Gaggos Law Firm - Tax Collection Defense







		Garnishments If you have received a notice from the IRS or State of Michigan that your wages are going to be taken from you, you must act fast. Time is of the essence. When an IRS garnishment is issued against your wages your employer is legally obligated to pay over a portion of your income to them. In addition to losing that part of your wage, your employer will know you have tax problems. You are entitled to object to the garnishment, but you have limited time to do so. If handled properly, we can obtain an extension from the IRS so your wages are not taken from you. During that time, we may be able to negotiate a better settlement, sometimes in the form of an Offer in Compromise or Installment Agreement. If you owe back taxes, you are at risk of having your wages garnished. You are wise to seek professional help to avoid the devastating results that may ensue if the IRS takes your property for a past tax debt. We are intimately familiar with tax procedures in these areas and can ensure you are given every chance to pay your taxes on your terms, not on the terms forced upon you by the IRS. Liens and Levies If you have received a notice from the IRS or State of Michigan that your bank account and investments are going to be taken from you, you must act fast. Time is of the essence. When an IRS levy is issued (for example, to your bank), the bank is legally obligated to immediately freeze your account. The bank must then hold those funds for 21 days, giving you time to resolve the debt. If you have not resolved the debt in those 21 days, the bank must give your account to the IRS. The IRS may also place a lien on your real estate. The lien will prohibit you from refinancing or selling the property. The IRS may lien your real estate even if you are married and your spouse does not owe the tax. If handled properly, we can obtain an extension from the IRS so your bank account and investments are not taken from you, and your real estate is not encumbered by a lien. During that time, we may be able to negotiate a better settlement, sometimes in the form of an Offer in Compromise or Installment Agreement. If you owe back taxes, you are at risk of having your assets levied, or having a lien placed on your real estate. You are wise to seek professional help to avoid the devastating results that may ensue if the IRS takes your property for a past tax debt. We are intimately familiar with tax procedures in these areas and can ensure you are given every chance to pay your taxes on your terms, not on the terms forced upon you by the IRS. Installment Agreements An Installment Agreement with the IRS allows taxpayers who cannot afford their entire tax debt all at once, to make monthly payments. There are guidelines regarding how the IRS determines the payment amount and time frame. In order to qualify, you must be compliant with all past tax filings. Depending on the circumstances and the amount of time that the IRS has left to collect the tax debt, you may be required to pay part or all of your back taxes. The IRS's goal is to collect the entire amount of the taxes as quickly as possible. On the other hand, you will want and may need to establish a payment plan that is manageable and affordable. Unfortunately for many taxpayers, they end up with monthly payments greater than they can afford, and end up defaulting on their Installment Agreement. Therefore, it is important to have an affordable Installment Agreement established properly the first time. Once an Installment Agreement has been established, the IRS suspends all collection efforts, so your bank accounts are safe from levy and you do not have to worry about wage garnishments. However, unlike Offers In Compromise, penalties and interest continue to accrue on the unpaid portion of back taxes, and often times the IRS will still place a Notice of Federal Tax Lien on your public record. In order to minimize your required payment for an Installment Agreement, and avoid a Federal Tax Lien and other negative consequences, you need experienced tax counsel. We are adept at assisting our clients tax full advantage of the Installment Agreement program so that you can comfortably maintain the Agreement without unnecessary risk of defaulting. We are in your corner and will do everything we can to make sure you can pay your tax debt and keep up with all of your other financial obligations. Offers in Compromise If you owe back taxes and cannot afford to pay the IRS, you may be able to pay less than you owe in full and final satisfaction of the tax debt by submitting an Offer in Compromise to the IRS. In some cases, you may settle for pennies on the dollars. When evaluating an Offer in Compromise, the IRS looks at past, current, and future financial information. The IRS has strict guidelines in order to qualify for the Offer in Compromise program. The process involves completing the appropriate forms in compliance with IRS tax regulations. Once filed, the IRS begins their investigation of your financial situation. Unfortunately, many taxpayers who file an IRS Offer in Compromise, get it returned due to procedural deficiencies and never make it to a point of final review. So, satisfying the many procedural requirements is necessary if an Offer in Compromise is to be considered by the IRS for settlement. This is one of the benefits of hiring our firm and having experienced tax attorneys handling your case. After the IRS completes its review, it makes a determination either to reject or accept the Offer in Compromise. If the Offer in Compromise is rejected, you have the right to appeal the decision. If accepted, you have to pay the reduced amount of taxes that you offered. The partners of our firm, our tax attorneys, and CPAs have extensive knowledge of the inner-workings of the IRS, and can assist you in all aspects of filing an Offer in Compromise. We aggressively represent our clients to ensure they receive all the advantages of the Offer in Compromise program.