Orange County Accountant

Tax Credit To Help Atlanta HomeBuyers In the midst of one of this countries deepest recessions comes one of it’s greatest opportunities, for new homebuyers. With mortgage rates and housing prices at an all time low, there has never been a better time to buy a new home. And The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has provided yet another tool to help Atlanta families on the road to homeownership. Along with securing a home loan and a good real estate agent, Atlanta Homebuyers should begin planning now to take advantage of a new tax credit that will supplement, or even provide, the downpayment for that new home. The following section will provide questions and answers to help new homebuyers understand how the tax credit can, and will, work for them.

For more information, or help in using the tax credit for your new home purchase, please contact Atlanta Loan Pro at 678-925-8001, or visit our website for more information.

With the recent downturn in the economy, Americans find themselves not only facing unsecured credit card debt problems, and difficulties handling their home and vehicle loans, but oftentimes unable to pay their IRS taxes in a timely manner. There is IRS tax debt help available to anyone who finds they owe money for back income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The federal government offers many tax relief programs that are designed to help the taxpayer repay the delinquent IRS tax debt due. But if you are a struggling taxpayer with a large IRS tax debt, then repaying the full IRS back tax debt may not be an option for you and your family. In fact, it may seem like an insurmountable financial hurdle you will never be able to overcome. That is why there is an IRS tax relief program called Offer in Compromise.Federal law does grant the IRS the power to agree to a settlement of your IRS tax debt for less than the actual amount you owe. Sometimes, the IRS can accept significantly less to end your IRS tax debt. However, the process of actually getting the IRS to agree to a tax settlement is not simple or straightforward. You may need expert IRS tax debt settlement help to insure that you have filed everything correctly and that you give yourself the very best chance to be approved for a reduced tax debt settlement offer. The IRS does not widely promote this program and it is not a full amnesty program. It is however, a way to significantly reduce your IRS tax debt, and have the “compromised amount” be considered payment in full for the IRS back tax liability. It is as close as you can get to a “fresh start” with the IRS!Knowing when it is prudent to seek professional IRS tax debt settlement help can be crucial to your success. The paperwork for the IRS tax debt settlement program is complicated. You are required to prove that you will never be able to pay back the entire tax debt, or that paying off your tax debt will cause “undue hardship”. You must commit to a full financial disclosure. The IRS looks at your income and all your “lifestyle expenses”. They even require an inventory of all your accounts, possessions, and the equity in your home. Getting approved can be a lengthy process and there are no guarantees you will quality for this form of IRS tax relief. The process can take up to a year. Having professional tax debt help can “make the difference” between success and failure. You simply cannot be expected to know all the complexities of the IRS settlement process to insure your tax debt settlement offer is accepted. But IRS tax relief professionals can give you this “much needed edge”.There are a number of companies that are able to provide delinquent taxpayers with the IRS tax debt settlement help they need. Some of these firms are actually tax law firms, while some are companies with tax specialists that assist with IRS back taxes. These firms are typically staffed with tax attorneys, enrolled agents, CPAs, and even previous IRS employees who have the “inside track” on how to successfully secure a tax debt settlement offer from the IRS. These companies will offer a free tax analysis which allows you to have your tax matter reviewed at no initial cost. These tax firms are also aware of all other IRS tax relief programs available should it not appear that you are likely to quality for tax debt settlement through the Offer in Compromise program. It is always advisable to check the record of any professional tax debt help firm or company you intend to contract with to handle your IRS tax debt problem. It goes without saying that successful resolution of your IRS tax debt is important!

IRS Debt Help:
Do you owe the IRS? Are you struggling with IRS debts and cannot figure out what to do? Don’t despair, you are not alone. Many Americans owe back taxes, or cannot afford to pay their IRS debts. If you want to get IRS debt help, it’s important to understand the different IRS tax debt strategies.
There are five strategies for getting out of IRS tax debt.
1.Offer in Compromise: a program where you can settle your tax debts for less than what you owe. Requires making a lump sum or short term payment plan to pay off the IRS at a reduced dollar amount.
2.Installment agreement: a monthly payment plan for paying off the IRS.
3.Partial payment installment agreement: a somewhat new debt management program where you have a long term payment plan to pay off the IRS at a reduced dollar amount.
4.Not currently collectible: a program where the IRS voluntarily agrees not to collect on the tax debt for a year or so.
5.Filing bankruptcy: discharge your tax debts under the strict rules of a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy petition.
Offer in Compromise
Many people who find themselves in debt to the IRS might focus on the first option above – the Offer in Compromise (”OIC”). For those who qualify it can be the optimal solution, however, it is important to note that not everyone qualifies for the Offer in Compromise solution. Only about 15% of applicants succeed in reducing their debts through the OIC program. For this reason and because of the complexity of filing an Offer in Compromise many people enlist the services of a Tax Professional who has a track record of success negotiating with the IRS. This Tax Professional will not only be able to determine if you are eligible to reduce your IRS debts via an OIC but they will also assist you in navigating the complicated IRS bureaucracy to achieve the desired outcome.
An Offer in Compromise is a lengthy and time-consuming process. It takes most individuals anywhere from 12 months to 24 months to achieve a successful resolution on your offer application. Through an Offer in Compromise, taxpayers agree to pay the IRS only the reasonable collection potential instead of the full amount of taxes owed. For some people the “reasonable collection potential” will be less than the full amount of taxes owed – sometimes as little as 10%.
Installment Agreement
Many taxpayers cannot qualify for an Offer in Compromise, Statute of Limitations expiration, or bankruptcy relief but still seek resolution for their IRS liability. In these cases, it may be possible to negotiate long term IRS payment arrangements. The IRS allows “structuring” five primary types of payment plans, or Installment Agreements: Guaranteed Installment Agreements, Streamlined Installment Agreements, In-Business Trust Fund Agreements, Long-Term Installment Agreements, and Installment Agreements on Specified Balance Due Accounts.
Currently Not Collectible
If a taxpayer does not qualify for an offer in compromise and cannot afford to pay an Installment Agreement, Currently not Collectible (CNC) status may be an option. If a client is placed in CNC status, the statute of limitations continues to run and the IRS will not pursue collection actions. However, if a taxpayer’s financial status improves, the IRS can remove the file from CNC status and return to active collection status.
Reasons for attempting CNC status:
1. Taxpayer has income below allowable expenses and there is no indication that the financial situation will improve in the future;
2. Due to high equity, the taxpayer does not qualify for an OIC and has more allowable expenses than income so an Installment Agreement is not an option; and,
3. Taxpayer has more allowable expenses than income and the statute of limitations is getting close to expiring.
Statute of Limitation for IRS Tax Debt
The IRS has 10 years to collect outstanding tax liabilities. This is measured from the day a tax liability has been finalized. A tax liability can be finalized in a number of ways. It could be a balance due on a tax return, an assessment from an audit, or a proposed assessment that has become final. From that day, the IRS has ten years to collect the full amount, plus any penalties and interest. If the IRS doesn’t collect the full amount in the 10-year period, then the remaining balance on the account disappears forever. The statute of limitations on collecting the tax has expired.
Selecting a Tax Professional to handle your IRS Tax Debts
Because of the complexity of the Offer in Compromise and other IRS tax debt processes, many taxpayers hire a tax professional to prepare their IRS documentation and to negotiate directly with the IRS. Tax professionals charge anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000 or more for accurate and thorough IRS representation. Because most of the IRS tax debt solutions involve negotiating with the IRS, your tax professional should be admitted to practice before the IRS. You should be looking for a Tax Attorney, an Enrolled Agent (EA), or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to handle your Offer in Compromise. The tax professional must know about the laws governing IRS collection of tax debts, how the IRS evaluates offers, and what all the options are for resolving tax debt problems. “Taxpayers should be looking for a tax professional with years of experience in IRS collection matters, especially experience in dealing with revenue officers, the Automated Collection Systems division, and the complex IRS process” according to Jim Brown, the managing tax attorney with Freedom Tax Relief.
Please be aware that even the most successful tax professionals have lost Offer in Compromise cases, so not every consumer looking for IRS debt help is guaranteed the most savings. It is important to know that your Offer in Compromise will be decided based on your unique financial situation. If you do need IRS debt help, having a tax professional represent you before the IRS will help ensure that all letters and phone calls from the IRS are handled quickly and professionally. But in the end, it is up to the IRS to make a decision about your case.
It is important to know that like death and taxes, your IRS tax debt issue will not simply vanish, so you should seek help before the IRS escalates collection efforts and/or you accrue additional penalties and interest.

If IRS collection notices are ignored, the IRS is forced to collect from taxpayers by force. They do this with their dreaded IRS levy. By law, the IRS has the right to levy bank accounts (IRS bank levy), garnish your paychecks (IRS wage levy), or even seize your assets. But you do not have to let the IRS bully you or your family. There are ways to stop an IRS levy. The first step is to know the enemy.

IRS Bank Levy- The IRS bank levy is an extremely harmful way to collect tax debt. All of the money you scrimped and saved for can be gone in an instant. First, the IRS freezes your bank account. Then they give you 21 days to contact them and make some sort of payment arrangement. If you do not comply, the IRS will keep all of the money in your account permanently. If you received a Notice of Intent to Levy from the IRS, it’s imperative to act fast and get your tax debt taken care of. The freeze on your account from the IRS bank levy will cause issued checks to bounce, bank fees to be incurred, and will give you no access to pay your current obligations from your account. At this point, it’s a very wise idea to consider professional tax help for your IRS bank levy. A tax debt professional has a better chance of negotiating with the IRS to have an IRS bank levy removed in the short 21 day time limit. The IRS bank levy is an urgent issue meriting your full and immediate attention.

IRS Wage Levy – The IRS wage levy is another weapon in the IRS arsenal which is used to collect back tax debt. It’s also known as wage garnishment. The IRS can take a percentage of your paycheck until your tax debt is paid, or until the statute of limitations on your tax debt expires. Your employer is required by law to proceed with the IRS wage levy once the Notice to Withhold has been received from the IRS. They must use a mandated formula to determine “how much of your paycheck is to be garnished and sent directly to the IRS”. It is not unusual for a delinquent taxpayer to be left with 20%-25% of their “net paycheck” to live on, which obviously will not cover even basic living expenses. But there is help for this type of tax levy. There are two ways to stop an IRS wage levy. You can settle your tax debt and have it paid off, or you can have your account changed to a hardship or “Currently not Collectible” disposition. Because of the rapid financial damage that can be caused by an IRS wage levy, it is advisable to seek professional tax help.

Settling Tax Debt to Stop IRS Bank and Wage Levies – Settling your IRS tax debt is the fastest solution for stopping an IRS bank levy or an IRS wage levy. Once you are in the negotiation phase, the IRS levy will automatically stop. If your IRS settlement is approved, the IRS levy will actually be permanently “lifted” giving you complete relief from the tax debt problem!

Hiring Professional IRS Levy Help – It can be very hard to have your IRS tax debt settled when you fight against the IRS all on your own. Your chances of success are far greater if you can count on the help of reliable tax professionals that have experience dealing with the IRS’s complex procedures. If you are the victim of an IRS levy, then time is critical for you to minimize the financial destruction that is undoubtedly already occurring with your personal finances.