Tag: Houston Tax Relief Attorney

The IRS offer in compromise program provides taxpayers with a remedy for settling back taxes.  It can provide taxpayers with a much-needed fresh start.  Congress has changed the rules for offers.  One change is that offers are deemed accepted if the IRS does not reject them within two years.  This raises the question as to…Continue…

For those who owe the IRS back taxes, the decision as to how to pay the IRS raises a number of concerns.  One such concern for those who owe taxes for several different tax years or several different types of taxes, is what year and tax account the payments are applied to.  Typically taxpayers get…Continue…

What do you do if you are being tried for a criminal tax charge and the court removes one of the jurors for saying that you should be found not guilty?  What if the juror is removed by the court because the Holy Spirit told him that you were not guilty given the evidence presented? …Continue…

One of the benefits of filing bankruptcy is that creditors are precluded from taking collection actions.  When a taxpayer who owes unpaid taxes to the IRS files bankruptcy, this collection hold applies to the IRS.  But what if the IRS could simply file a motion and avoid the collection hold?  This is exactly what happened…Continue…

Sporadic or seasonal income can make it difficult to settle back taxes with the IRS.  For example, if you have a large one time payment that is not likely to continue, can the IRS consider this in evaluating how much you can pay the IRS?  The court addresses this in Margolis-Sellers v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.…Continue…

If someone commits a financial crime and, at the same time, commits a tax crime, can the tax crime sentence be used to enhance the sentence for the financial crime?  The court addresses this in United States v. Smith, No. 18-3222 (8th Cir. 2019).  The answer may surprise you. Facts & Procedural History The defendant…Continue…

Taxpayers have a limited time to file refund claims to recoup money from the IRS.  The IRS provides tax forms to be used for making these requests.  But what happens if the If the taxpayer does not use the forms the IRS provided and, instead, writes letters to the IRS?  Can the letters count as…Continue…

If a taxpayer submits an amended return at the start of an IRS audit, can they avoid penalties for doing so?  The rules allow large case taxpayers to make post-audit disclosures and avoid penalties. But what about smaller taxpayers?  Should they make disclosures to IRS auditors at the start of the audit process?  The Beigalski…Continue…

If you turn in a tax cheat by filing a whistleblower claim with the IRS, what happens if the IRS does not realize the importance of the information received? Put another way, what if the IRS leaves money on the table by failing to assess the full amount for the taxpayer? Is the whistleblower entitled…Continue…

The IRS is required to pay a taxpayers attorney’s fees for defending unsupportable positions. This can even include attorney’s fees when the matter is settled administratively before court. But the IRS is not required to pay attorney’s fees if the IRS’s position is substantially justified. The Bontranger v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2019-45, helps clarify how…Continue…