most important thing to remember is that, in order to avoid the wrath of IRS Collections, it’s in your best interest to be proactive about managing your tax debt. Don’t wait for the IRS to come to you: Take the high road, and address it head on.

If your tax debt is simply too large for you to pay in any reasonable amount of time, it’s worth considering your other options. One of our vetted and verified tax firms near you can provide complete guidance for resolving your back tax liabilities, particularly if your situation is more complex, such as multiple years worth of tax debt to address. Search our directory using the box at the top of this page.

Don’t give the IRS the upper hand. Stay on top of your tax situation and address the issue long before the government starts coming after you.… Continue reading