A Tax Consultant for All Seasons

If you want a chuckle that is sure to fill you with holiday spirit watch the new video on YouTube called Santa and the IRS. It certainly shows the lighter side of what might happen if the IRS audited Santa. My fellow employees wrote, acted and sang in the video. Enjoy the humor and acting skills of those brave souls who were willing to put themselves out there on the world wide web.

The video does address the fear issue many people have when audited by the IRS. Even Santa is no match for rules and regulations. If watching the video fills you with fear, you can contact a tax consultant at Effectur. For even more information about the IRS you can visit Santa’s website at www.irsmind.com.

Every tax consultant has a wish list of items they wish their client would do or would stop doing. My wish list is as follows: I wish
Clients would keep their tax records in an organized fashion–or at least kept them!
Clients wouldn’t try to do their own returns
Clients would not ignore notices from the IRS
Clients would disclose all their sources of income before the return is filed
Clients would keep records of all their stock purchases
These are just a few of the items I would like to find under my tree. Clients can really help their tax consultant by providing complete and accurate information.

Make sure you make your tax consultant aware of any changes in circumstances, income sources or expenses. Your tax consultant can help you plan for 2008 to be sure you don’t owe at the end of the year and have taken advantage of all deductions for which you are entitled. To prevent future problems with the IRS taken care of your problems as they occur, don’t put them off.
If you find you do need IRS help, contact Effectur.

It may not be common knowledge that starting next week, the IRS puts a hold on issuing wage levies. If your levy is already in place, it will stay there. If the levy hasn’t been issued, the IRS will kindly wait until after the first of the year to do so. If you are in danger of being levied, use this time wisely to get your delinquent returns filed and get yourself in an installment plan.

For most taxpayers having a wage levy is an embarrassment. To prevent your employer from finding out about your problems with the IRS, either get help from a tax consultant or contact Effectur. We can help you file your old tax returns and an Enrolled Agent can contact the IRS on your behalf and negotiate an installment agreement. If all your returns are filed and your liability is under $25,000, Effectur can get you set up in an installment agreement in as little as 48 hours. If your liability is over that, we can help you through the process of filing out the proper forms and getting the required documentation together.

A penalty abatement is a process the IRS has in place that will in some cases abate the penalties incurred due to non filing and non payment of taxes. The tax itself and the interest charged are never abated. The penalties may be abated for reasonable cause. Reasonable cause usually means that a tragedy or extreme circumstance such as an prolonged illness or death in the family.

Your tax consultant or an Enrolled Agent can assist you in writing a letter. At Effectur, clients who come to us for IRS help are asked to provide as much documentation as possible to substantiate the reasons a tax return was not filed and or not paid in full. The process can take several months from the time the letter is sent before a decision is made whether or not to abate the penalties. Some clients think an tax attorney is necessary to provide this service, but when the client signed a limited Power of Attorney, an Enrolled Agent can then represent them before the IRS. Contact Effectur if you need assistance.

Every day we have clients who have or are about to have a Federal Tax Lien flied by the IRS. If you have already had a tax lien filed, it will stay in place until all your taxes are paid in full or ten years plus 30 days from the date the tax is assessed. A lien is filed at your local courthouse and will show up on a title search for any property you may own. A tax lien will go on your credit report and make it difficult, if not impossible to to sell property you own. If you owe over $25,000 you will not be able to avoid having a lien filed unless you pay the taxes in full. Anytime you owe 5,000 or more there is a risk that a lien will be filed. If you are set up in an installment agreement, they may not file a lien if you owe under 25,000.

A lien will also hurt your ability to borrow money or refinance your home. In some cases the IRS will allow you to refinance you house or even sell it if they are satisfied that they will receive the proceeds up to what you owe in taxes. In some circumstances the IRS will not file a lien if your ability to earn income, and therefore your ability to pay off your taxes, would be compromised by the lien being filed. However, there are no guarantees that this will happen.

Bottom line, paying off your taxes by getting a loan from friends, family or putting your taxes on a credit card can prevent a lien from being filed. If you have paid off your taxes and the lien is still showing at the court house, you can let them know that the lien automatically releases as the lien form states. If you are having a problem with a tax lien, a tax consultant should be able to advise you.

You have probably seen the ads on TV for pennies on the dollar tax resolution. The old adage, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Well this is especially true when dealing with taxes. If you need IRS help, Effectur has the fastest resolution time in the industry. We won’t make promises we can’t keep. We want you to understand what your options are and find a solution that is right for you. Our team of experts and former IRS employees know what the IRS requires and won;t suggest solutions we know the IRS won’t accept. Try our website to see how we can help.