With the passing of the April 15th tax filing deadline, many taxpayers are faced with new tax liabilities and looking for answers on how to address them. Fortunately, there are many different repayment options available for tax liabilities. The qualification requirements for many of these options are largely dependent on the type of taxpayer and the amount of tax owed.
IRS Collections, Liens & Levies
IRS Focusing On Captive Insurance Transactions
Penalty Assessments Are Increasing
The IRS has rapidly increased audits of tax returns that report micro captive transactions. Specifically, since November 1, 2016, the IRS has deemed the micro captive insurance transactions to be listed transactions. In 2018, the IRS included the micro captive insurance transactions as one of its dirty dozen tax scams.
New Forms for IRS Offer in Compromise Program
The IRS updated its Offer in Compromise booklet and released new forms for the Offer in Compromise program. The revised forms can be found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf-f656b.pdf.
In March 2019, the IRS updated the IRS Forms 433-A and B (OIC), the Collection Information Statements for Individuals and Businesses.
Does Filing an Extension Increase My IRS Audit Risk?
One of the most common questions I am asked when I tell people that I am tax attorney is whether the filing of an extension to extend the due date of their income tax return increases the risk that their tax return will be audited. The IRS allows taxpayers to file an extension request by filing an IRS Form 4868 by the April 15th deadline.
IRS Focused on Criminal Prosecution of Employment Tax Cases
The IRS is increasing its focus on prosecuting business owners for delinquent federal employment tax liabilities. Specifically, in March 2017, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) published a report detailing how employment tax crimes have become a major problem for the IRS. In this report, the TIGTA noted that as of December 2015,
What To Do When You Haven’t Filed Taxes In Years
Failure to timely file tax returns and pay the related tax is a very serious situation that must be handled sensitively with the IRS and the applicable state and local municipalities to which these tax returns were due for filing. Depending on the taxpayer’s situation, however, there are likely many options available to resolve the filing and payment delinquencies and avoid any criminal prosecution or investigation.
