Category: Taxpayer Representation

The vast majority of small businesses could use the services of an accountant. The number of ways in which it is possible to introduce errors into your business through accounting practices is staggering. Your accounting includes issues related to payroll, monitoring profitability, inventory control, avoiding penalties and interest on taxes, and much, much more. It is wise to select a competent professional in this field to help you navigate the minefield of accounting pitfalls. Selecting such a professional can be difficult, especially since not all accountants are created equal.

Here are some questions to ask to help ensure that you are selecting the best accountant you can for your business.

1. Do they have any complaints with the Better Business Bureau?

When many individuals decide to take action and make a complaint against a firm, they often think first of the BBB. Check with your local division, or look them up online, and make sure that the company you are considering hiring has a good record with the BBB. If they have a Gold Star award from the BBB, then you’re on the right track to working with a company that is reputable and stands by their word. The BBB’s new letter grading system can also help you in selecting a good firm.

2. Have they ever been investigated by your state Attorney General’s office or state board of accountancy?

This is another place to do your own due diligence. Complaints with the state AG or Board of Accountancy is an automatic red flag and should be highly considered before selecting a firm.

3. What services do they provide, and what services do you need?

Think about exactly what you’re looking for in a service provider. Do you need full service accounting, outsourcing all functions to another person or firm? Or do you just need year-end tax preparation? Knowing the answer to what services you need will help you pick the best person to do what you need, and will affect your budget for getting it done. For example, if you just need tax preparation, then you might be better off with an experienced tax preparer instead of a CPA firm that mostly does auditing and general accounting. If you only need payroll services, then you might want to hire a payroll company rather than a bookkeeper that does payroll on the side. If you need the books updated weekly or monthly, most communities … Continue reading

Taxpayers have the right to request relief from penalties assessed by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS sets very specific criteria for the granting of penalty abatements. It can be very difficult to demonstrate that a taxpayer’s circumstances meet the criteria for penalty relief. Most of the time, we will request a written statement from the taxpayer explaining the circumstances that lead to the accrual of their tax liability, and then use that to create our own penalty abatement request that fits to one of the IRS criterion, cites case law, etc.

Most of the time, taxpayer’s have some reason for not paying their taxes that ties back to not having the money to do so. Lack of funds does not meet IRS reasonable cause criteria, but the circumstances behind the lack of funds sometimes can be reasonable cause.

Occasionally, the taxpayer’s explanation for failing to pay their taxes doesn’t leave us with a lot to work with. On rare occasions, we receive an explanation that is quite humorous.

This example is from a taxpayer that elected to continue NOT paying his taxes because it was financially convenient. With a struggling business, a divorce, and alimony and child support to pay, the taxpayer was experiencing financial hardship. He wrote:

I financed [business] shortfalls with credit card advances and soon I had unsupportable credit card debts and many other expenses…

As things started to turn around for the taxpayer, he continues:

In early 2001 I noticed that I somehow had enough money to pay my bills. Later, I discovered that I had inadvertently neglected to call in the 941 payment [for fourth quarter], even though the check had been generated by the accounting program. I was consternated but simply didn’t have the money to make good.

This is a common reason as to why people miss a Federal Tax Deposit, often several in a row. They then try to make it up when they can. However, in this case:

I expected a notice from the IRS daily, but nothing happened and when it was time for the next 941 payment I thought, “This is the kind of tax relief I need right now.” As an expedience, I didn’t pay the 941’s for the next several months and used the respite to get back on my feet financially.

Doing this enabled the taxpayer to get current with his vendors, credit cards, etc. He skipped his payroll tax … Continue reading

In general, the IRS appears to take a cynical view at people’s cost of living, and can be fairly judgmental about how we spend our money. This cynicism obviously increases dramatically the moment you have an outstanding tax debt.

Before delving into specifics, I’d like to make two points regarding the IRS personnel you’d normally be discussing your personal finances with. First, IRS field personnel such as Revenue Officers and Settlement (Appeals) Officers typically have higher salaries than the IRS National Standards for the areas in which they are assigned. In other words, even as public servants, they make more money than their own standards set for a middle class lifestyle.

Second, keep in mind that these people are public servants. In fact, most senior IRS personnel are lifetime bureaucrats, meaning that they have never had to work in the private sector. Some senior Revenue Officers, Revenue Agents (Auditors), and Settlement Officers have actually never worked a day in their lives outside of the government, and don’t even have finance or accounting backgrounds.

Combining these two things, you can see that it’s very possible that the IRS person you are explaining your finances to has an interesting view on the world: They’ve always made an above average salary, and lack any personal experience running a business or dealing with the reality of private sector employment. This skewed perspective becomes readily apparent in talking to senior IRS personnel if you’re a middle class taxpayer or “mom and pop” small business owner.

Now, with that said, let’s talk about the IRS National Standards. The government uses national and local cost of living data to establish norms for the cost of living across various categories. Some cost of living standards are the same for everybody, while others, such as housing and transportation, are adjusted by region.

These standards are based entirely on the government’s definition of a middle class existence. In other words, for purposes of determining how much of your income the IRS expects you to fork over in monthly payments on a tax debt, they only allow you to claim a middle class lifestyle.

It is not uncommon for me to have a conversation with a client where I’m explaining this, and they get frustrated. When you’re in IRS collections, they don’t like seeing that you’re making $1500 per month car payments on a Hummer and a Corvette, or have two people living in a 4200 … Continue reading