Did you know that the US law allows Taxpayers and businesses that cannot pay their debts to ask the IRS to reduce the amount? That's right, in the United States if you can prove that you cannot pay your debt and gather all the evidence to do so your debt can be reduced drastically.
Every year the IRS has reduced millions of dollars in debt for Taxpayers who can prove that their assets and income are insufficient to pay the entire debt to the IRS. This process is done through Offer in compromise.
For you to apply for the reduction you need to show all your assets to the IRS, informing all the values you have in bank account, investments, houses, cars, furniture of your residence etc, besides your monthly salary income as for example the paystub that you receive monthly from the company you work for. After gathering all assets and monthly income, it is possible to know the maximum amount of tax you are able to pay according to the IRS regulation, and through this mathematical calculation you can have your doubt reduced to the value of your working capacity and assets you have.
Let's take a practical example, let's say that you owe the IRS the amount of $100 thousand dollars in taxes over the years, and with your salary it is impossible to pay the taxes without this compromising the support of your family, and in this hypothetical case the sum of all your assets does not exceed $15 thousand dollars, as the value of just one car that you own and nothing more, with a salary you earn $4 thousand dollars monthly, but you have the costs of maintaining your family. In this hypothetical case, your debt would be reduced to the amount of your equity, $15 thousand dollars, meaning a reduction of 85%.
To be eligible for the Offer in Compromise reduction program you must:
- Be up to date with filing all your income tax returns and other reports with the IRS
- Be up to date with the Estimated Tax in the year of the reduction request.
- Keep current federal tax payments current.
- For the next 5 years after the IRS reduces your debt be in good standing with the IRS by filing your returns and paying your taxes.
Want to learn more about the IRS Offer in compromise program? Talk to our experts today to get your questions answered and get your tax return in order.