SAN DIEGO TAX ATTORNEYS

Under certain circumstances, taxpayers can have their tax debt forgiven. When the IRS considers forgiving your tax liability, the agency looks at your present financial condition first to see if it can’t collect more than you can reasonably pay. If any collection action would force you into a financial crisis where you lose all sense of financial security, the IRS cannot collect the back taxes.

Depending on your current tax debt and financial circumstances, there are a number of tax relief solutions that may work for you. Offer in compromise, innocent spouse relief, installment agreements, and penalty abatement among other programs can be some options to consider and choose from. Professional tax relief attorneys like us can help you find the best outcome.

Tax investigations as well as tax audits can be triggered by certain circumstances. If you file tax returns late, pay tax late or make errors that need correcting, these are definite red flags. Others include big abnormalities in your business as compared to other businesses in the industry. Offshore bank accounts can also prompt a tax investigation.

While the majority of taxes cannot be eliminated through bankruptcy, some can if you meet certain criteria. The best way to clear your tax debt is to set up an IRS payment plan. However, if you cannot pay your taxes and your living expenses, within reason, you can ask the IRS to put your account in a “currently-not-collectible” status. Finally, you can consider hiring an attorney who specializes in tax resolution to help you.

The Offer in Compromise program allows qualifying, financially distressed taxpayers the opportunity to put overwhelming tax liabilities behind them by paying a reasonable portion of their tax debt. Both the IRS and state agencies give consideration to individuals seeking this program and who have qualifying criteria. You must agree to comply with certain terms and conditions before acceptance into a tax debt compromise program.

A tax audit begins with a notice that you get through the mail that will state why your return is being examined, what documents if any the IRS needs from you, and how you should proceed. Once the IRS completes the examination, it may accept your return as it had been filed or propose changes. If the audit pertains to your business, the agency is likely taking a closer look to see whether you properly included all income and took only the deductions and credits allowed by law. In either case, it is your best bet to hire a tax audit defense attorney to smoothly and efficiently get you through the process.

Not filing your tax return can have costly consequences. Your first step to getting straight is to gather up all the information you need to properly file your tax return. Then you need to monitor return processing and compliance. Under certain circumstances, the IRS may grant you amnesty or reasonable cause which means that your penalties, fines and back tax payments can either be reduced or waived. Finally, the IRS statute of limitations does not apply to unfiled tax returns.

Tax appeals are a common way to resolve disagreements you have with the IRS that relate to items you report on your return. You may request an appeals conference which is an informal meeting in where an impartial officer settles the dispute in the same way a judge does in court. You are entitled to hire a practitioner to represent you at the conference provided they are authorized to practice before the IRS, such as an attorney or CPA. If you are unsatisfied with the officer’s decision, you may file suit in court.

Employers from all sorts of industries benefit from the employee retention credit (ERC). It allows businesses to recover up to $26,000 per W-2 employee in tax credit. Luckily it is not a loan, but a direct payment to businesses. Moreover, businesses that have used the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan are still eligible to benefit from the ERC as well.

An EDD tax audit entails your business financial documents to be assessed. It can be a stressful process as the state of California tax authority investigates business tax records to differentiate independent contractors from classified workers. Basically, the government wants to make sure business owners are reporting payments made to employees properly and protecting workers’ rights to benefits.