income tax

Tax Problems?

Shortly after leaving the Internal Revenue Service I sat down and wrote a book to help all taxpayers based on what I experienced in their collection area.  After actually being in the belly of the beast, the very heart of what the IRS exists for, I saw that they were really not as bad as people tried to make out.

In the past I had a couple of issues with them because I did not claim some early retirement withdrawal in which tax was withheld before I received it and I genuinely thought I didn’t have to declare it because they had to have already known about it.  Oh how innocent I was!  Another time I didn’t realize there was something called EIC that I qualified for because of a drop in my income.  I’m sure many people don’t know any better when they are about to file.  In fact most IRS issues are genuine failure to follow through because you think you are not liable to do something from filing to reporting things.  The IRS will give you the benefit of the doubt if this is your first time making the mistake.  If it slips your mind again, forget it and that’s only fair.  One time I owed tax the other instance, they gave me a refund because of a credit I didn’t know I had coming.

Most of the time I handled the incoming calls from those that had levies and liens issued against them.  That is the area that also issues these collection actions.  The taxpayers are sent several notices before their cases are transferred to the Automated Collection System for further collection action.  They will try to call you and send you additional notices depending how many you were previously sent.  If you don’t call within the time frame given, they will issue liens on any property you may have and levy bank accounts or your wages.  You have to respond even if you cannot pay or don’t plan to file.  It will go much better for you and the representatives will go over many options to resolve any issues you have that you probably are not even aware of.  They will actually be able to stop or prevent collection against you regardless of what you owe if you are currently in a hardship status.

My book was to let people know easiest and best ways to resolve their individual tax problems without the added expense of a third party.  It is very easy to deal with the IRS.  There are not ways they will trick you or any other such nonsense.  Make no mistake they will want you to “full pay today” as they are required to ask you, but as long as you tell them what you are able to do, they will work with you.  Many so-called tax resolution experts are not who they say they are and most are either fraudulent or incompetent at best.  In the years I was there, we talked to thousands of people that were defrauded by just such people by thousands of dollars they could have used to pay towards their tax liabilities or used towards an Offer-in-Compromise if qualified.

Notice how the tax resolution commercials all seem to say to contact them if you owe over $10,000.  That’s ridiculous!  Any legitimate expert will take your case regardless if you owe anything and work out a reasonable fee with you.  These companies hope that the more you owe, the more you won’t miss the $2,000 on up fees for pretending to represent you.  Yes there may be legitimate tax accountants and attornies, there has to be, but don’t just go with anyone.  Make sure who you are dealing with before you make any business deals or sign anything.  Be sure they are referred by someone you trust and respect.  There were many that were taken advantage of by relatives or relatives of friends of theirs.

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For the time being, I can no longer offer “Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues.”

I promise to post more information regarding tax information and resolution in short increments in the future.

T-Day Information

Tax Day!!!

This is the day that everyone who owes tax hates.  Really hates.

Some will chose to ignore it completely and those are the ones that will really benefit from my book “Don’t Mess With The IRS“.

For the time being, I can only offer “Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues” by sending a postal money order or cashiers check to:

Please send $14.95 + 3.50 for shipping and handling to: Po’ Girl Publications, PO Box 2464, Dearborn Mi 48123.  Michigan residents please include 90 cents additional for sales tax.

This realistic self-help book explains how to file late returns and take care of any back tax issues to your benefit.  Do not believe all the hype those so-called tax resolution experts advertise for getting pennies on the dollar.  If it was that easy, who would ever pay their taxes when due?  There are times when an Offer in Compromise is a realistic and acceptable option but you would be able to verify this for yourself by going to the official irs.gov website to see if you even qualify.  You can write up the offer yourself with a little work.  The workbook the IRS sends you to do this is pretty self-explanatory.  Sure beats paying someone thousands of dollars that you could be using towards your tax obligation.

Please be aware of the many unscrupulous people there are out there advertising that they can help you with any tax issue or get you a bigger refund, especially since the IRS offers all kinds of free filing help for qualified individuals.  Do not pay unless you have to.  Please refer to the irs.gov site to verify if you qualify.  If not, be aware of anyone you select to help you file no matter what their title is.  I have seen all kinds of cons and scams regarding tax reporting.  Sometimes the taxpayer is in on it.  If anyone asks you to fudge something or tells you that you don’t need documentation for your deductibles don’t use them.  It will always come back to bite you and your accountants or preparers are not liable for these returns no matter how poorly or fraudulently they are prepared.  You the taxpayer are accountable.  If you sign the return, you better know what you are signing.

I worked with some individuals years ago that told me there were fraudulent tax preparers that asked them to pretend to be self-employed so they could file false returns and split the refund generated from the fake return.  Just remember yours in the only neck that will be on that chopping block when the IRS finally realizes the return was falsified and you signed it.  By that time, the preparer is long gone.  Since crooks like this usually have a number of people they do this with, it does not take long for that preparer to be linked to a number of fraudulent returns and quicker still to verify the other returns they signed as a preparer on.  Computers are great for this purpose.

Please refer to my previous posts for more filing information as needed as well as the official IRS website irs.gov.

currently unavailable

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Federal Income Tax Tips

I wanted to devote this post to general Federal income tax information of a nature that many may not be aware of.

  1. First of all you need to verify if you are even liable to file this year.  Find out.
  2. If you are liable, you need to know that the IRS has links from its website for many that qualify for free filing.  Verify if you qualify.
  3. You need to know if you are in an area the Federal Government has deemed an official Disaster Area.  This may effect your filing requirements.  To verify.
  4. You need to be VERY careful in selecting and working with any tax preparer if you go that route.  Many are not who they claim to be.  For more information.
  5. Never work with someone claiming they can get you a larger tax refund unless they can fully explain how they plan to do this.  YOU will answer to anything fraudulent your preparer does.  For more information.
  6. Don’t even dream of trying to pull one over on the IRS because there is nothing you can do they won’t catch you at.  I used to work for them.
  7. Self employed individuals, don’t allow any tax preparer to write things off that you don’t have receipts for because they have started auditing small business / self-employed regularly and if you don’t have documentation, you will end up having to pay back taxes with additional penalties and interest.  Small business & self-employed information.
  8. Also be aware that if you currently owe back taxes or are in arrears with child support or other payments, any refund will be typically offset to pay these debts.  For more information.
  9. If you are planning on filing for an extension, please remember that the extension is for the forms only.  All tax due must be paid no later than April 15th or risk penalties.

If you already find yourself in the ACS Collection area of the IRS there is something you can do to help resolve your current or future tax problems.

“Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues” was written to walk any taxpayer through the most common IRS tax problems from first contact to final resolution. DntMsWIRS5

You do not need to hire a professional that will charge you thousands of dollars that you could be applying to the tax you have due.  They are not able to do anything legally that you cannot do for yourself with a little knowledge.

This self-help book walks you through your initial contact with ACS, if and how you should select legal representation if you should want or need it, how to resolve the basic problems of Failure to File, any Balance Due situations and what your rights are as a taxpayer.

For the time being, I can no longer offer “Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues.”

Don’t Mess With The IRS

Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues is an overview of much-needed information on what to expect when you contact the IRS for tax resolution after your case has been sent to Collections for Individuals, the self-employed and small businesses.  It covers various topics including unfiled returns, various tax deficiencies and the  penalties and interest involved.  Explains how to resolve most issues and what to expect when you are not compliant and how to address any collection actions such as liens on property and levies (ganishments) on your banks or your wages. 

This book tells you what your options are when you feel your back is up against the wall with your Federal taxes and what your rights are as a taxpayer.  You will be coached and warned how you can legally resolve most issues without the help of any costly tax resolution company, that will sometimes cause you more harm than good.  Shows you how you can prevent collection action as well as how to get your levies released and depending on the issue, a lien withdrawn, not released.  The book explains how important it is to know the difference between the two.  The ever promised “Offer in Compromise” (pennies on the dollar) will be explained so you can verify in advance if you even qualify for it.  Few do, but most tax companies will lead you to believe otherwise.

This book is currently unavailable.

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