How To Deal With Tax Debt

Most people would never allow themselves to accrue tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service. Most people keep track of their wages and yearly expenses and file their tax returns on time each year, paying what they owe with little fanfare. But if you have allowed yourself to amass any tax debt for any number of reasons, there are reasonable and responsible ways to deal with it so that you can make sure it will not grow into a huge amount of money that you will never be able to pay.

Tax debt is one of the few kinds of debt that can never be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. Once you have tax debt you are saddled with it for life. It will not go away even when you die but will transfer to your estate and your beneficiaries will have to deal with it.

If you have missed filing your tax return, then you have probably had the IRS knocking on your door or sending you some mail. This is a very unpleasant situation to be in. Everyone dreads filing their taxes and most of us will do almost anything to avoid having to pay good old Uncle Sam a portion of our wages. The fact of the matter is, though, that like death, taxes apply to everyone.

If you owe any money to the US government, you should get in touch with the Internal Revenue Service as soon as possible to see about working out a debt settlement. They will review your tax return and send you a notice in the mail which will contain the amount you owe them and information on how to get in touch with them. You will be assigned a specific IRS auditor who will work with you to help you pay off your tax debt.

They will likely set up a payment schedule over a period of time. Do not try to shirk your payments. If you do, you can be assessed a fine. If you do not pay your fine, it will be added to your debt. If you do not pay your debt, you can eventually be faced with having your wages garnished or even going to prison.

If you think you are going to have to miss making a payment, be sure to get in touch with your IRS auditor in advance so that you can work out an alternative arrangement.

Sometimes people are able to defer their payments. In order to receive a deferral you will have to prove significant financial hardship. If you have recently just started a new job, they will be more lenient in assessing a deferral.

You can always hire a tax attorney to help you with your debt. There are thousands of tax attorneys in the United States who specialize in helping people settle their tax debts for less than they owe. Tax debt rarely has to be paid in full. A tax attorney can lobby with the IRS on your behalf to help you with this problem.