Tax Matters - The Top Tax Defenders Blog

In 2019, 20,259 taxpayers used Low-Income Tax Clinics (LITC), where they received help to get $6.8 million in refunds from the IRS. The clinics also decreased or corrected around $50 million in tax liabilities. Finally, over 41,000 taxpayers and service providers sought and received educational services from a LITC. 

Nobody likes paying taxes, but there is a right way and a wrong way to reduce your tax burden. If you do it the wrong way, it’s called tax evasion, which can cost you big-time penalties and imprisonment. 

In 2019, the IRS received around 155 million individual tax returns. About 771,095 taxpayers got pegged for audit. While that shows slightly less than half a percent of a chance to be audited, it isn’t zero.

Tax problems create anxiety and a wish to bury your head in the sand, hoping everything will disappear. You don’t have to feel that way. You have many options to resolve your tax issues and solve any tax problem you might have.

Just what you need in the middle of the holiday rush — tax planning activities. 

Taxes may be the last thing on your mind this time of year, but think of it as a Christmas present to yourself that will make tax season a little easier. 

So, you need to amend a tax return. Well, we all make mistakes. And sometimes documents show up after you try to be proactive about filing your tax return. 

A tax crime is something more severe than neglecting (or forgetting) to file your tax returns. You aren't committing a tax crime if you can't pay your taxes in full. Those are issues that can cause your tax debt to collect penalties, fees, and interest. Still, they don't rise to the level of criminal activity.

The IRS says if there is a federal tax lien on your home, you are required to satisfy it before you can sell or refinance.  The presence of other types of liens can make a home sale challenging, too. While it is possible to sell your home when you have a lien against the property, you are much better off paying your tax debt or other lien debt. 

ADP, a payroll services provider, reported that in 2017 one in fourteen American workers had wages garnished. 

Have you ever tried to get money out of your bank account only to find your account was frozen? You may have been under a bank levy. Bank levies are a tool for collecting on a debt. It sounds counterintuitive that a frozen account would help you pay the debt, but the account is only inaccessible to you.