The Smartest Plan to Settle Payroll Back Taxes with the IRS
This is a 4 part series about tax lawyer, J Anton Collins, with the tax defense firm, Tax Law Offices, Inc. In a short interview, he shared some little-known facts about himself. In this part, he shares some practical lessons learned in dealing with the IRS.
My IRS Trouble
Since my leaving the IRS, here is another experience that taught me a big lesson:
Dealing With Payroll Back Taxes Requires a Legal Strategy (or Someone Might Go to Prison)
I have explained this strategy to hundreds of tax accountants, both in person and in earlier videos.
During my first 5-10 years as an attorney, I built a small firm of around 10 attorneys, accountants, and support staff. We helped hundreds of business clients try to avoid IRS levies and collection enforcement.
Back then, we avoided working with companies that had fallen behind on their payroll taxes. Years ago, we did not know how to best help them.
Back in those days, my law practice was not very profitable. We also fell behind on payroll taxes. However, I could not find any attorney who understood what to do about my payroll tax problem. Therefore, I had to create my own plan for dealing with payroll back taxes owed to the IRS.
The risks involved:
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Levy collection against the company’s bank and merchant accounts.
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Liens against the company. It seriously hurts your credit.
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Personal liability to the IRS and the state for a big part of the taxes.
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Possible felony criminal charges, with possible 5 years imprisonment.