IRS problems have a way of ruining all aspects of your life. And as time goes by, the IRS adds salt to your wounds by adding penalties to what you already owe. It’s like the meter in a taxi cab; the counter keeps adding more and more charges to that IRS debt even when you are standing still.
Many times the penalties and interest end up adding up to be more than what you actually owe the IRS. However, understanding the relentless measures the IRs takes to collect penalties and having the right experts on your side can help you avoid the traps. That can drastically impact the way you and your family live.
You may be asking yourself this question: “If I can’t afford to pay my taxes, why do they keep adding penalties?” The IRS doesn’t like being ignored, so this is one way they get your attention. Penalties are just only the beginning of what they can do to your life.
The IRS can have a lot of power over you and can do a lot to make your life miserable. They can freeze your bank accounts and can seize all the money you have in them. They can also garnish your wages, taking as much as 75 percent of your net paycheck. Can you live on 25 percent of your net pay? The IRS thinks and expects you can. Besides slapping bank levies and wage garnishments on you, they can put a lien on your house, making it nearly impossible to borrow against it to pay the IRS off. And if you sell your house, the IRS gets their money first from any equity you have.
Federal tax liens can prevent you from borrowing any money, except maybe for those high-charging payday loan stores. An IRS lien makes it harder to rent an apartment, get a car, and obtain any kind of credit. It can even jeopardize your job. And believe it or not, the IRS has the authority to show up and knock on your door. Make no mistake: The IRS is serious about getting the money they claim you owe them.
To put it simply, the government wants its money, and it wants it now. They are the only creditor in the world that doesn’t need a court order to take your “stuff.” And they have a lot of leverage to do whatever they want. They can even take your personal property, including your car, real estate, motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats, jewelry, IRAs, 401Ks, and the list goes on. If you owe them, they will collect. And they are not going to go away.
So how do you solve the problem? The only professionals who can represent you before the IRS are attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents. That’s it. However, you shouldn’t just go to anyone to handle your IRS tax problem. It makes sense to go to a specialist in tax resolution to handle your IRS difficulties. Remember, for every tax problem, there is a solution.
Constant W. Watson III, CPA, CTRS, is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist. He is only one of six Certified Tax Resolution Specialists in the State of Illinois that is certified by The American Society of Tax Problem Solvers. With more than 30 years of income tax and accounting experience, he has a reputation for excellence and client satisfaction. For a Free consultation, call him at (708) 206-9900.
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