Having a large tax bill, whether expected or not, is an issue that is not exclusive to the rich. It can also happen to ordinary people and small business owners. When the IRS or Idaho State Tax Commission send you a bill for an amount owing, there are often ways to resolve that debt without selling assets or uprooting your life to resolve your debt immediately. The following are the steps our office typically takes to resolve tax debt.
- Pull tax information and conduct a tax analysis.
Our tax resolution expert begins the process of resolving tax debt with a thorough tax analysis. We get authorizations directly from you to pull tax information, and then use that authorization to get a thorough picture of the taxes you owe, why you owe them, and to whom you owe them. Reviewing this information along with your financials allows us to come up with a thorough picture of the remedies we have to resolve your tax debt.
- Put together a plan to resolve your tax debt.
The plan to resolve tax debt can go in several directions. Filling or amending tax returns, getting into an affordable plan (instead of the unreasonably high payments proposed by the taxing institution), requesting non-collectible status, filing an offer, or even filing a bankruptcy case are some of the many options we may choose to pursue.
- Gather documentation and information.
Putting together an accurate representation of you finances allows us to provide documentation proving you are entitled to the resolution you prefer. Whether it is an offer or non-collectible status, the taxing institution will require proof that you are unable to pay your taxes on their timeline.
- Send in your packet requesting the resolution.
Once we’ve gotten your packet prepared with the required documentation, we send that information in to the IRS or Idaho State Tax Commission. Filing bankruptcy to resolve tax debt is a different process, and requires the filing of a petition with the local bankruptcy court. Once you’ve sent your request in, it is typically a waiting game to figure out whether your proposal has been accepted. In 2021, at the time of this writing, the IRS has been understaffed, and it is not uncommon for our requests to take months or even over a year to receive a response. Our attorney will provide you with any updates as we receive them, and follow up with any questions you might have in the meantime.
- Receive approval your requested resolution, or go back to the drawing board.
If your request is granted, then you simply comply with the terms of the agreement, and that is often the end of representation. An offer generally resolves the tax debt in less than a year after it has been approved, so long as you comply with the terms of the offer. And agreement with the IRS allows you to pay your tax debt at a pace that is more appropriate to your circumstances. If your request has been denied, typically we figure out why the request was denied and make the appropriate adjustments. Sometimes, the request can be denied without reason (which is common with an offer with the IRS), and the best course of action is to simply submit the offer again.
At Kootenai Bankruptcy, our experienced tax resolution attorney will be able to walk you through each option, and move forward with the option that is best for you. Call or text us at (208) 719-0232 today and we can discuss the option best for you.
IRS tax relief
