Tax Problems for Houston Businesses
Your tax accountant can provide an array of tax services to individuals and businesses, including assisting with tax problems. Tax-paying entities contend with tax problems at times, but a trusted forensic accountant can provide expert guidance with the following:
- IRS audit representation
- Innocent spouse relief
- Injured spouse relief
- IRS letters and correspondence
- IRS levies and liens
- IRS payment plans
- Non-filed and unfiled tax returns
- Owed back taxes
- Offers in compromise
- Penalty abatement
- Identity theft
These tax problems can be a source of ongoing stress and uncertainty, but expert tax services can help resolve these issues.
How a Forensic Accountant Can Help with Tax Problems
A trusted tax accountant can provide an array of tax services for a variety of tax problems, including:
- IRS audit representation – Taxpayers have a right to representation if they are targeted by an IRS audit. Enrolled agents and CPAs are qualified to provide this representation, a service that includes acting as the primary liaison during the auditing process. The representative will also review any correspondence from the IRS and prepare a response after also reviewing your financial documentation.
- Innocent spouse relief – IRS Form 8857, also known as Request Innocent Spouse Relief, is the relevant form to file when a spouse, or former spouse, believes they should not be held liable for a tax debt incurred while filing taxes jointly. Relief may be provided if the spouse can prove they didn’t know about the tax liability when it was incurred, or if they could not contest the liability when it was incurred. An accountant who provides tax services can assist people with preparing and filing Form 8857.
- Injured spouse relief – IRS Form 8379, also termed Injured Spouse Allocation, is frequently confused with Form 8857, as it serves a similar purpose. This form is filed when the IRS takes all or part of a tax refund due to taxes or child support owed by a spouse. Form 8379 is used when the taxpayer can prove they don’t owe the liability. For example, the debt was incurred by the other spouse before marriage or incurred during a year where both spouses filed separately. A tax accountant can assist with preparing and filing this form.
- IRS letters and correspondence – IRS letters can understandably cause anxiety, which may delay a response or result in a rushed, poorly considered response. A trusted tax accountant can manage your correspondence with the IRS and respond to IRS letters in a timely fashion.
- IRS levies and liens – The IRS places a lien on a taxpayer’s property to declare its interest in the property should the taxpayer fail to satisfy their tax liability on time. A tax lien is initiated when the IRS moves to collect on the delinquent tax debt. This potentially involves asset seizure and liquidation, and it may involve liquidating business assets, if you own a business. A CPA can help their clients negotiate their tax liabilities with the goal to eliminate a tax lien from any assets.
- IRS payment plans – If you owe back taxes or other outstanding tax liabilities, you have a couple of options to resolve any tax problems. One is filing for an offer in compromise, but not everyone will qualify for this option. A potential alternative is an IRS repayment plan. If organized carefully, a repayment plan can help people manage their outstanding taxes, but it comes with additional interest. As such, consider an IRS repayment plan carefully, ideally with a knowledgeable CPA or tax accountant.
- Unfiled tax returns – Unfiled tax returns can come back to haunt a taxpayer years after the deadline has passed. If you have unfiled returns, a CPA can resolve your tax problems by gathering your financial information, determining what you owe, helping prepare back tax returns, and managing any correspondence with the IRS.
- Offers in compromise – Offers in compromise are one way for people to address their tax problems – back taxes, specifically. An offer in compromise can reduce a taxpayer’s overall tax burden, even eliminating penalties and interest in some cases. However, offers in compromise come with strict qualifications, so it’s recommended that taxpayers consult with a CPA before attempting to negotiate with the IRS.
- Penalty abatement – IRS penalties – failure-to-file and failure-to-pay are the most common – can be extremely expensive for taxpayers, but in some instances, these penalties may be removed. Only a small number of IRS penalties are eliminated on request, but there are steps that taxpayers can take to improve their chances when they do request penalty abatement. An experienced tax accountant can help their clients maximize their likelihood of success.
- Identity theft – CPAs can consult with taxpayers to offer guidance on how to avoid tax-related identity theft. When it does occur, a CPA can take measures to prevent additional tax problems. For example, a CPA can request to flag a taxpayer’s account so future returns or actions receive additional scrutiny. A CPA can also assist with preparing Form 14039, which alerts the IRS to identity theft and will start the resolution process for the taxpayer’s account.
A Reputable CPA Can Resolve Tax Problems with Expert Tax Services
Tax problems are potentially expensive and often stressful for any taxpayer who is faced with them. Whether you need help with an IRS audit, looking to resolve back tax liabilities, attempting to discharge taxes you don’t owe, or are working through another tax problem, they can be addressed with the help of an expert CPA or tax accountant.
