The following is a description of the actions the IRS can take to compromise your daily lifestyle. If you would like to learn more about how we can help, then contact our representatives immediately.
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Q. What Are Levies?
A. Levies are the IRS's way of getting your immediate attention. What they are saying is that we have tried to communicate with you but you have ignored us. Levies are used to seize your wages (commonly referred to as garnishment) and whatever other assets you have: checking accounts, savings accounts, autos, stocks, bonds or anything else you own. If you have more in the bank than you owe; they will only take that amount, leaving the rest for you. Cain, Bourret, Jarry & Cressman LLC, in most cases, will be able to get those levies released and then help you get out of that terrible situation. Our goal is to get you even with the IRS, with what you can afford, and let you start life anew.
Q. What Are Liens?
A. When your taxes are not paid, the IRS establishes a lien against all of your assets. This gives the IRS the legal right to collect taxes from your assets, which includes just about everything you own. The lien can be against you, your spouse, or your company. A lien against you and your company could and would seize your accounts receivable. At this point everything you own is just one short step away from becoming the property of the United States Government.
Q. What Are Dissipated Assets?
A. Dissipated Assets are assets that the IRS notices that you sold, withdrew or otherwise disposed of in recent months or years. For instance, you made out a Form 433A Financial Statement for the IRS and listed that you had no money in your 401K Retirement Plan, but they examine the records and see that you withdrew $50,000 from the 401K 15 months ago. They then inquire of you, "What did you do with the $50,000?" You answer, "Well, I paid off some credit cards, took a trip to Cancun, helped my Mother-in-Law out, bought a new car, etc. . ." They say, "At the time you spent that $50,000, you owed the IRS $43,500! Why didn't you pay that instead with the money?" You have no answer! You had just submitted an Offer in Compromise, offering $5,000 to pay off your back taxes owed of $70,000. This now increases your offer to $48,500 (the original offer of $5,000 plus the $43,500 of dissipated assets). The IRS thinks you should pay them first, not other debts such as credit cards. They don't care if you ever pay off those credit cards. Or your automobile loan, or anything else!
When this Firm prepares to send in an Offer in Compromise on a client's behalf, we check things out like dissipated assets FIRST! When you call the TV experts, they just say "You qualify for an Offer in Compromise." But they say that just to get your money. Don't trust them! Don't hire them.
Q. What Is an Amended (Tax) Return?
A. It is a claim by a taxpayer to the IRS for a refund of all or part of the taxes paid in earlier years. Such a claim can result from the correction of an error or the availability of a loss or credit that can be carried back and used to reduce the tax liability of a prior year.
Q. What Are Penalty Abatements?
A. Tax penalty abatement is the process of reducing or removing penalties assessed by the IRS as a result of late or misfiled taxes. Abatement does not remove the responsibility you have to pay the tax that was underpaid, paid late or missed in the past. It only allows for the assessed penalty to be lifted.
Q. What is a Statute of Limitation (Collections)?
A. Legal limits imposed on the IRS for assessing and collecting taxes, and on the Justice Department for charging taxpayers with tax crimes. The current statute of limitations for collection is 10 years from the date of assessment. However, the statute can be extended by certain actions of the taxpayer.
Q. What is a Wage Levy?
A. The IRS can levy your wages or accounts receivable and all other sources of income. The person, company, or institution that is served the levy must comply. If they do not comply, they too may have daunting IRS (legal) problems. Wage levies are filed with your employer and remain in effect until the IRS notifies the employer that the wage levy has been released. Most wage levies take so much money from the taxpayer's paycheck that the taxpayer doesn't have enough money to live on.
Q. What is a tax audit?
A. Audit by the IRS or other tax-collecting agency to determine whether a taxpayer has paid the correct amount of tax.