From keeping Alaskans connected to saving Christmas, 20/20’s work goes well beyond dollars and cents
Over the past two decades, 20/20 Tax Resolution agents have seen and heard just about everything. Clients come to us because they’re facing devastating setbacks, financial missteps or stumbling business ventures. Our job, however, is not to judge the circumstances of these clients. It’s to help them find a way back to their productive, satisfying and happy lives. In the process of doing our work, we’ll go to great lengths to help clients reach their goal. Our innovative agents are accustomed to going the extra mile, leaving no stone unturned and fighting for the best resolution.
The following are just a few of our most unusual cases from the past 20 years:
The Doubter
You know you’ve done something right when your client is in such disbelief that he asks to call the IRS to confirm the outcome you’ve achieved.
“This client owed around $63,000,” said 20/20 Agent Alberto Douriet, E.A. “After reviewing his file, we found a settlement would have been around $10,000. He wanted an Offer In Compromise (OIC).”
Not bad, Alberto thought. But he suspected there could be a better resolution in a payment plan. Here’s why: Little did the client know, the Collection Statute Expiration Dates were scheduled to expire in nine months. Alberto explained to the client he could pay the $10K with an OIC, or pay a mere $125 a month for nine months until the expiration (a total of only $1,125). Of course, the client jumped at the chance to so dramatically reduce his costs.
“The first few times the client and I spoke, he was set on an OIC and didn’t want to talk about anything else,” Alberto said. “He was a very “hands on” individual, so I sent him information about CSEDs and encouraged him to do his own research on these matters to gain his trust, which I quickly did. Once it was all over, he was in shock.”
Saved From An Embezzler
What do you do when the CFO of your company embezzles more than a million dollars? Throw in the towel and move on, right? Not in the case of an enterprising client from 20/20 Agent Gabe Leap, E.A.
“This case was strange and unusual in that the proprietor of the existing business had nothing to do with the tax liability,” Gabe said.
Not only had a scoundrel embezzled money, but he liquidated the retirement accounts of employees. Without expert intervention, the company’s dedicated workers would be left high and dry – and without a job.
“The taxpayer only took it over in an attempt to keep the business operating so he and his fellow employees would have a place to work,” Gabe said.
A noble cause, indeed. But one fraught with a lot of headaches and risk – not the least of which was potential prosecution from law enforcement. Fortunately, Gabe and his team were able to deflect any charges and de-fuse the situation – and in the end people’s jobs were saved.
“We had to negotiate stays of collections and bring the FBI and the Department of Labor,” Gabe said. “We were able to legitimize the claim to the taxing authorities that the theft was the reason for the accrual.”
Saving A Necessary Service
When you live in a remote area, you’re often at the mercy of Mother Nature and challenging logistics. It’s not always easy to do simple things – and basic needs must be constantly replenished, often from far-off locations. So an airline delivery service that provides necessary goods and services is a critical need.
“Our client was an aviation company that flew critical flights to service remote parts of this state with goods and services,” said 20/20 Agent Joe Cunningham, E.A. “The client flew for the U.S. Postal Service, the FBI and local law enforcement, among other organizations.”
But when tax issues threatened to ground the planes, 20/20 was able to work with an alphabet soup list of government entities and mechanisms to keep pilots (and packages) in the air. All told, the 20/20 team’s efforts to save the company involved coordinating with the United States Postal Service (USPS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FMS Division of Treasury, the IRS and others to save the airline.
Cunningham and his team used a variety of mechanisms to resolve the airline’s financial woes.
“We saved their company,” Joe said, “and kept this service available to residents.”
Boy Trouble Leads To Tax Trouble
Sometimes true love is not what it seems. But in the heat of the moment, we swear we’ll do anything to demonstrate our commitment to a relationship. Common sense doesn’t always win out.
“This client had significant penalties as a result of relying on a prior boyfriend who convinced her to be a ‘tax protester’ for several years,” said 20/20 Agent Matt Schiller, E.A. “He persuaded her that income tax in the United States is unconstitutional.”
Matt was able to work with the client to educate her on why she should promise never to take this position moving forward. In turn, he was able to convince the IRS of his client’s new perspective, removing the stigma and bias toward her that her Revenue Officer had developed due to the client’s previous viewpoint.
“I established an installment agreement to resolve the back tax,” Matt said. “We are currently preparing a penalty abatement request.”
Senior Security
Even the U.S. Government can have a heart sometimes. That turned out to be just the case for one of 20/20 Agent Tiffani Million’s clients. Tiffani’s client, a 71-year-old graphic designer, lived off his Social Security earnings and made a very limited amount of extra money through his small graphic design business.
“His business generated very little income and it possessed assets with little to no value,” Tiffani said. “Personally, he had one used vehicle and possessed no other assets with equity. After he paid all of his monthly expenses, he didn’t have much left to live off of at the end of the month.”
Unfortunately, he owed back taxes of more than $84,000 – a sum he could never even consider hoping to pay. Tiffani recognized his situation was untenable, and performed what some might say was a miracle.
“I submitted an Offer in Compromise on the taxpayer’s behalf for $1, because of his extreme circumstances,” she said. “And the Internal Revenue Service accepted!”
Helping A Client Move Forward
It was a “Catch 22” type of situation for one of 20/20 Agent Sam Million’s clients. The client couldn’t pay her taxes because of lack of work, and she couldn’t land a steady job because of a federal tax lien on her credit report. What’s more, she was facing a $40,000 tax liability.
“The client had been mostly unemployed for several years with the occasional contracting position that would last one to three months,” Sam said. “We had tried several different methods of resolution, including an Offer in Compromise on her $40,000 tax liability. When we finally had an examiner agree to give a settlement of $6,000 the client had no current income and couldn’t afford the repayment.”
It seemed she was doomed to failure no matter what she did. But Sam didn’t give up hope. He understood that a clean credit report could help the client in her pursuit of full-time work – and the federal tax lien was preventing that from happening.
“After several months we decided to pursue a withdrawal of the federal tax lien so she could then qualify for a more long-term job position,” he said. “We had never requested a lien withdrawal with no resolution in place or tax liability being full paid. But we rolled the dice and submitted a request for the lien to be withdrawn so that the taxpayer could qualify for job opportunities and an income that would help her sustain a repayment plan to the IRS.”
The IRS Technical Advisor agreed to this, and issued a withdrawal of the federal tax lien, Sam said. In addition, the 20/20 team was able to negotiate a first-time abatement on the liability, reducing the client’s debt by roughly $6,000.
Saving Christmas for 100 families
Think of this scenario: The IRS issues a hefty levy against your construction company. It’s five days before Christmas. The $1.7 million liability is just $100,000 shy of your total business bank account. You’re forced to tell employees they won’t be receiving their expected regular paycheck right before the holiday.
Although he didn’t sport a white beard and a jolly red suit, 20/20 Agent Mike Ranalli may as well have swept in on a one-horse open sleigh when he told the business owner he had secured a release of the $1.7 million levy just prior to Dec. 25th.
“We were able to get the entire levy released through procedural wizardry,” said Mike. “As a result, the business was able to pay the company’s more than 100 employees. The night we told him about the funds release, our client said that he went home and downed a mug of vodka. No ice. No mixer. Just a mug of vodka. Whew!”