Archives for July 2022

 

The IRS is aware that some payments made for 2021 tax returns have not been correctly applied to joint taxpayer accounts, and these taxpayers are receiving erroneous balance due notices (CP-14 notices) or notices showing the incorrect amount.

Who is affected: Generally, these are payments made by the spouse (second taxpayer listed) on a married filed joint return submitted through their Online Account. Some other taxpayers may also be affected outside of this group.

No immediate action or phone call needed: Taxpayers who receive a notice but paid the tax they owed in full and on time, electronically or by check, should not respond to the notice at this time. The IRS is researching the matter and will provide an update as soon as possible. Taxpayers who paid only part of the tax reported due on their 2021 joint return, should pay the remaining balance or follow instructions on the notice to enter into an installment agreement or request additional collection alternatives. Taxpayers can ensure that their payment is on their account by checking Online Account under the SSN that made the payment. Note that any assessed penalties and interest will be automatically adjusted when the payment(s) are applied correctly.

Additional information for tax professionals:

In general, when certain payments are processed, programming does not move the payment to the married filing jointly account when the payment is:

• not electronic and is made by the secondary spouse.
• electronic, is made by the secondary spouse, and posts before the joint return indictor is present to identify the primary taxpayer.
• made by the secondary spouse using the Online Account (OLA) Make a Payment functionality.

If you have received any notices from the IRS please contact us at 516-821-8193

The IRS will issue a CP14 Notice whenever there is a balance due of $5 or more on a taxpayer’s account. The notice requests payment be made within 21 days. If a payment has not been made within 60 days, the IRS can move forward with collection activities. With the recent backlog of mail, some of these notices were sent in error. If a client is issued a CP14 Notice that does not adjust their return, there are ways you can help them:
• Wait for the client’s payment to process. If the client made the payment, the delay between processing the payment and the return likely caused the IRS system to issue the notice.
• Reply to the notice. Include proof of the cleared payment and request the penalties and interest be removed.
Either option will require time and patience until the matter is resolved

Unpaid payroll taxes are a serious matter to the IRS and are some of the worst kind of back taxes you can owe. If you’re a small business owner with a payroll tax problem, read on to learn what you can do to avoid the IRS crippling your business or worse, shut your business down completely.

Already in payroll tax trouble? Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and let’s get your payroll tax issue resolved. https://www.jjtaxgroup.com/contact.htm.

Why Small Business Owners Get into Payroll Tax Trouble In The First Place
It’s hard being a small business owner today, trying to pay your employees their paychecks every week, and pay the IRS all those payroll taxes!

A lot of times when money is short, you pay the employees first. It’s a natural thing to do—you need to take care of your employees, even if you have to skip paying yourself! Besides, if you don’t pay them, they’ll quit and you will have to hire new people all the time.

It can seem easy to “just pay the 941 taxes next pay period” and give yourself a little cash flow cushion, but skipping paying your employees payroll tax deposits is never a good idea.

What happens too often is 1 pay period turns into 2, and 3, and 4, and eventually you’re so deep in payroll tax debt that the only thing you want to do is completely ignore your problem.

Except the IRS doesn’t care about your financial problems. They just want you to pay your payroll taxes!

The IRS doesn’t care if you can’t pay your employees. They don’t care if they put your employees out on the street. They don’t care if you can’t collect your receivables. They don’t care if one of your largest and best customers just went “belly-up”. All they care about is you have money that belongs to them and they will do whatever they have to, even put you out of business, to collect it. They don’t care who you are, or even what business you are in.

Penalties are The Kiss of Death When It Comes To Back Payroll Taxes

Penalties for failing to file and pay your payroll taxes are the “kiss of death” for any small business owner. They tack on penalties totaling 33% in just the first 16 days! And it doesn’t stop there. The IRS adds interest on top of the penalties too. It is not uncommon that a payroll tax liability doubles in short order. And if you don’t pay them or work something out, they will shut you down! It’s much less work for the Revenue Officer, as most are lazy, to simply close you down than work out an arrangement with you.

They IRS Will Collect Or They Will Shut You Down

It’s as simple as that. The IRS is the most brutal collection agency on the planet. They have more authority than the President of the United States! And they have all the ways and means to do whatever it takes to collect what’s owed to them. You didn’t wake up in the morning, go to work, and say to yourself, I’m not paying my payroll taxes because you didn’t want to. The money simply wasn’t there. It’s not your fault. One week you’re short of cash. It was a slow week, a customer’s check bounced, or any number of legitimate reasons that just prevent you from paying the IRS. You’re a good person. You figure you will make it up the next week. But then next week comes and goes, and you realize you still don’t have enough money to make that payroll tax deposit. And then the entire situation starts “snow-balling” into an avalanche.

Should You Call The IRS To Get Your Payroll Issue Fixed?

If you were to call the IRS and were able to get through after waiting on “hold” for an hour or two, and try to explain your situation—you might as well have a conversation with the wall—because they don’t care. The IRS representative that you’re talking to probably makes less than $20 an hour, and is poorly trained. Do you think they ever had to make a payroll in their life? Do you think they know what it’s like running a small business? Do you really think they will have any sympathy for you?

Not only is the answer “NO” but they can also dictate the fate of your case. What they will try to get, while you’re on the phone, is all your personal and financial information. They want to know where you bank; they’ll want to know all about your customers who owe you money, they’ll want to know about the value of all your assets, like your home, cars, motorcycles, etc. Why? Because now they have all the information, they need to levy your bank accounts, take your receivables and seize your property.

Now that you know you shouldn’t be talking to the IRS because they are not going to help you, you might be wondering what you should do? Where should you turn for help? They smartest thing you can do to protect your business and family is to have someone represent you—someone who deals with the IRS for a living. You need to get help—but not just from anyone—you need help from someone who is an experienced competent professional, and deals with the IRS every day, helping small business owners keep their businesses and settle IRS payroll tax problems.

If you were charged with a serious misdemeanor or felony, would you go to court without a lawyer? You don’t want to represent yourself before the IRS either. You need professional, expert representation.

Reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem https://www.jjtaxgroup.com/contact.htm Your expert tax resolution professionals know how to navigate the IRS maze.

Once you decide to retain us, we step into your shoes and protect you from the IRS’s abusive tactics. We take over all communications from the IRS on your behalf. You don’t have to speak with the IRS anymore. We do. Not only that—they are not allowed to talk to you once you’ve signed our Power of Attorney! Once they realize you have someone on your side protecting you, who knows their tricks as well as they do, they have to step back and follow the law. Not only can we protect you from the IRS harassing you, calling you, and showing up at your front door, we can get those penalties reduced and, in some cases, completely removed!

Contact us now and let’s get your payroll tax issue resolved! https://www.jjtaxgroup.com/contact.htm