IRS payroll debt forgiveness can be negotiated in a way to help businesses that owe payroll taxes or that should have been withheld from employees' paychecks.
Business Owners or “Responsible Person”
Are You Behind in Your Payroll Filings or Payments and Have Payroll Debt?
You have a good business, but sometimes your cash flow gets a little low and the payroll deposit doesn’t get made on time. Or maybe you just got busy and missed your quarterly payroll return filings.
Whatever the reason, you’re now behind in your payroll tax filings or payments or both.
You might feel like you’re temporarily borrowing the money from the IRS until your business gets back on track, but the IRS doesn’t see it that way at all. The IRS needs that money to make Social Security payments among other things and takes late payroll payments more seriously than just about any other tax problem.
Being Late on Paying Payroll Taxes Is Serious
To the IRS, a late payroll tax payment is considered stealing money from the government, and they have really put some teeth behind enforcement. The most important thing you can do is to get help from a tax representation professional as soon as possible.
Penalties can add up fast. There’s a failure to file a penalty, a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, interest on the taxes that are late, and the taxes themselves. It can be easy to get into a hole really fast with back payroll taxes due. Plus, it’s taxing on your peace of mind to have this kind of burden weighing you down.
The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and local entities will send a letter if one of the following happens:
- You miss a payment deadline for payroll taxes due.
- You miss a deadline for filing payroll tax reports.
- An amount paid is short or over what the IRS or another tax agency calculates as due.
- The agency notices a discrepancy on your payroll tax returns and needs an explanation.
- You have been selected for an audit.
- You fail to respond to previous correspondence.
Please note: The IRS will never send you an email about any of the above situations. They always send physical letters. If you get an email, it's a scam.
If you don’t respond to the initial IRS letters, the IRS and other tax agencies can apply liens, levies, garnishments, and seizures in an attempt to collect payment. You don’t want it to escalate to this level.
It’s a great idea to get a tax professional working on your payroll tax problem. They can help you:
- Respond professionally to IRS correspondence
- Get you caught up on filing back tax returns that are late
- Understand the IRS Collections process and your rights
- Negotiate penalties, interest, and taxes due to lower your debt
- Work out a payment plan on any money you owe to the IRS
- Fight for you on issues that come up, such as a “responsible persons” situation
- Help you get levies and liens removed from your assets
Responsible Person
If you worked for a company that did not file their payroll tax returns or pays their payroll taxes on time, the IRS may have designated you as a “responsible person.” Do NOT ignore this correspondence!
The IRS aggressively goes after anyone they can when it comes to payroll taxes, even if you’re not the owner of the business. If you have a relationship with a business that is of a particular status, duty, and authority, the IRS can blame you for not paying payroll taxes. And in this case, you are guilty before proven innocent.
It's best to contact a tax representation professional who can argue your case and get your “responsible person” status dropped.
Solutions for Your Payroll Tax Challenges
Contact us at no obligation to you so we can understand your specific payroll tax situation and provide advice on the options available to you. Your tax issue is handled with the utmost confidentiality and privacy.
UNDERSTANDING PAYROLL TAX DEBT RELIEF
Payroll taxes are a type of tax imposed on employers. The amount that needs to be paid comes from a percentage of the salaries. There are two types of taxes: one is being paid by the employer based on the employee’s wages and the other is directly deducted from an employee’s wages.
Debt accumulation occurs when the taxes are not paid. Even if one is forced to close his or her business, the party is still liable for their outstanding taxes. In this case, the affected party should seek professional assistance to determine the best course of action to resolve the tax debt problem – payroll tax debt relief.
