Memorial Day Sale Time and Gems
Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) July 05, 2013
Owing back taxes and having property seized to cover the balance due is never enjoyable. However, a July 2, 2013 Accounting Today article points out a far more worrying problem: “IRS Doesn't Comply With Legal Guidelines When Seizing Taxpayer Property” (accountingtoday.com/news/IRS-Doesnt-Comply-Legal-Guidelines-Seizing-Taxpayer-Property-67314-1.html). According to the article and a June 12, 2013 Treasury Inspector General report (treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2013reports/201330061fr.html), 15 out of a random cross-section of 50 IRS property seizures had serious non-compliance issues. As head of Platinum Tax Defenders, Sherri Gastelum says these reports show 4 reasons to get back tax help from professionals (such as a tax resolution service) if a property seizure is imminent.
1. Accounting Today pointed out the first problem – improper advertisements of the property sale happened in 8 out of 50 instances, or 16% of the time just within the random sample. Over a one-year period, the IRS seized 738 properties. The TIGTA report indicated that proper procedure would have been followed if the property's sale had been advertised in a newspaper, (or the local post office and two other public areas) along with a property description and the sale conditions, with the same information passed to the taxpayer.
2. In four cases, the TIGTA report said that the amount owed on back taxes was not accurately or consistently reported, but also declined to issue recommendations because the error rate was small. Sherri Gastelum says that the difference between the stated and actual amount owed might have made a big difference to those four taxpayers, which is where a tax resolution services could help.
3. The TIGTA report also outlined what happens once the property has been sold. The first IRS priority is to pay the expenses associated with putting the property on sale, the second is to pay unpaid (excise) taxes on that specific property, and the third priority is to actually pay the back taxes. A Platinum Tax Defenders specialist encouraged those owing back taxes to get them resolved quickly, since “real estate sales aren't top priority for the IRS either”.
4. Taxpayers should also watch out for incorrect amounts of the balance due on letters sent by the IRS. Although Accounting Today said that there were relatively few instances of incorrect balances shown on letters sent to taxpayers, out of the 50 sampled files, Sherri Gastelum says that errors showing in the IRS system are notoriously hard to resolve without professional assistance – especially when the taxpayers owes back taxes.
5. The base for Platinum Tax Defenders is Simi Valley in California, where President Sherri Gastelum also leads that chapter's National Association of Professional Women, and contributes her business expertise to the board of the Entrepreneurial Institute. Tax attorney Dustin Wetton, with a California Western J.D. and an international relations degree, leads the team of qualified CPA's, Enrolled Agents (who can represent clients on state and federal tax issues), and tax specialists who can help provide tax relief assistance. Records of highly reduced Offers in Compromise can be found on Platinum Tax Defenders' website. Tax specialists can be contacted at 1-877-668-1807 for a free consultation (lasting 20 to 40 minutes) or through an email at info(at)tax-resolution(dot)me.