My SIL is a medically retired Firefighter. She got a bill in the mail from the IRS stating that she owed $7K in back taxes. She doesn't have the money - I told her that she could make payments to the IRS...she said they aren't allowing payments.....
Does anyone else have experience with this?
Does this mean it's been too long or what?
I've only had this problem ONCE with IRS and they were willing to do payments with us...but we had the $$$...
Any help?
I have sent her the links provided below...told her to get with her Union (THANK YOU BETH!) to find out how they set stuff up...I also asked her if this was the first letter or one of many? I don't know the answer to that...I don't know from what tax year it's from...I DO know that she DID file taxes but they are saying that she owes more than was taken out...it's NOT ME that owes the money...
I'm confused too...I know she called me in tears stating that she had received a notice from the IRS that she owed $7K...she said that they say not enough was being taken out of her insurance..this is what she said.."the IRS says that I am not having enough money removed from my pension or my insurance." as I stated she's a medically retired firefighter...i am learning something new every day ... I guess the insurance money she is receiving is taxed too (I figured that) but guess the IRS says not enough..
Denise - offered it to her - not sure she'll take it as she already owes us money and doesn't want to increase that amount. Who knows - she might feel it's in her best interest to do this.
Candice - never had a Marine or anyone in the military that I know personally ever have a hard time getting a job out of the military...they are usually sought after! :)
I know O. thing--you don't mess with the IRS!
This is not a suggestion that I would normally offer, but what about lending her the money and letting her pay you back?
Is this back income tax? Were taxed not being taken from her salary? I'm confused, I guess....
Before she pays a dime, have her check into it and make sure the number they gave her is accurate. Since she is a medically retired Firefighter, have her talk with her union rep and get them involved. They would be the ones who set up the pension/insurance payments and they should have the answers she needs. They should also be able to help her with the IRS.
We got a letter once telling us we owed thousands in back taxes & we disputed it. Turns out the IRS made a mistake!! Yes, it can happen & yes, they admitted it. We ended up only owing a few hundrerd dollars - a HUGE difference from the original amount in the letter.
If she does owe the larger sum, then the IRS should agree to a payment schedule - it is usually in the letter, but if not call and talk to a "real" person, not the automated system.
Good-Luck !~ B.
Have her go get a tax advocate. That is what we had to do. It's not a lawyer and it won't cost her anything. Really if that is the way to go, that way you have one person to deal with and not several that are giving you twelve different answers. Our advocate saved us nearly 9000.00 in penalties. Honestly we shouldn't have had to pay them anyway as we were making our payments as required. But the IRS still seemed fit to try and charge us with them, and take every cent of my husbands paycheck while I was a stay at home mom. Seriously, get the advocate.
They will get the money one way or another. She M. need to take out a bank loan and pay that back.
No they will take it from your next years taxes till youre done paying : ( that happend to me !!
She definitely should check with a lawyer. Tax Masters is an example. Many will do a free consultation.
one year when my husband was in the marines and he was gone over seas and our tax person messed up on our taxes. He was still a legal resident of Maryland, but he was station in CA (where we met), and I was of course a resident of CA. She filed him in the wrong state and and we ended up owing a couple thousand dollars because of it. Well, he got out of the marines when he got home and he was working at a gas station becuase it's hard to get a job right after getting out of the military and I was a preschool teacher. We didn't make much money AT ALL. They ended up garnishing his wages with out any notice. no letters, nothing. It really hurt us even more, and his mom had to help us out with rent for a few months until this was over with. From then on, we did our own taxes and haven't had a problem. So, if she doesn't come up with someway to pay it, then they might just take it from her anyway
Years ago in my former life as a social worker. . .I worked with low income families and helped them "negotiate" lower taxes. . . I believe you can use this form http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f656.pdf and I would first go in to the IRS office and ask to speak with someone. . . Stay as sickly sweet as possible. . .polite etc. . . and hope to get someone that may talk with you. I would first try to settle with about $###-###-#### for the entire debt. See what happens, the worst they can say is you owe what they already have her down as owing. . .The best that can happen. . . They may accept your offer.
Good Luck!!!
There is something called an Offer In Compromise. The debt can be settled for less, but she will need to prove her hardship. Do a google search for "offer in compromise" and go to a link ending in .GOV for more info or you will find one of those law firms that want to settle it for you. In the past, the minimum monthly payment they would accept is $26. If she shows an effort by paying a minimum payment of the debt and they cash the check, then she bought more time to figure it out.
Ah she should be able to make payment arrangements with no problem. I've never heard of all or nothing from them. The IRS will however, tack on interest and penalties because its not paid in full. She should not have to worry about the full amount right away. I would consult an accountant and tax attorney to get the best advice and course of action to take.
Of course she can make payments. There is a phone number right on there for her to call. Is she calling the right place? That just doesn't make sense. Good luck!!!
I'm confused as to why she would owe money in back taxes.
For starters...... Never, ever mess with the IRS.
If her accountant made an error on her taxes, he/she could possibly be held accountable.
I know with our company our legal counsel and accountant are accountable if something is wrong because they are the ones who advised us and prepared all the documents.
I don't understand why IRS would not take payments. I'm sorry she is going through this.. I know we go out of our way being super conservative as to not mess with the IRS.
I am assuming that she has not filed her taxes for whatever years they are saying that she owes. If she had, she would have been aware of the debt and that they weren't taking enough from her income at that point and could have made sure they did so in the future. Really not enough information here to say where she needs to start, but I would suggest starting with an accountant who can go back and see what her tax liability was for the year/s she didn't file. It usually takes several years for the IRS to catch up with a person who hasn't filed. This often happens when the person has neglected to file for a few years and then files for the current year. The IRS has ALL the information, W-2's, 1099's, etc. that we receive each year at their fingertips, so eventually they will find you if you haven't filed. It is entirely possible that they have incorrect information also. That's why an accountant would be so helpful. He will know all the rules, regulations and how to go about lowering the liability if that is possible. Best of luck.
