Clients often call me with concerns that they’ve haven’t paid or filed their federal, state, or local income taxes. As a tax attorney, I am particularly aware of the recurring themes:
“my business grew faster than I could handle it and I fell behind on bookkeeping/administration.”
“I missed a filing deadline years ago, then kept missing them, and now I am
in way over my head!”
“My accountant failed to file a return and I can’t reach him/her!”
In each of these cases, and countless others, I tell my clients that they’ve made progress in addressing their tax delinquency simply by recognizing the have a potential past due-liability. Then I advise them on how to continue their progress and get their tax liability cleared up.
The IRS and state taxing authorities encourage taxpayers to coming forward with voluntary disclosures of delinquent taxes. Often, these agencies are willing to forgive some amount of penalty, or reduce interest on unpaid taxes, to give the delinquent taxpayer a break. In other cases, taxpayers discover that their past due tax liabilities are lower than expected and can pay them off immediately. The IRS also provides an “offer in compromise” process, allowing certain delinquent and insolvent taxpayers an extended time period to pay off tax delinquencies. State and local taxing authorities may offer similar programs, including tax amnesty.
We can work with you to implement a plan to address your unpaid or underpaid taxes and bring your business out of the tax shadows. Contact us for a consultation.
The information provided herein should not be relied upon as legal advice. Your receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Shmuel Law Group, LLC. Any advice provided herein should be discussed between you and your legal and tax advisers and applied to your individual circumstances prior to your acting on it. In certain jurisdictions, this publication may constitute attorney advertising.