Finally recognizing that you cannot squeeze blood from a stone, in early 2011 the Internal Revenue Service offered some tax help and announced sweeping reforms to help taxpayers who were facing particularly hard times and need tax relief. Atlanta tax attorneys and taxpayers are cheering the changes. Ask your tax attorney or CPA about the IRS Fresh Start Program.

According to IRS.gov, these changes include:

• “Significantly increasing the dollar threshold when liens are generally issued, resulting in fewer tax liens.” The IRS is raising the limit to keep up with inflation and offer tax help. They will revisit these new criteria after a year or so to measure their effectiveness.
• “Making it easier for taxpayers to obtain lien withdrawals after paying a tax bill.” They are streamlining the process so agents can respond more quickly to tax help requests. An Atlanta tax lawyer can help you get this done.
• “Withdrawing liens in most cases where a taxpayer enters into a Direct Debit Installment Agreement.” If you owe less than $25,000 and have honored your direct debit agreement for a probationary period, the IRS will now consider lifting any liens on your property upon your Atlanta tax attorney’s request for tax relief.
• “Creating easier access to Installment Agreements for more struggling small businesses.” The tax help cap is being raised from $10,000 to $25,000, allowing more small businesses and Atlanta tax lawyers to participate in streamlined installment agreements, if they can pay within 24 months.
• “Expanding a streamlined Offer in Compromise program to cover more taxpayers.” The qualifying debt load for tax relief is being doubled to $50,000 and now includes taxpayers with incomes up to $100,000. An Atlanta tax attorney can help you devise an OIC that the IRS will accept.

Make no mistake, you still have to pay. But the IRS is making it a little easier for some people and businesses to do so. An Atlanta tax lawyer can answer any questions you have.

For my clients in Atlanta, tax relief from a tax attorney is the last hope for getting out of an unfortunate situation with IRS tax debt. You can avoid IRS trouble by learning from these common mistakes that lead to owing back taxes.

Think of the IRS as your prickly Aunt Mildred who is always correcting your grammar and criticizing your fashion choices. It may feel like they are just waiting for you to slip up, so they can swoop in and disrupt your life with an IRS tax audit. Atlanta tax attorneys agree that the best defense is not to give them any ammunition in the first place. There are some cut-and-dried tax help steps you can take to make sure you stay in the IRS’s good graces. (You’re on your own with Aunt Mildred.)

Meet the deadline. If you can’t get all your paperwork together by April 15th, don’t hide under a rock and assume the nice federal agents won’t be able to find you. Buy yourself some time by going online and submitting Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return by the regular deadline. If you can’t do it, ask for tax help from an Atlanta tax attorney or CPA.

Pay on time, even if only in part. Even if you filed an extension, you still have to pay what you think you owe. If you can’t make the complete payment on April 15th, pay as much as you can. The IRS will still eventually dun you for fees and interest (an Atlanta tax lawyer can help you get IRS tax help), but they won’t take as dim a view as they would if you tried to get away payment-free.

File a return. If you don’t, Atlanta tax lawyers will tell you that the IRS will do it for you, and it will reflect the government’s best interests, not yours. You can always file an amended return down the line.

Keep copies of everything. The IRS manages the taxes of hundreds of millions of people and companies, the law of averages says that some things are going to slip between the cracks. Make sure it’s not you by keeping copies of all pertinent paperwork. If the IRS knocks on your door with a smile, you want your Atlanta tax attorney to be able to help on your behalf.

Double-check your math. According to the Treasury Department, self-filers have an error rate as high as 61 percent. Even tax preparation software is better than doing it on your own. There is less room to make mistakes and it will prompt you to ensure you have pursued every avenue to deductions. Better yet, have your Atlanta CPA or tax attorney help prepare income tax returns for you.

Don’t cheat. Did you know that the IRS is already in possession of your W-2 and other information? If they find discrepancies, you’ll have some explaining to do, and they’ll be less likely to give you IRS tax relief. Then you will really need an Atlanta tax lawyer.

For most people, the month of June is linked to happy things like wedding season and the beginning of summer. But for Atlanta tax attorneys and folks with one or more foreign bank accounts, June 30 marks the annual Foreign Bank Account Report filing deadline.

The FBAR can be misunderstood by many folks who file one or should be filing one – but aren’t. If you have any questions, you should call an Atlanta tax lawyer for tax help.

What you need to know about Foreign Bank Account Reports:

• The FBAR is not an IRS form, but a Treasury Department form. It cannot be filed electronically and it is due on June 30. Postmarks of that date are not acceptable, it must be in their hands.
• If you pay taxes in the US as a citizen, resident or entity, and at any point during the year (no matter how briefly) you have $10,000 or more in one or more foreign accounts, you must file a FBAR. The $10,000 threshold is determined by using the highest account balance during the year and converting it to US dollars with the exchange rate of December 31 of the year in question. If you have any questions, call an Atlanta tax attorney.
• Includable assets might be brokerage and bank accounts, pooled investments, offshore mutual funds, trusts, annuities, life insurance, pension plans.
• A foreign bank account is defined by location. A US financial institution’s branch overseas is fair game. An offshore bank’s branch is not in the US.

This is not something to mess with. Failure to conform to these rules bears a heavy penalty. Violators are fined $100,000 or half of the value of the account, for every year that was not filed. This is true, even when no tax was actually owed or in arrears. Save yourself a lot of worry and money and consult with an Atlanta tax lawyer for tax help today.

Atlanta taxpayers with IRS problems, back taxes, or tax debt know they need tax relief but aren’t sure who to turn to. Do you need a Certified Public Accountant or an Atlanta tax attorney? What’s the difference anyway? You want to get the best advice for your unique tax problem, but you also don’t want to pay for more muscle than you need.

Bottom line – a good CPA will keep you from getting into tax trouble, an Atlanta tax lawyer will help you get out of tax trouble and get you tax relief.

If you’re looking for someone to prepare your taxes, a CPA with the right training and certifications can help you with solid financial and tax help. If the IRS is breathing down your neck, threatening you with tax liens, tax levies, wage garnishments, or worse, then you need the big gun that an Atlanta tax attorney can bring to the table.

Jeffrey S. Gartzman is both an Atlanta tax attorney and CPA in Atlanta who has helped clients get out of tax trouble with the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue, and also prepare income taxes, for nearly 30 years. He has helped clients in a tricky tax debt situation who tried to deal with the IRS on their own or turned to an inexperienced advisor instead of an Atlanta tax lawyer. Tax relief is in reach. Contact Gartzman Law Firm today at (770) 939-7710.