fbpx

Top Five Concerns of People Facing IRS Action

Taking Notes scaled

You’ve received a letter from the IRS telling you there’s a problem with your taxes. You’re not entirely clear on what the letter means. Yet you are sweating a little. You’re nervous about what happens and what steps you should take next. You’re anxious and are tempted to ignore it all.

Here’s your first step: DO NOT IGNORE THE IRS NOTICE. For your next step, read the following concerns that 20/20 most often hears from clients calling our office for the first time. With our 19 years of experience helping people overcome tax difficulties, we’ve heard just about every concern. Here are the top five concerns common to our clients. 

Taking Notes1. Aggressive enforcement and liens

People who speak with 20/20 agents overwhelmingly express fear that the IRS wants payment immediately and by any way possible. Taxpayers want protection from aggressive enforcement actions like bank levies, accounts receivables levies, wage garnishments and asset seizure. While every person’s case is unique, we have a variety of tools we can use to intercede and ensure that these extreme IRS actions are avoided. In nearly every case, we are able to use these tools to give clients the time and space they need to establish compliance and form a strategy to meeting their tax obligations.

2. Difficulty dealing with or communicating with the IRS

It’s not surprising that the second most-frequent concern we hear is that resolving this issue will require inordinate amounts of time, effort and frustration. Who hasn’t sat on hold trying to reach an account service representative? Taxpayers envision a customer service nightmare multiplied tenfold by government inefficiency. Because we work with the IRS all the time, we’re familiar with the agency’s communications processes and we know how to reach the right person to get the right information. We take over communication and do it for the taxpayer, freeing them up to run their business – and their life.

3. Revenue officer showing up at place of business and employees or others finding out about liability

While the IRS is stepping up enforcement and collection efforts of unpaid or delinquent taxes (particularly employment taxes), the agency does work to respect and protect a taxpayer’s privacy. However, in a busy office where documentation and information is shared widely, it’s entirely possible that some news about tax issues may filter out to others. But any employee or other individual will feel less anxious when they know a qualified, experienced tax resolution company like 20/20 is working on the case. The alternative is to have employees or others worry that nothing is being done to manage the liability.

4. Debt to IRS growing out of control (penalties and interest accrual)

There are very few ways to avoid having to pay interest when a tax obligation is delinquent. However, 20/20 can make certain that all obligations, interest and even any penalties will be the least amount allowable under the law. The bottom line: Doing something to resolve the situation is always better than doing nothing.

5. Getting a good and manageable resolution.

Finally, 20/20 clients are worried about achieving a fair, manageable resolution that won’t break the bank and will alleviate their worries. Fortunately, we’ve been helping clients achieve this goal for almost 20 years so we can say with confidence that we can help most taxpayers. We’ll use our experience to obtain the best resolution available under your specific circumstances.

While reactions to potential IRS action vary, it’s fairly typical for clients to feel some or all of the above concerns. Some people seem unfazed and are not frightened of the IRS at all. Typically, this reaction comes from taxpayers who have dealt with the IRS previously. The strongest fear many people experience is that others (employees, spouses, friends, etc.) will discover the problem. There’s a certain stigma about owing money to IRS – and they worry what others will think.

But the truth is many people experience these types of problems and it doesn’t indicate any lack of character. Taxes are a complicated issue – and running a business is always challenging. What’s important is recognizing when you need help in order to keep any problems from becoming overly burdensome. That’s precisely why we exist.