You’ve been meaning to take care of that little back tax problem. You have every intention of getting to it ASAP. You hope that you’ll be able to file an amended return and they’ll never even notice. But when you flip through the mail, your eyes light upon an ominous-looking envelope, and you realize that the Internal Revenue Service has gotten to you first.

As tempting as it may be to run and scream and stick your head in the sand, none of those options will get rid of the IRS. You’re in over your head and the situation has gone from bad to worse. Now you need to make sure that your next steps don’t lead you to prison. There are a few crucial things you must do.

• Find an advocate. Understand something. The IRS’s “help line” is not there to help you. They are there to help the IRS squeeze as much money out of the taxpayers as possible. They do not have your best interests at heart, and they are not on your side. You need to hire someone like a tax attorney who is loyal to you, has an intimate working knowledge of today’s tax code and how the IRS operates behind the scenes, and who has a history of taking on the IRS and winning. If you were accused of a crime, would you go to court without an attorney? Of course not. Neither should you risk your entire financial future without legal advice.

• Stop the threats. Once you have hired a tax lawyer, you never have to communicate with the IRS again. That’s right, no more teeth-rattling phone conversations or responding to missives in the mail. Your tax attorney becomes your mouthpiece, and a much more effective one than you could ever be. (You’d be amazed at how many people accidentally incriminate themselves to “that nice lady who called from the IRS”.) Your tax lawyer may also be able to call a temporary halt to the IRS’s threats of liens or levies. Hiring a legal representative gives you and your tax attorney breathing room to get your case together and launch a much more effective defense than you ever could on your own.

• Negotiate away fees and penalties. The IRS has hundreds of fees and penalties they can slap you with. These extras can bulldoze a medium-sized molehill of a back tax problem into an unrecognizable mountain of debt. Once the IRS realizes that they are playing hardball with a professional tax attorney, they may be more likely to eliminate these add-ons as part of the negotiation process, and to cut the bill down to something that more closely resembles the original debt.

• File an appeal. Did you know that you can appeal a levy or lien that has already been placed against you? Do you know how to do this effectively? Your tax lawyer does. He or she can file with the IRS Appeal Division. Certain types of appeals are required to be ruled on within five working days.

• Negotiate a payment plan. Once your tax attorney and the IRS have whittled down the amount you owe, you need to decide how to pay it. If you can pay in a lump sum, the government will pressure you to do so. If you have no major assets, but are gainfully employed, they are more likely to agree to a payment plan. They will even deduct the money from your checking account so you don’t have to endure the trauma of writing and sending a check every month. Thoughtful IRS. The downside of a payment plan is that if you break the agreement, they will go back to square one and come after you again.

• Consider an Offer in Compromise settlement. You may be able to negotiate your debt with an Offer in Compromise. For example, the IRS might clear your $20,000 debt if you pay them a $5,000 lump sum. This is another way in which your tax lawyer is worth his weight in gold. There are limited opportunities to come up with the right number that the IRS will accept. Working with a tax attorney is the best chance you have at crafting a successful Offer in Compromise.

• Be designated Currently Not Collectible. If you are destitute, or if you are chronically ill or otherwise not able to work nor pay taxes, it is possible to get classified by the IRS as Currently Not Collectible. Now, should you ever win the lottery or your income increases significantly. The IRS will come after you with both guns blazing. But if your tax lawyer can prove that you have no assets and no foreseeable hope of acquiring any, they might put your name in Currently Not Collectible status. This could be temporary or permanent depending on your situation over time.

Getting nailed for not paying your back taxes is a serious offense, and can potentially ruin your finances, business, career and credit rating. Fortunately, there is help available. Take a deep breath and acknowledge that this is not a battle you are likely to win without professional guidance. Pick up the phone and call a reputable tax attorney who can help lead you out of the dark and scary back tax forest and into the light of sleeping through the night again.

About Jeffrey S. Gartzman, Atlanta Tax Attorney and Certified Public Accountant
Jeffrey S. Gartzman is an accomplished Atlanta tax attorney and CPA who has been practicing tax law in Atlanta for nearly 30 years. He will help you resolve IRS and state tax problems, find tax relief and settle tax debt. Jeffrey S. Gartzman is a former IRS Taxpayer Education Program instructor. He is also an accredited Personal Financial Specialist with the American Institute of CPAs.

No one in business relishes a tax lien. They stick to your credit rating like a slug on slime until you pay off your company’s back taxes. However a smart Atlanta tax attorney will strongly encourage you to take out almost any other kind of loan in order to pay your business taxes and avoid the hidden downside of a tax lien.

A perfect financial storm has coalesced, making a business tax lien even worse news than it was before. In today’s conservative economy, businesses are struggling to meet their tax obligations, the IRS is cracking down on collections and banks are tightening their lending criteria. Thus, businesses that in the past have depended on banks or credit unions for bridge loans are increasingly locked out of any kind of traditional financial institution if they have a back tax lien. Atlanta back tax lawyers are busier than ever.

According to the IRS’s in-house national taxpayer advocate, the number of business back tax liens has skyrocketed 500% over the last decade to 1.1 million a year. Atlanta tax attorneys agree that in addition to cutting off a formerly easy source of emergency funding, the proliferation of business back tax liens makes it harder for a business on the rocks to increase cash flow by bringing in new cash-rich partners.

So many companies were tanking under the new limitations that last winter, the IRS took the unusual step of loosening some lien-filing policies. Too little too late, decry many Atlanta tax lawyers. Making settlements more accessible and modifying liens will take a struggling business only so far. Once you’re in the IRS’s back tax sights, you’re in trouble.

If you are having trouble keeping up with your business taxes, call an Atlanta back tax attorney today to devise a plan for your unique situation.