Perhaps the most important task we have to perform for our clients is keeping their accounts safe from Levies, Garnishments, and Property Seizures. Whether you’re a business owner with payroll or an Individual with a family to feed, IRS Collections Enforcement through Levies & Garnishments can be financially devastating. As an Nationwide Tax Consulting client this is the last thing you would ever need to worry about.

Whether you call it an installment agreement, payment agreement, payment option or a payment plan, the idea is the same — you make payments on the tax you owe. For those who cannot resolve their tax debt immediately an installment agreement can be a reasonable payment option. Installment agreements allow for the full payment of the tax debt in smaller, more manageable amounts.

An offer in compromise (OIC) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. Absent special circumstances, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes that the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement.

The IRS will allow for certain Penalties to be abated depending on the circumstances. For Instance, a tax liability can be the result of unavoidable situations and for reasons beyond the taxpayer’s control. In the event we determine you were not at fault in accruing these taxes we will request that the IRS reduce and, in some cases, even eliminate the penalties for the years in question based upon the Internal Revenue Manual’s framework for what they call “Reasonable Cause Criteria”.

Many married taxpayers choose to file a joint tax return because of certain benefits this filing status allows. Both taxpayers are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to tax, interest, or penalties that arise as a result of the joint return even if they later divorce. Joint and several liability means that each taxpayer is legally responsible for the entire liability. Thus, both spouses are generally held responsible for all the tax due even if one spouse earned all the income or claimed improper deductions or credits. This is true even if a divorce decree states that a former spouse will be responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint returns. In some cases, however, a spouse can get relief from joint and several liabilities.

The best way to combat IRS levies is to avoid them altogether. If you are levied there are many ways to obtain a release. If you are missing any tax returns you will want to file those immediately. The IRS will always negotiate a Payment arrangement which will always eliminate wage garnishments. Bank levies are usually released by showing hardship or IRS error. A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. Levies are different from liens. A lien is a claim used as security for the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt.

Sometimes the most frustrating part of resolving an Federal Tax Liability is the lingering Federal Tax Lien. These are not only public record that attach to all of your recorded property, but they also show up on your credit report. Many taxpayers have property they want to sell, short sell, or Re-Finance. Others need the Lien off of their credit because of their job, or because they need a new car. Whatever the need, there are many ways in which the IRS will either release or subordinate your Federal Tax Liens.