Can a Former Partner be responsible for the Trust Fund Penalty?

• October 12th, 2010
• David Greene
• Comments Off on Can a Former Partner be responsible for the Trust Fund Penalty?

The Trust Fund Penalty is a method the IRS uses to shift liability for non-payment of payroll taxes from a corporation or partnership to an individual.  The Trust Fund portion of the payroll taxes is that portion withheld from the employees’ paychecks and not forwarded to the IRS.   It does not include the corporation’s matching FICA.

Can the IRS seize property in another’s name?

• October 6th, 2010
• David Greene
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A well-known law called the Statute of Frauds states that when you transfer property after you have notice of a potential lawsuit or debt, the Court can reverse the transfer as being done to avoid the debt.  This is true when the transfer was for less than fair market value.  This most often happens when a potentially

When is spouse responsible for business taxes or the Trust Fund Penalty?

• September 29th, 2010
• David Greene
• Comments Off on When is spouse responsible for business taxes or the Trust Fund Penalty?

If the business is a sole proprietorship then the income and expenses are usually filed on a form 1040 in Schedule C.  If the owner and his spouse filed a joint return, then the spouse is responsible for the taxes as much as the owner simply because she signed the return.  However, if the company only owes payroll

How To Avoid Paying Additional Tax on April 15

• September 21st, 2010
• David Greene
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Everyone hopes to get a refund at tax time.  However, getting a refund simply means you overpaid the IRS during the year.  The ideal situation is to owe no additional tax and also not get a refund on April 15.

What if you owe additional tax on April 15?  How can you be sure this does not happen next year?  There are several solutions.  If you are self employed you are required to pay estimated tax for the current year. 

Can a business make an Offer in Compromise?

• September 15th, 2010
• David Greene
• Comments Off on Can a business make an Offer in Compromise?

Most Offers in Compromise for businesses are only successful if the business is about to “go under” and the owners know they cannot make the business successful.  In that case, the IRS will usually settle for the discounted value of the remaining assets.  It is important to make an Offer if payroll taxes are involved because the trust fund penalty will be less against the owner.

Common Procedures in an IRS Case

• September 8th, 2010
• David Greene
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Each IRS case is unique to its own set of facts, so I can only give a general guideline of what I usually do to pursue a solution for someone who owes delinquent taxes.  When a client retains me, he will sign a Form 2848 Limited Power of Attorney that allows me to represent him before the IRS.  I will then order the client’s Master File records for all the years in which he is delinquent to determine how much is owed and

How Aggressive Are IRS Collections Today?

• August 31st, 2010
• David Greene
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How likely are you to be audited or levied this year?  I cannot give you “odds” on the IRS pursuing you.  It depends on how much you owe, how old the tax is, how much your tax return deviates from prior years, your occupation and other factors.

Does The IRS Have To Obey a State Court Order?

• August 24th, 2010
• David Greene
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Many times, in a divorce or legal separation action, a Family Court will order one spouse (e.g. husband) to be liable for all delinquent taxes owed by the couple for jointly filed tax returns.  Then, the wife is surprised when the IRS begins collection activity against her. She tells them she doesn’t have to pay because the Court ordered husband to pay and is shocked when they ignore her protests.

Deductible Job Hunting Expenses

• August 16th, 2010
• David Greene
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Many people have lost jobs due to the economy and are out “beating the bushes” looking for work.  I’ve been asked whether or not some of the money they are spending can be deducted on this year’s taxes.   I’m not an accountant and one should check with her own tax preparer for guidance, but I’m happy to say that

Statute of Limitations To Collect Tax

• August 10th, 2010
• David Greene
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There are several different statutes of limitations dealing with the processing and collection of federal taxes.  The most important one for most people is the ten year statute of limitations on collection of taxes that have been assessed.  This means the IRS has ten years to collect your taxes from the time they were registered in the IRS computers, not from when due.  Thus, if you filed your 1999 taxes in 2001, the ten years would not be up yet.