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Why You Might Need An IRS Attorney

We have all heard of nightmare tales about owing the IRS and people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the IRS have said they would not like to relive the experience. The first thing people need to know about the IRS is that if they are owed money, they will go after that money and are able to get inside of your bank account, take your home, garnish your employment wages and do everything possible in order to recover the debt you owe them.

When Do I Need An Attorney?

If you are facing an issue with the IRS it is wise to contact an IRS attorney who understands the law and who can negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. Whether you are an individual or a business who has been contacted by the IRS regarding a debt you owe them, The Jackson Law Firm has experience dealing with the IRS and can advise you with their expertise.

Anyone who has ever received mail from the IRS, even without opening the envelope, can tell you the sinking feeling they got when they saw that IRS insignia at the top of the letter. IRS matters are extremely serious as they can affect your financial security and possibly your freedom. There are ongoing penalties and time sensitive responses.

Some people have a straightforward and simple debt the IRS is seeking compensation for, like if you didn’t have enough taxes taken out of your payroll check, and when you filed your taxes, you discover you owe them $500. No problem really, you just pay them the $500. But many cases are much more complicated than that, and even that simple and straightforward $500 debt can turn into something much larger if ignored.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service reports that the most serious problem people have as taxpayers is the complex nature of the Internal Revenue Code. It states that taxpayers and businesses spend 7.6 billion hours each year trying to comply with the filing requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. Is it any wonder how things can sometimes go wrong?

If you are a business you understand that there is no room for error in your math and record keeping is a vital part of keeping your business running smoothly and avoiding the dreaded IRS audit. As an individual taxpayer, the most important things are to file your taxes each year in a timely manner and if you aren’t good at math and know the proper deductions and allowances it is wisest to have a tax specialist prepare your taxes. Never ignore a contact from the IRS because it will simply not go away by ignoring it.

When it comes to understanding and dealing with the IRS, an IRS attorney can do things you might not be able to do like:

  • Understand IRS Documents
    • Understand IRS Documents The IRS has more than 2,000 forms and publications that a layperson simply can’t translate. There are things on IRS forms like a list of your rights in dealing with them, how they can collect a debt from you, timelines of collection, allowance guidelines and which steps must be taken to satisfy your debt. To a layperson, this is complicated language and the forms can be daunting to read.
  • Respond To The IRS On Your Behalf
    • Respond To The IRS On Your Behalf The IRS will always cover their tracks in their case. This is why you may receive a bombardment of notices, questions, demands, acknowledgments and other correspondence. Each case is different and may have a different outcome, but feeling overwhelmed and worried is a very normal thing to feel when dealing with the IRS.
  • Determine Business Or Self-Employment Taxes Owed
    • Determine Business Or Self-Employment Taxes Owed Individuals and businesses are taxed differently. If you are self-employed you may be taxed as a business and there will be questions that the IRS needs answers for such as if you received money outside of your listed self-employment, like a side-job. They might even want to know how big your office is and if you are claiming a telephone line as a business expense, how many days you commuted for work. It can get intense and complicated. The IRS will have their fine-toothed comb ready to determine how much you owe them.
  • Keep You From Going To Jail
    • Keep You From Going To Jail There are serious penalties imposed by the IRS for tax fraud including prison terms. Tax fraud is defined as when an individual or business willfully and intentionally falsifies information in order to limit the amount of their tax liability. The IRS has an entire handbook dedicated to the ways you can defraud them and it is no easy read for someone facing tax evasion or other demand of collection by the IRS.

Handbook

How Do You Know If Your Case Is Negligence Or Fraud?

The IRS estimates that 75% of individual taxpayers, not businesses, commit tax violations in some way by not complying with IRS filing requirements. The IRS tries to distinguish between tax fraud and negligence in many ways.

Tax Negligence can be anything from forgetting to include a small withdrawal from an IRA account on your income taxes or filing your taxes yourself and making errors in the math.

Tax fraud is a pretty straightforward attempt to evade taxes or manipulate them such as the following:

  • Fails to file an income tax return
  • Concealment or transfer of income
  • Using a false Social Security number
  • Fails to report all income received
  • Willfully underreporting income
  • Claiming personal expenses as Business expenses
  • Making a false statement on an income tax return
  • Claiming exemptions for non-existent children

If you live in Williamson County, including Cedar Park and Round Rock, and you think you might need an IRS attorney, call the Jackson Law Firm today. We have attorneys waiting to speak with you about your case and willing to stand in your corner so you don’t have to navigate your IRS case alone.