Question:

What is a tax debt help mistake?

Tax Debt Help Mistakes

Becoming involved in a tax debt situation can be a nervous time for many. Receiving the first IRS Notice can come as a total surprise and bring a panic attack. It turns out you must contact the IRS at their request. Before you do, there are some things you need to know.

Be armed. Have all your applicable documents with you. This includes your IRS Notice Letter, your social security number (or taxpayer identification number), applicable tax year, and tax amount.

Be friendly. State why you are calling in friendly terms. Whether you believe it or not, the IRS does have humans working there. Treat them with respect and you will do better than if you do not.

Do not be berated. You do not have to put up with an IRS revenue officer who belittles you or tries to mistreat you. If you are uncomfortable with anything about the IRS revenue officer you are dealing with (or feel they are incompetent), simply ask to be transferred to another officer. If this does not work...

Contact Taxpayer Advocacy Service. This independent organization of the IRS will deal impartially with you regarding your IRS employee interactions. Report the revenue officer you were dealing with.

Meet deadlines. It goes without saying that if you meet your tax deadlines for both filing your tax return and paying your taxes, you will not begin having tax debt issues. Set up a tax calendar to help with this.

Pay your taxes. This is another commonsense statement. When you file your tax return, pay your tax bill in full, or as much as possible. The more you pay, the less can be penalized. Pay your delinquent taxes as early as possible. Penalties and interest have led to many an ugly tax debt situation.

Sell your assets. It may be a good idea to sell some of your assets to pay your IRS tax debt off. The IRS, with its incessant penalty and interest accruing, is not a pleasant creditor to have hovering around.

Do not ignore. Do not ignore the IRS once you receive your first IRS Notice. They will not go away like a bad virus over time.

Do not volunteer information. Stick with the facts that pertain to your tax debt situation. The more information you give the IRS, the more they can question.

Do not admit to violating tax laws. Do not admit to anything. It more than likely was an oversight on your part that caused your tax debt problem, not an out and out violation. The IRS may try to coerce you into admitting wrongdoing. Do not let them.

Know where you stand. Know where along the IRS collection process your tax debt situation really is. What needs to be done to correct it? What do you need to do? What will the IRS do?

Get it in writing . Whatever the IRS says, ask for them to put it in writing. Many times they will offer to do that anyways. It is just better to be safe than sorry.