Penalty Abatement -- $100,000 refund initiated for client today

OK.  I just got off the phone with an officer at IRS appeals.  I submitted a penalty abatement for a client who had full paid their tax debt in 2007. 

It took a year and a half for this case to be reviewed by the appeals office.

It was NOT an easy negotiation, but the IRS agreed to refund my client $100,000.00.    I think that is near my record.

Merry Christmas!

IRS levies postponed from December 10th thru the Holidays

The IRS commissioner did issue a notice that all levies will be stopped for the holidays FROM December 10th thru January 2nd.

That was nice of them!  In all actuality -- a good kind-hearted and compassionate policy.

Contacting ACS -- Represent Yourself or Pay for Representation?

ACS or Automated Collection Systems is the division that handles IRS collection cases for people with balances due.  It is essentially "automated" in the fact that letters go out to you from their computer and if you don't contact them levies will go towards your payroll and/or bank account.  There are hundreds of representatives at the IRS available to you to solve your matter at the 1-800-829-7650 phone # or 1-800-829-3903.  So it seems simple enough:  you contact them and they help you solve your tax case.

However, you could be making a big mistake without effective tax representation!  Experienced tax professionals like myself and others on the staff of Washington Tax Services are well versed in the tricks of dealing with Automated Collections.  Very simple tricks can make the difference between from you paying them $500 more a month than you have to -- to paying them anything at all.

After my nearly fifteen years in the business, I am very clear that paying a highly experienced professional to deal with ACS is well worth it.  I have little or no problem selling people my service to deal with ACS.

If your case is in ACS, give me a call at 1-866-525-7302 and I will articulate to you whether our service will have value for you or NOT.

Jay Freeborne, Enrolled Agent, Washington Tax Services

A Review of the Ten Internet Complaints against Washington Tax, posted bet. 2005 to 2009

I wanted to make a thorough accounting of EVERY complaint that has been posted against Washington Tax on the Internet.  These complaints total --  10.  Around 2004 or so, new complaint sites came into being like Rip Off Report, etc.  The first of the ten complaints was posted there in summer of 2005.    Do realize our staff has handled nearly 5000 cases since 2004 -- so these complaints represent a very small fraction of people who hire us.   In the spirit of full disclosure and also to protect our reputation, here is an analysis of review of these complaints.   

Rip Off Report

1. 8/17/05 RESOLVED - Louisiana - Partial Refund

2. RESOLVED - 12/20/05, 2/14/06, 2/21/06, 10/1/08 - Mark Balelo (my client) made four different posts on rip off report -- read more about  this complaint  here:
 http://taxresolutiontalk.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-rip-off-report-complaint-that-wont.html

3. 7/26/06 Unknown - Jane Lew - told client to call us.

4. 8/26/06 Unknown - Albert - told client to call us.

5. 7/23/08 Refund offered to taxpayer- waiting for her to call us.

6. 4/27/09 Brooks Gardner -- This client perpetrated fraud and tried to blame us for it. He also complained at complaintsboard.com (see below).   Please read our very detailed reply to his complaint on complaintsboard.com


Complaints Board

11/25/08 Brooks Gardner - REPEAT COMPLAINT, SEE ABOVE


PissedConsumer

7. 1/1/2008 Unknown - Asked client to call us.

8. 9/5/2008 Randy Krofick  - This is a bizarre complaint.  Client posted this complaint in the middle of us doing the case.  Client got levied by IRS in September 2008.  We had been asking the client to prepare his tax returns with us or on his own FROM NOVEMBER 2007 TO SEPTEMBER 2008 -- that is 11 months.  You can't stop the IRS without filed returns.  11 months!!!  Even more bizarre -- the client continued to work with us after he made this complaint.  Pretty lame. 

9. 10/14/09 Woman (my client) retracted the complaint, oops.  But called me a FRAUD, before retracting.  OUCH!. I am trying to see if this site will remove this complaint.

10. 10/20/09 Unknown person -- Asked client to call us.

It's sad that these unknown people won't call us.  We might also ask:  are these people for real?  Was it a competitor?  We don't know.  If you are reading this blog and you are one of the complainees -- call us immediately at 1-888-282-4697.

BBB updates -- Tax Resolution Companies

On November 10, I posted BBB records of some really poor F rated companies.  (Check the posting below.)

Taxmasters of Houston, TX-- who advertise  on Glenn Beck's show on Fox News -- they have accumulated 20 more complaints in the eight days since I last posted to a total of 498 complaints.  Incredible!  This is a company on the road to ruin or ruining people's lives!  Wow.    It is also very clear this company is doing a HUGE VOLUME of business! The TV ads work.

JK Harris -- the granddaddies of bad tax resolution companies (I believe they also advertise largely with Glenn Beck at Fox News)-- well, they have only accumulated 8 more complaints  in the last week to bring them to 886 complaints (in a three year cycle).  Still, this is also very sad.

Is it really that hard to do tax resolution with honesty and integrity?  Apparently, it is very difficult to do on a very large scale.

Bottomline:  if you owe money to the IRS or the State, you can't afford to get ripped off.  Hiring companies like these is like rubbing some serious salt into your financial wounds.  Ouch!

Releasing levies takes persistence

This week a customer hired Washington Tax Services who owed 7 consecutive quarters of 941 tax liabilities amounting to $44,000.00.  The IRS usually assigns Revenue officers when a 941 balance hits the $20,000 mark.  The IRS agent had run out of patience with this taxpayer and issued levies on everything including an important source of revenue from Medicaid.

A total of 26 employees were to be paid from the levied funds.  The client was in a serious quandary -- to say the least.

We asked the Revenue Officer for a levy release based on the hardship of the unpaid employees. We promised  to get the client on track and emphasized that this would be her last "get out of jail free card."  Her answer:  "NO."

If a Revenue Officer says 'no,' you can always go to the Group Manager in the office to appeal the decision.  I went also to this person - faxing the list of employees affected by the levy.  He agreed to sleep on it.  His answer in the morning - "NO."

Finally, I made a COLLECTION APPEAL REQUEST for a  person on staff to get a third and final opinion.  At this point,  I think the IRS realized I wasn't going to give up.  FINALLY, they caved in and I got a "YES!" 

My client is very happy to say the least.  Her employees are going to get paid!  But:  she can't owe 941 taxes again.  She will need to get current OR shut down the EIN#, start over or find another line of work.

A Bad Bank Levy Story -- Small Town Banks Often Don't Know Law

This morning, I had a panicked call from a customer I helped this summer from Iowa.   Earlier this year, we helped this client get "currently not collectible" status on his 941 payroll tax debt.  Or so we thought?!

"Jay, they levied my bank accounts again."

"What?!" I said, "Impossible.  It wasn't the IRS that did it.  It must have been the State of Iowa."

"No, Jay.  It's says the 'IRS.'"

After he faxed me the paperwork, the Iowan was right:  the IRS had levied his bank account and sent out a cashier's check for $6958.00 made out to the IRS for all of the money in his account.  However,  upon closer review, the NOTICE OF LEVY was dated June 22, 2009.  My colleague at Washington Tax Services, Matt Woare, had the right analysis:  this was a bank error!

Important note:  bank levies are one-time events that affect only monies in your account ON THE DAY the levy is received.

Apparently, the levy notice sat in a bank clerk's in-box for five months until she noticed it.  At my customer's insistence, she called me today, and carefully, I explained to her to law -- of course -- telling her to call the IRS  for verification.  Fortunately, she had not sent the check to the IRS yet! 

This wouldn't be the first time -- that I have seen -- small town banks incorrectly enforce a bank levy.  Most large banks don't make this kind of error.