Wage Garnishment is one of the most common ways the IRS forces collection on your back income taxes.

The IRS can collect your tax liability by contacting your present employer and having them deduct a potion of your wages each month to pay back all of your unpaid income taxes.

Not only can your wage or salary be withheld but any bonus, commissions, and potentially any retirement earnings can to.

The IRS can also garnish other assets such as your home, vehicles, and other items of value.

If you have delinquent state income tax, each state has their own wage garnishment laws and requirements.

Going through this process can be financially and emotionally difficult, but connecting and working with a tax lawyer could help you determine your options.

Having the IRS impose wage garnishment is one of the harshest penalties you can receive.

Here are some things you should expect if you haven’t paid your taxes:

1. The IRS will send you a Notice and Demand Letter requesting payment for the unpaid income taxes. You have 30 days to respond to the notice.
2. If time passes and/or you don’t pay the requested income tax amount.
3. If you failed to pay your back taxes, the IRS will send you a final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing before they impose a levy or before the garnishment starts.

The wage levies will begin no sooner than 30 days after you receive the final notice.

There are also other forms of repayment plan for your unpaid taxes, such as installment plans, offer in compromise, or innocent spouse relief that might be better options.

Speaking with a tax professional and understanding your tax debt settlement options will help you decision which option is good for your financial situation.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities revealed this week that these three states are considering raising taxes low-income working families while offering new tax-breaks to businesses and corporations.

In Michigan’s case, the lower class will lose about $260 million in tax break next year, while businesses will see $1.1 billion in new tax breaks in 2012 and $1.7 billion in 2013.

Up until 2008, Michigan was one of only five states that taxes a working family of four earning below $14,000, or about 70 percent of the federal poverty level. This harsh level of taxation ended when Michigan’s new state tax credit took effect in 2008, raising the level for taxation to $30,300 for a family of four.

Families qualifying for the Earned Income Tax Credit have been receiving about $430 a year from the credit. That amount will drop to around $130 in the next tax year.

At the same time, an estimated two-thirds of Michigan businesses will be exempt from paying corporate income taxes under the new business tax breaks.

“Instead of undermining efforts to reduce the tax liabilities of poor families, states should preserve the progress they have made and build upon it when their budget outlook improves,” The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said in a statement.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder initially advocated eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit entirely, but conceding to lowering the credit from 20 percent to just 6 percent of the Federal EITC.

“More and better jobs are at the heart of the governor’s plan to improve and strengthen our economy so ALL can prosper and benefit,” Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for the governor, said, adding that the tax changes were part of an effort to make the system “simple, fair and efficient.”

“It was also about ending exorbitant business tax credits that were jeopardizing our future and ensuring a level playing field for all industries and sectors,” she said. “It was about creating a structurally balanced budget that could be a building block for the future.”

The IRS can be complicated and stressful to deal with alone. Working with a tax lawyer may make the process go a lot smoother when it comes to unfiled taxes or settling outstanding tax debts.

Arrange a free consultation with a tax attorney to discuss your case and learn your options to fight the IRS. Simply fill out the case evaluation form below to take action and get help today.

Basic Tax Options

Many taxpayers don’t file or make mistakes on their federal or state income tax returns for many reasons.

Avoiding paying your income taxes could result in audits and severe penalties, including owing a lot more money that you actually owed to begin with.

You could also face aggressive collection tactics like tax liens, bank account levies, and wage garnishments, or even criminal charges. If you’re owed a tax refund, you could also lose it if you don’t file. Understanding and knowing the harsh penalties that can be imposed is key.

You may have to act quickly to preserve your rights. A tax attorney can help you determine how to be upfront with the IRS about your financial status and can advise you on the various methods that may be available to resolve your tax problems.

If you owe the IRS, several options to resolve or settle your debt may be available to you: paying in full, installment agreements, offer in compromise and tax payment extension. Knowing your legal rights to fix your tax situation could get you in a better financial state.

If you owe state taxes or are having other state tax problems, each state has its own tax laws, and working with a local tax lawyer who knows the federal and state laws could help make resolving your tax issues an easier process.

Not paying your back taxes could result in criminal charges, fines and possible jail time, as well as a financial nightmare. The process can be very complicated and lengthy.

A tax attorney can advise you on your situation and negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. Connect with a local tax attorney today for a free consultation and get informed on your options to resolve your tax situation.

Additional Information about Tax Debt

Income Tax Problems

Debt Settlements

State Tax Help

There are many reasons why people don’t pay their federal or state taxes, but having unfiled or unpaid taxes or mistakes on your returns could lead to a financial nightmare.

If you’re trying to get out from under your tax debt, the first thing you might want to do is to figure out how much you owe, including any penalties, fines, and interest.

Knowing how much you owe, how much you can afford to pay back, and what your options are is very important, but it can quickly get confusing. A tax attorney can be a vital resource when trying to figure out your tax debt options or seeking relief from the IRS .

Arrange a free consultation with a tax attorney near you. Fill out the free evaluation form and speak to a tax lawyer today.

Tax Debt Penalties

Many people get in trouble with the IRS for either not paying their income tax bill, or never filing a tax return in the first place.

The amount of taxes you owe or the refund you’re due will depend on several factors, including: your gross income, your filing status, how many dependents you have and whether you qualify for any exemptions or deductions.

There are a variety of tax penalties that can be imposed when you fail to file your federal or state tax returns. Unfiled taxes could potentially result in:

• No refund or No losses carry over: Not paying your taxes could result in not receiving your refund and not having your losses carry over. You typically have about three years to file your taxes returns before you will be ineligible to receive your refund.
• Substitute Return Consequences: The IRS can file a “substitute return”, which allows them to calculate how much you owe them and may not include deductions and exemptions you’d be entitled to otherwise.
• Loss of tax credits: If you qualify for any type of tax credits and have not filed with the three years you may lose your ability to qualify for them.
• Can’t qualify to file for bankruptcy: If you have unfiled tax returns, you likely cannot file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You typically need at least 2 years of tax returns filed before you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and at least 4 years of returns to file Chapter 13.
• Criminal fines and Jail time: In some cases you could face either a $25,000 criminal fine or 1 year of incarceration
• Tax Collection/Tax lien/Tax levy: These are different collection mechanisms that the IRS could impose on you to collect the taxes you owe, which may allow the IRS to seize your home, car, or other assets.

Besides penalties, there is interest that can be added to the amount you owe. Depending on how late you file and how late your payments are, the interest may substantially increase your total tax bill.

A tax attorney can explain the penalties you may be facing and help you determine the best option of repayment while negotiating with the IRS or the state on your behalf.

Speak with a Tax Attorney About your IRS Options

Having tax problems and dealing with the IRS can be tough but talking with a participating tax lawyer in your area and knowing your options could make the process easier.

Don’t be intimidated by the IRS or state revenue department. A tax attorney can help you prepare for federal or state tax audits , advise you on your options for repayment, and may help you reach a settlement to avoid extra penalties, liens, wage garnishments, or even jail time.

Find help today. Simply fill out the form below for a free consultation with a local tax attorney.

Each state has its own Department of Revenue with individual state tax laws they follow.

Similar to owing taxes to the IRS, owing income taxes to the state government can result in a financial nightmare.

Luckily, you can get help in your fight to resolve your tax debts. A local tax attorney can help you work with your state’s tax code to find a solution that works for you.

Arrange a free consultation with an attorney today to learn more about your options. Just fill out the free case review form below to get started now.

Resolving Your State Income Tax Debt

State taxation laws differ from state to state. While a few states charge no income tax, most states require residents to file income taxes each year.

States usually have similar consequences and penalties for unfiled state tax returns and states may have different standards and penalties than the IRS, but a tax attorney can explain these in more detail.

Resolving your state tax debt can be a source of headache and frustration, especially if you can’t afford to pay the added penalties, fines and interest. With more paperwork to file and state laws to abide by it can turn into a stressful time for anyone.

Click here for a free evaluation of your income tax liability

Working with a local tax lawyer who knows the complicated state laws can help ease the stress of dealing with your state tax problems.

A local lawyer can help you figure out how to file back taxes, look at options to negotiate down and reduce your state tax debt, determine the best forgiveness or repayment options, and explain penalties you may be facing.

Connect with a participating local tax attorney in your area to learn about your rights and your options when dealing with your state’s Department of Revenue. Arrange your free consultation today by filling out the free case evaluation form below.

Are your unpaid taxes racking up interest and late fees?

It can feel like the IRS adds insult to injury when they tack on heavy interest and late fees. If fees are preventing you from paying your taxes, you may be able to get them eliminated through a penalty abatement from the Internal Revenue Service.

Dealing with the IRS to resolve your tax debt can be stressful and confusing. Find help and ask a tax lawyer if you qualify for a penalty abatement from the IRS:

What is Penalty Abatement from the IRS?

With penalty abatement, individuals can dispute interest and late penalties stemming from their back taxes.

Penalty abatement might be a viable option if:

• your total tax debt is larger than your original taxes owed, and
• you intended on paying your taxes, but you were unable to pay on time due to circumstances out of your control.

Do You Qualify for Penalty Abatement from the IRS?

You must qualify for this interest and late fee abatement. Not everyone can receive this consideration.

You may qualify for an abatement if you:

• have reasonable cause for not making your payment on time. This generally includes major life events that would make it difficult to file your taxes accurately or on time. This includes major family issues that can be proven such a divorce, a major illness or a death.
• received bad tax advice from a tax professional.
• were unemployed for a lengthy amount of time and unable to make any payments.
• qualify for an administrative waiver because a catastrophic event prevented you from paying your taxes, such as a natural disaster or fire in your home.
• can demonstrate that the IRS made errors in assessing your taxes, and that’s why you did not pay your taxes.

Keep in mind, you may be able to eliminate some or all of the penalties and interest associated with your back taxes, but you will likely still owe the original amount due.

Filing for Penalty Abatement

There are three common ways to file for penalty abatement from the Internal Revenue Service:

• Write a petition to the IRS stating your case and requesting a deduction of late fees/interest
• Request an oral interview with the IRS
• Request and complete a tax abatement form

A tax attorney can help you through the penalty abatement process.

There may be other requirements to meet to be approved for a penalty abatement. Filing all the necessary paperwork can also be time consuming. Let an attorney guide you through the process.

Fill out the above free tax evaluation form to speak with a local tax lawyer today.

In these cases, an Offer in Compromise may allow the taxpayer to settle his tax debt for less than the amount he owes in full.

It’s important to know that the IRS does not always agree to an Offer in Compromise, but it may help to have a lawyer guide you through the correct process.

If you owe the IRS money from back taxes, ask a tax attorney if you could qualify for this tax settlement option. Talk to a local attorney today for free:

Do you Qualify for Offer in Compromise?

Qualifying for an Offer in Compromise is not an easy or quick process.

Before the IRS considers the offer, you must have all of your taxes filed and you must not be in the middle of or about to file for bankruptcy.

There are some main areas that the IRS looks at before granting you an Offer in Compromise:

• your ability to pay
• your income
• your expenses and your assets

There are three types of Offers in Compromise that the IRS may consider, depending on your financial situation:

• Doubt as to Collectability: May be granted if you are not able to pay for the taxes in full either by liquidating your assets or have other tax debt installment agreement plans
• Doubt as to Liability: May be granted if you do not believe that you owe the assessed taxes to the IRS.
• Effective Tax Administration (ETA): May be granted if you agree with the tax amount that you owe to the IRS but are unable to pay the full amount due to an exceptional circumstance.

In order to submit an Offer in Compromise, you must complete the correct paperwork and follow a strict process, which can often be time-consuming and confusing.This is why many people choose to work with a local tax attorney when pursuing an Offer in Compromise for their tax debt.

Offer in Compromise Contract

Besides all the forms and calculations, the IRS also has terms and conditions that need to be fulfilled as well. These include:

• You must pay the tax debt offer amount in full.
• File and pay your taxes on-time for the next five years.
• The IRS is entitled to keep any tax credits, refunds, and payments prior to submitting the Offer in Compromise.
• During the year of the Offer in Compromise you will not receive a tax refund of any kind since any refunds due will be applied to your tax debt.

If these conditions are not met, the original amount owed to the IRS may be restored, and the IRS may resume collection attempts such as garnishments and liens.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider if you want to join in an offer in comprise contract with the IRS.

Talk to a Local Tax Lawyer Today for Free

It can be hectic and stressful trying to figure out how to move forward and get out from your tax debt. This process can involve a lot of paperwork and negotiating with the IRS, but working with a local tax lawyer could help take some of the stress off of you.

You can arrange a free consultation with a tax attorney near you today. Learn your rights and your options when dealing with the IRS.

Simply fill out the quick case evaluation form below to get started on the process now.

Filing your taxes with your spouse has both benefits and drawbacks.

Married couples file taxes jointly to take advantage of taxes benefits and as a result, they often pay fewer taxes. But if your spouse or ex-spouse files the taxes incorrectly, you could be responsible for taxes and penalties.

Things can get even more complicated if you’re filing taxes while you’re going through a divorce or if your spouse had tax issues that were outside of your control.

A local tax attorney can advise if you qualify for “spouse relief” so you aren’t responsible for your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) misfiling or tax debt.

If you’re unsure about how to handle your joint taxes, fill out the form below and speak to a tax lawyer near you.

How the IRS Views Your Joint Filing

When you file jointly with your current or ex-spouse, the IRS views the pair as one entity. This means that both individuals are responsible for the taxes, plus any penalties and interest owed on back taxes.

If you are recently divorced and your ex’s taxes haven’t been paid, the IRS can go after both of you. However, the IRS allows for some exceptions to this rule.

Innocent Spouse Relief, Separation of Liability and IRS Equitable Relief

There are three common forms of spouse relief where one spouse may not be responsible for the other’s tax debt:

• Innocent Spouse Relief: This relieves you from responsibility for taxes, interest and penalties owed if your spouse, or former spouse, improperly reported or omitted earnings or other information on an income tax filing without your knowledge or involvement.
• Separation of Liability: This form of relief divides your tax obligations between you and your former spouse. In order to be eligible, you must be divorced, legally separated, or widowed, and you must not have lived together in the same house for at least 12 months from the date the taxes were filed. You will still need to pay your allotted tax debt.
• IRS Equitable Relief: If you do not qualify for either of the above relief exceptions, yet it would be unfair to hold you responsible for your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) mistakes and you meet certain eligibility requirements, you may qualify for this form of relief if you have underpaid or understated taxes.

Click here for a free evaluation of your income tax liability

How to Resolve Your Joint Taxes

Tax law is not an easy subject to approach.

If you and your current or former spouse are having trouble with your current or back taxes, an attorney can help you sort through the IRS legalese.

Dealing with joint tax debts or going through a divorce is a difficult time for most people. Having to deal with taxes that you may not be liable for can make it even harder.

Connect with a tax lawyer in your area. A tax lawyer is familiar with tax laws and the details of spouse relief.

Receive a free consultation from a local tax lawyer today:

If you qualify, you may be able to settle or eliminate your income tax obligations through an Offer in Compromise, installment plan, innocent spouse relief, bankruptcy, or other method.

Not every option is available to all tax payers, and determining if an option is right for you depends on the status of your tax bill, your income, assets, and other factors.

Get help understanding your options by speaking with a tax attorney today. Simply fill out the free case review form below to get started now.

It can be difficult to decide which settlement plan is right for you and speaking to a tax lawyer who knows the ins and outs of the tax laws and settlement options may help make the process easier.

• Offer in Compromise: This tax debt settlement option allows you to settle your tax debt with the IRS for less than the full amount you owe.
• Penalty Abatement: This option allows you to request to reduce or even eliminate your penalties.
• Partial Payments/Installment Agreements: These are monthly payments that you set with the IRS to pay your tax debt over time.
• Innocent Spouse Relief: If you file your taxes jointly and you feel that your spouse, or ex spouse, misfiled or reported incorrectly you might be able to qualify for this tax settlement.

This can be tricky process to do alone and filling out the necessary paperwork and deciding which tax debt settlement program works best for your financial needs can be difficult.

You can consult with a local tax attorney who can advise you on your situation and file on your behalf. Click below for free consultation with a tax attorney in your area.

Click here for a free evaluation of your income tax liability

One option for repaying your tax debt is an Installment Agreement with the IRS. This agreement allows you to make monthly payments over a period of generally no more than 60 months to repay your tax debt.

Qualifying for an installment agreement with the IRS can be a long and complicated process, but with so much at stake, it’s important to know your options and your rights when dealing with the IRS.

You don’t have to take on the IRS alone. A local tax lawyer can work on your behalf and deal with the IRS and could make the filing process smoother. Fill out the free tax evaluation form below to connect with an attorney near you for a free consultation.

Installment Agreements Options

There are several different types of IRS Installment Agreements that taxpayers may be able to request and receive approval for, depending on their eligibility:

• Guaranteed Installment Agreements: you may qualify for this agreement if your tax debt is $10k or less, excluding interest and penalties, and you can repay it with three years.
• Streamlined Installment Agreements: you could qualify if you have $25k or less of tax debt, not including the interest and penalties, and the repayment period is up to 5 years.
• Financially Verified Installment Agreements: for this agreement you must have more than $25k in tax liabilities and would need to provide a full financial disclosure.
• Partial Payment Installment Agreements: These agreements are based a partial monthly amount of your tax debt that you set with the IRS.
• Direct Debit IRS Installment Agreements: to qualify for this agreement you need to set up automatic debits payments directly from your bank account.

Click here for a free evaluation of your income tax liability

Taxpayers who owe less than $25,000 can apply for an Installment Agreement and may receive immediate approval to help them resolve their tax debt.

Taxpayers who owe more than $25,000 will have to negotiate an installment plan with the IRS.

IRS Installment Agreements do have additional fees, interest and penalties associated with them, and the longer it takes you to pay your tax debt, the more you end up paying in the end. For this reason, it’s important to know your options and act quickly when dealing with the IRS.

There are various requirements for installment agreements depending on how much your tax liability is. Speaking with a participating nearby tax lawyer who is familiar with the requirements can help you make the decision and get you on the right path financially.

Connect with a tax lawyer in your area today to learn how to protect your rights and what steps you can take to work out a solution to your tax debts. You can fill out our free case evaluation form and connect with an attorney near you today for a no-obligation consultation. Get started now.