Stop IRS Levy Action - Finding A Tax Relief Specialist
Posted by Tax Man - 23/02/12 at 01:02 amYou’ve received either a “Notice of Intent to Levy” or an actual levy has been sent to your bank, company or placed on a different income source.
A “Notice of Intent to Levy” is a 30 day notice left at the taxpayer’s residence, normal place of work or delivered to the last known address on record.
It is crucial to resolve the tax issue before the 30 day time period is up or the IRS will proceed with delivering an actual levy.
If the IRS desires to get a taxpayer’s attention, a levy is the primary way they do it. Often it is delivered to a taxpayer’s employer, bank or both.
If it is a bank levy it will take all the funds in your account up to the balance you owe. An IRS levy delivered to your company is a ongoing levy that will continue until the tax debt is paid, the levy is discharged or the statute of limitations runs out. A wage levy will generally leave an individual with almost nothing to live on.
A “Notice of Intent to Levy” or an actual IRS levy can be extremely intimidating. Most feel neither competent nor comfortable enough to take care of it alone. I do advise representation for several reasons; an expert tax professional will know exactly how to work tax laws in your favor, your legal rights as a taxpayer and what information to give to the IRS. They can normally expedite the process to have a levy released or to stop the IRS from sending a levy.
Exactly how can one go about picking a Tax Settlement Organization to help eliminate an IRS levy? I recommend asking the following questions:
1. What is their score with the BBB? Although it will not likely tell everything about the firm, it can be a very good sign of their qualifications.
2. Exactly what is the amount of time the company or specialist has been in business? What you want is an individual or a firm that is skilled in working with the IRS and in common tax issues.
3. What is their practical experience in working with the Collection Department of the IRS and with handling IRS levies?
4. What type of fees do they charge? You need to be sure they are transparent from the start and there are no hidden fees.
5. Can they prepare tax returns if needed? The IRS will not release a levy if you are not up to date with tax filings. If there are returns which need to be prepared, you need to deal with this at the beginning.
6. Is the individual you are speaking with the actual person who will be managingthe case and are you comfortable with them?
7. How long will it take? If you need to have a levy stopped or have a levy released you will want to know the approximate time it will take. There are various factors that can be involved in having a levy stopped or released but the professional should be able to go over these with you and give you an approximate time line.
All in all, an IRS levy can be a difficult and time-consuming issue, but if handled correctly can be less taxing than you think.
