Dealing with an outstanding IRS tax debt is a stressful situation but it can be even more difficult to handle if you're facing a financial hardship. These situations, which could be caused by any number of factors, are not unusual for taxpayers who owe and want to settle back taxes. This is why the IRS extends a special provision for those who are dealing with financial hardship - the "Hardship" status which places a temporary freeze on your repayment requirements until your economic situation improves.
An offer in compromise is a little-used tax relief provision that may give you the opportunity to write off most of your tax debt to the IRS. This option may help to absolve a large amount of the outstanding debt, leaving you with just a small percentage to repay. Qualifying for an offer in compromise can be very difficult, though, since the IRS has strict guidelines for eligibility and may not approve your request.
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Taxpayers who have an outstanding tax debt with the IRS may receive a notice about a possible bank levy. This usually happens after the debt has gone unpaid for some time or after the taxpayer has neglected to contact the IRS about repaying the debt. While dealing with an IRS bank levy is a difficult process, the good news is that you may have time to settle your account before the levy is enforced. Here are three suggestions for
avoiding a bank levy.
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If you've recently gotten divorced you may be feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the process of starting over as a single person. However, one of the most important parts of your life that you need to protect right now is your financial well-being. Even after your divorce is finalized there are a few tax tips for the divorced that you'll want to follow to make sure your assets are well managed.
If you're a newlywed who just got married this year you may be excited about starting your new life with your spouse. However, if you don't take the time to do a little tax planning you might get an unpleasant surprise at tax time. The good news is that most of these tax tips for newlyweds are fairly simple to implement so you won't have to take much time out of your newly married life to settle them.
If you owe back taxes to the IRS you may be wondering what your possible settlement options are. This may be particularly true if you're barely making enough money to cover your necessary living expenses. The IRS does have a status called "Currently Not Collectible" that is reserved for taxpayers who owe tax debt but are financially unable to repay the debt for a time. Qualifying for this designation is a bit complex but may provide some short-term tax relief for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
Most taxpayers are familiar with the annual income tax filing deadline of April 15, but they may not be aware of a few other tax deadlines that occur every summer. These summer tax deadlines typically affect U.S. citizens who live outside the United States, those who receive tips, those who pay estimated taxes and those who have foreign accounts. If these circumstances do not apply to your situation you likely don't have to worry about your taxes until next April.
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f you're far behind on your income tax debt you might be thinking about pursuing bankruptcy protection to get some relief for back taxes. However, rather than thinking of bankruptcy as the solution to a problem you'll need to find out some details about how bankruptcy works and if there are better options for settling your tax debt.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2012 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
So, you and your spouse filed a joint tax return, but later you discover there are some major errors or even outright omissions that lead to a hefty tax bill. And here's the kicker: you had no clue about these mistakes when you signed the return. You might want to consider filing for innocent spouse relief.
If you owe the IRS a significant amount of back taxes you may have received a notice about an upcoming IRS bank levy. Once this levy is placed on your account it can be very difficult to have it removed especially if you try to settle your account on your own. A qualified tax specialist can help you learn how to release the levy from your bank account.
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