ARE YOU BEHIND SENDING YOUR PAYROLL TAXES AND PAYMents?

To the IRS, a late payroll tax payment is considered stealing money from the government, and they have really put some teeth behind enforcement.  The most important thing you can do is to get help from a tax representation professional as soon as possible.  

Penalties can add up fast. There’s a failure to file penalty, a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, interest on the taxes that are late, and the taxes themselves.  It can be easy to get into a “temporary” hole that grows quickly.  Late payroll taxes are a hole that is difficult to climb out of, and it’s taxing on your peace of mind to have this kind of burden weighing you down.  

The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and local entities will send a letter if one of the following happens:

• You miss a payment deadline for payroll taxes due.
• You miss a deadline for filing payroll tax reports.
• An amount paid is short or over what the IRS or another tax agency calculates as due.
• The agency notices a discrepancy on your payroll tax returns and needs an explanation.
• You have been selected for an audit.
• You fail to respond to previous correspondence. 

If you don’t respond to these initial letters, the IRS and other tax agencies can apply liens, levies, garnishments, and seizures in an attempt to collect payment. An escalation to these levels seldom ends well for the business owner or “responsible person (see below).”

It’s a great idea to get a tax professional working on your payroll tax problem. They can help you:

• Respond professionally to tax agency correspondence
• Get caught up on filing back tax returns that are late
• Understand the collections process and your rights
• Negotiate penalties, interest, and taxes due to lower your debt
• Work out a payment plan on any money you owe
• Fight for you on issues that come up, such as a “responsible persons” situation
• Get levies and liens removed from your assets.

Even if you are not an owner of a company filing payroll taxes late, the IRS may have designated you as a “responsible person if you only worked there under certain circumstances. Do NOT ignore this correspondence!  

The IRS aggressively goes after anyone they can when it comes to payroll taxes, even non- owners of the business. If you have a relationship with the business that is of a particular status, duty, and authority, the IRS can blame you for not paying payroll taxes. And in this case, you are guilty before proven innocent.

It’s best to contact a tax representation professional who can argue your case and get your “responsible person” status dropped.