I recently answered another question about back taxes on Lawyers.com and I recommend you review it to learn what you need to do if you receive a letter from the IRS.

Question: “Would I owe taxes to the IRS if someone in Chamblee, GA prepared my 2008 taxes and now the IRS is stating that I owe them back taxes, interest & fees?”

Answer: 1. Unfortunately, even if a licensed tax preparer prepared your tax return, you may still be required to pay your tax liability if the IRS correctly determines you owe the liability. As the taxpayer, it is your responsibility to submit an accurate tax return, this means even if you didn’t prepare the return and know about the mistake, you are still on the hook for the tax liability. Before you pay the tax the IRS claims you owe, you may want to have a CPA or tax attorney review the returns to determine if the IRS is correct in their assessment.

2. As a general rule, tax preparers could be liable for incorrect returns if it was negligent or intentional. I would speak to a civil litigation attorney for more information.

Getting a back tax notice from the IRS is shocking and scary. It’s easy to bury your head in the sand and hope they forget about you. But this is a situation where it’s better to man-up, be proactive and get professional outside tax help.

Once you know the IRS has you in their sites, you and your Atlanta tax attorney need to stay one step ahead. The longer you wait, the worse it will get, and the smaller your chances for tax relief.

Atlanta taxpayers will benefit from these 5 tips to effectively settle your tax debt:

• Get your records and documents in order. Whether you have the proverbial shoebox full of receipts or meticulously organized files, when seeking tax help you’re going to need a paper trail for your Atlanta tax lawyer to follow.
• Get professional help. The search for tax relief is not the time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Once you know you’re in trouble, call a big gun in the form of a reputable Atlanta tax attorney. They alone know the ins and outs of the tax code and will be able to keep the IRS honest and get you tax help. The government is in the business of squeezing as much money out of you as they can. Your Atlanta tax lawyer works for you, and will cut you the best deal possible.
• Be honest with your Atlanta tax attorney. If you don’t lay all your cards on the table, they won’t be able to get you tax relief when the IRS discovers that you’re hiding money overseas, or have a secret cash stash in your garage. Forewarned is forearmed. Give your tax lawyer all the tools he needs.
• Make peace with the fact that you will pay. Unless you have extreme circumstances and are designated as Currently Not Collectible, no one walks away from the IRS unscathed. But your tax attorney has the experience to try to get accruing penalties and interest amounts knocked down or eliminated, and to provide the best tax help for the most advantageous settlement available. Let them take the heat for you and go toe-to-toe with the IRS, and make sure you don’t get bamboozled into signing away your life.
• Listen to your tax lawyer. They are experts who regularly work with the IRS and probably know the IRS attorneys professionally in your region. Your tax attorney has negotiated hundreds or thousands of tax settlement offers similar to yours, and they understand how to defend your rights and make the most of the situation. If they recommend you take an Offer in Compromise, sign up for a payment plan for tax relief, or pursue penalty waivers – do it!

If you’re in a bad tax situation, don’t make it worse by doing nothing. Call an Atlanta tax attorney today for immediate tax help and advice. You want to be able to sleep through the night again.

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.

Most people don’t realize that taxpayers who owe just $5,000 in IRS back taxes are automatically subject to an IRS lien filed at your local county courthouse, unless you get a Georgia tax attorney to deal with your tax debt before the IRS does.

I recently read an article on MSNBC in which IRS watchdog and National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson told Congress, “By filing a lien against a taxpayer with no money and no assets, the IRS often collects nothing, yet it inflicts long-term harm on the taxpayer by making it harder for him to get back on his feet when he does get a job.”

What is an IRS lien?

If you owe IRS back taxes, the federal government can put a lien on your personal or business property to secure liability – and seize your property. IRS liens are on the rise and at their highest rate since the mid-1990’s. Last fiscal year the IRS filed 1.1 million liens on people with unpaid back taxes.

Seek local Atlanta tax relief from an IRS lien with an Atlanta tax attorney

In response to Olson’s report, the IRS said taxpayers are given numerous opportunities to pay their IRS tax debt or file for IRS payment plans. Without the legal counsel of a tax attorney, many people may not understand how to find qualified Atlanta tax resolution help or take advantage of tax relief to prevent a lien.

An IRS installment agreement, also called a payment plan, is one tax relief option an Atlanta tax attorney will explore with you. Taxpayers can face staggering interest on top of the tax debt, and steep IRS penalty fees. Deal with delinquent tax returns or back taxes with a tax attorney on your side for the best possible outcome to a tax debt situation. Your tax attorney will communicate directly with the IRS and make sure you’re not missing deadlines to apply for an extension or other opportunities to dampen the threat of an IRS lien.

If you are facing an IRS lien, an experienced tax attorney is your best bet to protect your rights as a taxpayer, and to negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. Timing and efficient action is critical to surviving an IRS lien or collection of back taxes. Talk to an Atlanta tax attorney today.

Jeffrey S. Gartzman has 28 years of experience as a CPA and Atlanta tax attorney. He has helped countless taxpayers facing IRS liens and dealing with IRS back taxes collection tactics. An IRS lien situation is time-critical, so if you owe back taxes contact the Gartzman Law Firm today at (770) 939-7710 or online at Gartzman Tax Law.

Divorce can be difficult enough without the possibility of serious tax problems for one or both spouses. Here are some Atlanta tax resolution lessons to demonstrate how getting tax help can relieve financial damage from a divorce.


Lesson #1 – If you’re facing the hard truth that you might be getting divorced, tax planning can save you from IRS tax debt (and more marital strife).

There is a bright side to the realization you are facing a divorce: You have the opportunity to split and transfer assets in the most tax efficient manner – and to decide whether you’ll file jointly or separate as a couple.

Sometimes couples are separated for months or years before a divorce. In this situation, it is critical to examine whether you will file federal income taxes as joint or separate. If a couple files a joint return and then gets audited by the IRS, both spouses are on the hook for tax debt – regardless of who brought in more income, or who was more responsible with paying income taxes.

If you know your marriage might be on the rocks, seek your own Atlanta tax lawyer now and consider delaying your divorce until after you get tax help.


Lesson #2 – If you know your spouse has IRS tax problems, hire your own tax attorney during a divorce to protect your taxpayer rights and your bank account.

In the event one spouse has underpaid federal income taxes for the year, both spouses are at risk during an IRS audit if they filed joint on federal tax returns. It doesn’t matter if a state-issued divorce decree holds one spouse more responsible for Georgia state tax problems; in the eyes of the IRS they are both jointly responsible for federal tax debt.

Your spouse may be in hot water with the IRS, but you can hire your own Atlanta tax attorney to protect your rights. Ask your tax attorney or CPA if you qualify for IRS Innocent Spouse Relief or Allocation of Liability.

Work with an Atlanta tax attorney for expert legal counsel on managing IRS tax problems that go hand-in-hand with the legal complexities of a divorce.

If your pending or recent divorce has left behind problems with the IRS, back taxes, or IRS tax debt, Atlanta tax attorney and CPA Jeffrey S. Gartzman can help you with tax relief solutions. Don’t face divorce tax problems alone – get experienced financial and legal counsel on your side. Contact The Gartzman Law Firm today online or call (770) 939-7710.

If you owe IRS back taxes from unfiled income taxes, sooner or later the IRS will take action to collect. In many cases this means additional tax debt from penalties and interest – on top of IRS liens and levies that can bring your life or your business to a halt. When you work with an Atlanta tax attorney or CPA to get tax relief, your tax lawyer will intervene with the IRS and work to reasonably settle IRS back taxes for you.

“Times were tough, so I didn’t pay my taxes.”

It’s a story I hear frequently these days: Maybe you were making good money or staying in the black with self-employment income before the economy went downhill – along with your job or small business income. You tried to stay afloat by not filing federal income taxes, and now you owe back taxes.

During this recent Recession the IRS significantly increased their efforts to enforce tax collection. Avoiding paying federal income taxes during tough economic times will only result in a staggering IRS tax debt from back taxes.

I provided IRS tax relief services to a client who had accumulated tax debt during the rough economy. With tax help from the Gartzman Law Firm, my client was able to settle almost $250,000 in back taxes for about $20,000 by pursuing an Offer in Compromise with the IRS.

Here’s how your Atlanta tax attorney can help you pursue an Offer in Compromise:

1. Meet with a tax attorney and complete a financial worksheet to paint a complete scenario of your IRS tax problems and owed back taxes.

2. Give your tax attorney Power of Attorney so they can communicate with the IRS on your behalf about your tax debt and specific details in your tax record: unfiled returns, amount the IRS claims you owe, etcetera.

3. Your tax attorney will review your case and present viable financial and legal options to present an Offer in Compromise to the IRS.

4. Work with your tax attorney to complete the filing for an Offer in Compromise. As a tax attorney, I understand what the IRS will be taking into consideration regarding your financial status: income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and personal issues like age, employment, medical, and family status.

5. Submit the Offer in Compromise. On average, the process takes three to four months.

6. You will receive a letter from the IRS about the acceptance status of your Offer in Compromise, and what payment is owed.

During this process your Atlanta tax attorney will intervene on your behalf with the IRS – meaning you’ll talk with your lawyer, not get bounced around to different people at the IRS. Your tax attorney may meet with an IRS Revenue Officer, automated collection service (ACS) personnel, Offer in Compromise examiners, or sometimes an Appeals Officer to resolve your tax problems.

Back taxes and IRS tax problems preventing you from economic recovery? Settle your back taxes today with the experienced legal counsel and financial guidance of Jeffrey S. Gartzman, Atlanta tax attorney and CPA by calling (770) 939-7710, or contact us online.

When you owe the IRS back taxes or you’re facing tax debt, a common reaction is to avoid the IRS out of fear or confusion. People may think they can’t afford to pay their back taxes, so what difference does it make? If you don’t take action to get tax resolution, you can lose rights you may not realize you have and accumulate significant interest that makes the situation much worse.

You have the right to an appeal

Taxpayers who receive a notice from the IRS that they owe unpaid taxes may have the right to file for a Collection Appeal Procedure or a Request for a Collection Due Process hearing of the IRS findings. If you don’t act before the IRS does, they will make an assessment of your owed back taxes and start collection action right away. This puts you at risk for liens, levies on your wages of bank accounts, seizures of property, and shutting down your business. Your tax attorney can review your appeal rights, intervene on your behalf, and walk you through the appeal or hearing process.

File your own taxes – don’t let the IRS do it for you

Sitting on your unfiled tax returns is like inviting the IRS to file them for you. If the IRS files your return – called a Substitute for Return (SFR) – the results are almost guaranteed to be unfavorable for you. Fighting the SFR is time consuming and takes considerably more effort than getting IRS tax help from the start. Getting help from a tax attorney means they will intervene with the IRS and file a tax return based on your actual tax information.

Avoid back tax interest and penalties

Another advantage of getting tax help right away is that you can avoid accumulating significant interest and penalties on your tax debt. Hire a tax attorney to face your IRS problems and you could avoid the headache and increased debt that avoidance will likely cause.

A tax attorney will help you with solutions to IRS tax debt, like installment plans, payment options, Offers in Compromise, the proper legal procedures, and – most importantly – educating you about your legal rights as a taxpayer.

Jeffrey S. Gartzman is an Atlanta tax attorney and CPA who has been helping people in Atlanta resolve tax problems since 1982. He specializes in tax law and will expertly represent you during an IRS appeal procedure and in dealing with IRS problems. To get the tax help you need, contact The Gartzman Law Firm today at (770) 939-7710.