Tag: IRS debt

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Tax Debt will Affect Passport Renewals and Applications for Thousands of Americans

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Americans who have overdue tax debts will soon find it difficult to receive a new or renewed passport, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is estimated that approximately 362,000 Americans have overdue tax debts, and soon, Congress will be increasing efforts to enforce a law passed back in 2015.

The 2015 law requires that the IRS and State Department deny applications for new or renewed passports for taxpayers who have overdue tax debt in the amount of $51,000 or more.

Increased efforts to enforce this law began in February 2018, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Currently, the IRS is in the process of sending the names of these 362,000 individuals to the State Department.

According to the IRS Division Commissioner, Mary Beth Murphy, authorities are currently only denying passports rather than revoking them for people who hold excessive IRS debts. In fact, the State Department has stated that the agency has already denied passports for individuals who hold tax debts. For the time being, Americans with over $51,000 in tax debt will be able to continue traveling abroad if they hold current passports.

The IRS has accounted for inflation and other assessed penalties, taxes and interest when calculating the amounts owed.  These amounts do not include debts that were collected by the IRS, such as FBAR penalties due to the person’s failure to report foreign financial accounts or child support owed. If the taxpayer has entered into an agreement for installment payments, is in the middle of a bankruptcy proceeding, is a victim of identity theft or is in a federally declared disaster area is not subject to revocation of their passports.

The State Department is within its rights to issue a passport for emergencies or other humanitarian reasons should a U.S. citizen who is subject to this law need to return to the U.S. from overseas.  Individuals affected by the law will be notified in writing by the IRS.

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If you have questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

 

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The IRS is Using Private Debt Collectors- Here’s what Consumers Need to Know

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The IRS has entered into contracts with four private debt collection agencies- Conserve, Pioneer, Performant and CBE Group.  These agencies will only take over accounts if several criteria are met:

  1. The tax debt has been removed from the IRS’s active inventory due to a lack of resources or an inability to find the taxpayer;
  2. More than one-third of the applicable limitation period has passed and no IRS employee has been assigned to collect the debt;
  3. The debt has been assigned for collection, but more than 365 days have passed without interaction with the taxpayer for purposes of furthering collection of the debt.

These collection agencies are required to abide by the consumer protection provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  This means they cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.; they cannot contact you at work if you have told them not to; they cannot falsely claim you have committed a crime; they cannot misrepresent the amount you owe or threaten you with harm or arrest for lack of payment.

Consumers need to be aware of tax scammers looking to capitalize on this new IRS protocol.  Tax scammers oftentimes ask their victims pay their alleged debts by purchasing prepaid cards and then call back with the cards’ codes. Another common scam involves having large amounts of money sent via wire transfer.

This will never be the case with the listed contracted debt collectors, according to the IRS.  In fact, taxpayers will not be asked to pay the private debt collectors anything. Instead, these collectors will provide information about electronic payment options for taxpayers on IRS.gov/Pay.  Even written checks will need to be made payable to the U.S. Treasury and sent directly to the IRS, not the private collection companies.

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If you have any questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

IRS Imposter Scams on the Rise in the Midst of Tax Season

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According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the ‘IRS Imposter Scam’ was the number one scam reported in 2015. In the midst of tax season, the phone scam is continuing at a rapid rate and is being called one of the largest phone scams the IRS has ever seen.

Shanna Liedel spoke to Fox 6 Now regarding a call she received from someone claiming he was with the IRS. “He just said there was some fraudulent activity regarding my taxes between 2009 and 2013. I filed my own taxes for one of those years so I was like OK, did I make a mistake?” Liedel said.

“They knew my address and they said they would come and arrest me. I guess if they knew my address and that I owned my home, I assumed they knew where I worked. I could just imagine being handcuffed at my job and forced to leave,” Liedel said.

Liedel said a friend at work saved her from the scam. Her friend told her to look up the number because she thought it was fake. When the numbers didn’t match the IRS number on their website, she hung up.

The Better Business Bureau reveals these type of scams escalate during tax season. Here are a few tips if you receive a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS:

  • The IRS will not ask for financial information over the phone or via email. Any contact will be through direct mail.
  • If you are asked for personal or financial information by someone claiming to be an IRS employee, hang up.
  • Report the incident immediately.

Click here to read more on this story.

If you have any questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

How to Resolve Your Tax Debt

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Nobody wants to get behind on their taxes, but if you are unable to fulfill your tax obligation at the end of the year it’s important to know that you have options. When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines you owe money, it assesses you a tax. This happens either when you file a tax return or when you do not pay your full balance.

Sometimes the IRS assesses your taxes after an audit in which it does not agree with portions of the tax return, most often because you miscalculated the amount owed. The IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect the taxes owed, although you may be able to extend the statute of limitations.

If the IRS determines that you owe the government money, you will receive a notice of assessment that asks you to pay your tax bill. If you fail to pay it within 30 days, you will receive another notice. If you still do not pay, you will continue receiving these notices until you finally receive a Final Intent to Levy notice. This notice tells you that the IRS is issuing a levy against your state tax refund because you have a balance due.

If you do not immediately pay this amount or appeal the amount of taxes that you owe, the IRS will begin searching for other assets on which to place a levy. The IRS will likely place a lien against you. This means it can legally seize your property to satisfy your debt by garnishing your wages, levying your bank accounts or taking other measures.

Below are three options to resolve your tax debt and avoid a lien or levy from the IRS.

Establish an installment arrangement

The most common way to address your tax debt is to ask for an installment arrangement. This is a repayment plan for up to 72 months or until your tax debt is paid off. You can file a Form 9465 with the IRS to request an installment arrangement.

Be aware that penalties and interest accrue while you pay off the debt. It is better to take larger payments over a shorter span than 72 months to eliminate your balance.

One term of the installment arrangement is that you promise to file your tax returns and pay any associated debts on time. Failure to do so will nullify your agreement. An installment arrangement also extends the statute of limitations for the IRS to collect on your debt by two years.

Receiving ‘Currently Non-Collectible’ Status

If you are granted currently non-collectible (CNC) status, all IRS collection actions will stop. For example, the agency will not be allowed to file a lien against you.

You may qualify for CNC status if paying your tax debt would leave you with not enough money to cover your basic needs. Most often, debtors must be out of work or underemployed to be considered CNC. While you are on CNC, the statute continues to run.

CNC status is temporary and the IRS reviews your case every year. If you become ineligible, you will have to make other arrangements to satisfy your tax debt.

Providing an offer in compromise

Depending on your financial circumstances, the IRS might settle your tax debt for less than you owe. This is known as an Offer in Compromise (OIC).

To file for an Offer in Compromise, you file Form 656, which includes Form 433-A (OIC). These forms require you to list all of your assets, including: bank, retirement or brokerage accounts, your home and automobiles and any other assets. It also requires you to list all of your liabilities, income and expenses.

It takes between six months and one year for the IRS to accept OICs. If you request an OIC, your statute of limitations is extended by the amount of time the IRS considers your offer. The IRS offers an online pre-qualifier tool that can give you a better idea of whether or not your offer will be accepted.

If your OIC is accepted, you will pay the amount you proposed in a lump sum or installments. If your offer is denied, the IRS will move to forcibly collect the debt.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

TaxMasters Inc. is the Latest Tax Representation Firm to File for Bankruptcy

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It was announced recently that another tax representation firm, Houston-based TaxMasters Inc., will file for bankruptcy. The company spent millions of dollars in TV advertising promising taxpayers’ resolution from their IRS debt, but was rarely able to deliver on its promise. Texas and Minnesota have both accused TaxMasters Inc. of “deceptive tax practices.”
TaxMasters Inc. is just the latest tax representation firm to file for bankruptcy. Months earlier, J.K. Harris filed for bankruptcy after a number of lawsuits were filed against it by multiple states’ attorneys general and taxpayers. Like TaxMasters, J.K. Harris also advertised the ability to relieve consumers of their tax debts to the IRS.
Another similar case was the one involving Roni Deutch, also known as the “Tax Lady,” based out of California. After a California attorney general filed a lawsuit against Deutch in 2010 citing similar allegations, Deutch eventually surrendered her license to practice law and filed for bankruptcy.
Americans struggling with debt owed to the IRS are not encouraged to utilize tax representation firms due to their history of charging outrageous fees and their lack of success. Instead, consumers and businesses with outstanding tax debt are encouraged to contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service sector of the IRS, or a certified lawyer or CPA. There are affordable payment plans available to those who owe $50,000 or more to the IRS and in some extreme cases; it is possible to receive an “offer in compromise,” due to extenuating circumstances.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/03/18/owe-the-irs-taxmasters-bankruptcy-shows-why-not-to-get-help-from-tv-pitchmen/.
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.