Coming home to a notice from the IRS is never a fun moment, regardless of whether or not you are someone who always pays their taxes and submits their returns on time. However, just because you received a letter from the IRS doesn’t mean there’s any reason to panic. Although you might have thoughts of a terrifying tax audit circling in your brain, it’s actually fairly unlikely that a comprehensive audit is on your Read More
Facing Your Tax Problems
Business owners and others with tax problems often get into trouble by trying to avoid their problems or by believing at some level that if they ignore their problems, they will go away. A client of mine came to me a couple of years ago after being injured at his construction job.[1] This severely limited his ability to find gainful employment in his field. The settlement process was taking much longer than Read More
Yes, You Can Make a Deal With the IRS!
If you owe the IRS a tax debt and are struggling to pay it off, then you’ve probably come to dread hearing the mailman pull up to your house. But, contrary to popular belief, dealing with the IRS doesn’t have to be so difficult or scary. At the end of the day, the IRS just wants to see that you are making an effort to work with them to figure out how to pay off your debt. That’s why if you’ve received notices or Read More
What is an IRS Lien?
Dealing with an IRS tax issue is always a stressful time. There are a lot about taxes that the average person doesn’t know or understand, so it can be particularly daunting when you have to figure out what to do next. Trouble with the IRS can be made even worse if you are having financial problems and have been unable to pay your bills, including outstanding tax debts. Whenever you’re unable to pay your tax debts, Read More
Cancellation of Debt Income
Debt Income Many people receive income without even being aware of it. If you owe a debt, and the debt is forgiven or canceled, the Internal Revenue Code treats this canceled debt as income. Let's say you owe on your credit cards. You reach an agreement to pay a portion of the total amount owed, and the credit card company agrees to forgive the remainder of the debt. You may be taxed on the amount that you were Read More
How to Fight Against Wage Garnishment
Whenever you owe money to the IRS, there are several things they can do in order to make sure you begin repaying your debt. A common route the IRS will take is by imposing a levy on your personal property, money, or wages. Receiving a levy notice from the IRS is a stressful experience, and you’ll want to make sure you do everything you can make sure the IRS does not actually go through with collection proceedings. Read More
Taxes to Consider When Opening a Business in Washington State
Your dream to open your own business is nearly upon you. You’ve perfected your business plan, picked an ideal location, paid for the applicable licenses, and handpicked your all-star staff. Your witty radio advertisement on your favorite morning show and the viral marketing you initiated are drumming up loads of interest. Now, the last step before you can open your doors is to figure out the taxes you will need to Read More
How Back Taxes Can Impact Your Credit Score
It’s tax season, and we all know what that means. The time has once again come to figure out what you owe the IRS, and to cross your fingers that you get back something back if you’ve overpaid. While the process is often fairly straightforward, sometimes our tax debts are much higher than expected and we find ourselves falling behind on payments. When this occurs, the taxes that we owe are called back taxes. Back Read More
New Tax Act Changes What You May Deduct
The newly passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has made big changes to the items that may be deducted as itemized deductions. The TCJA has changed both what and how much is deductible for state and local income or sales taxes, property taxes on homes, home mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and more. The TCJA also raised the standard deduction in 2018 to $12,000 for single taxpayers and $24,000 for married Read More
How to Reduce Your Chances of an IRS Audit
The IRS can perform an audit of your taxes for a variety of reasons; sometimes it’s at random and other times it’s because of something specific on your tax return that isn’t matching up. Regardless of the reason, the idea of facing an IRS audit can be daunting—not only because it means you need to deal with more federal formalities, but also because it might mean that you did something wrong for which you could be Read More
