An IRS Tax Help Hotline? yes. it exists. This will be a quick post. Some of you have expressed frustration in trying to contact the IRS at the standard number (1-800-829-1040). You have to wait on the phone forever and listen to the same Mozart song over and over again while you wait for an IRS Agent to come on and put you on hold again. So if you have a real emergency, bypass the regular IRS line and call the Taxpayer Advocate office. Their number is 1-877-777-4778.Attorney Jack... Read Full Story

I personally hate the sales pitch "Settle for Pennies on the Dollar" when it comes to the IRS Offer in Compromise program. The IRS itself even recommends caution when seeing this phrase. Not that it is entirely inaccurate. I mean, you can actually settle your back taxes with the IRS for a small fraction of what you owe. . . IF YOU QUALIFY! The results can be amazing. My firm recently finished an Offer in Compromise ("OIC") case for a client who owed $79,000.00 in back taxes for. . . (wait... Read Full Story

An Anonymous poster recently wrote me worried about her husband's assets. They live in California (a community property state). They file "Married Filing Separately." She owes for three years of back taxes. He owes nothing. Everything is in his name, including the home they both live in. Anonymous wants to know: "Will the IRS put a lien on [the] house since we are married? Can the IRS directly effect my husband (ie. garnish his paycheck, hit his credit, seize his assets)?" The answer... Read Full Story

Tori D. from San Diego wrote me with a case where she is being garnished at work and it's only leaving her a few hundred dollars a month to live off of. OUCH! This is one of the worst things that can happen when you owe the IRS back taxes. Many of the taxpayers I have come across usually have a false sense of security when it comes to the IRS because they think "hey, I don't own anything so they have nothing to take. I'm safe." That is an illusion. You see, while the IRS certainly does... Read Full Story

Ok. Let's stat with an easy one. Malcolm C. of Lexington, KY writes me asking how he can set up a payment plan with the IRS on his $19,000 tax debt. Let's review some of the facts of the case first: 1. Malcolm owes for two years; 2003 and 2004. 2. All of his tax returns are filed. 3. He is not under a current levy/garnishment. 4. He does not owe for business taxes, just personal. It turns out Malcolm claimed "exempt" on his W-4 for 2003 and 2004 to try to get some extra cash. And... Read Full Story

I'm setting up this blog for people who find themsleves in trouble with the IRS and just need some honest answers instead of some salesman trying to close them with a "pennies on the dollar" pitch. The truth is that you CAN settle your IRS debt. I've been doing it for years. But you need all of the facts first. And that's where I come in. . . to give you those facts in an unbiased and truthful way. Here's how it works: If you have an IRS tax problem, post it as a comment on this... Read Full Story