Keep uncle sam's hands out of your pocket understanding tax relief

1. Keep Uncle Sam’s Hands Out Of Your Pocket – Understanding Tax Relief
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are delinquent on their tax payments and face ugly consequences
should they decide to not file or not pay up. You need to know that there are solutions.
When it comes to owing the Internal Revenue Service money, the patriotic American icon Uncle Sam
seems to shift into something that resembles someone more like Cousin Vinny. The tax and revenue
collection system in the United States is very complex and confusing, and it certainly doesn’t help that
each year the tax laws that comprise the system are constantly changing. That means that each year,
you as an individual should be brushing up on the highlighted changes that could adversely affect you.
But let’s not discredit the infamous history of the IRS, its offices, and the benefits we as taxpayers enjoy
because of our contributions. The IRS, under the supervision and direction of the U.S. Treasury
Department, collects revenue for the government and ensures that the laws of the tax code are
followed accordingly.
That’s right, you pay to live here and thus reap the benefits of American citizenship and safe, habitable
cities. And be careful not to cut those benefits short; for as much as we grumble about the IRS and their
influence, let’s be grateful. We have public schools that educate our children; we have roads to drive our
cars on, and bridges to help us across the intercostals; and we have all the rights we could ever
reasonably ask for guaranteed by the country’s constitution. Would it be accurate to assume that
Somalia is a great place to live because there are no taxes?
A government tax and revenue collecting system are the necessary dues we pay to enjoy the benefits of
living in a humane, organized, and functioning society. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “The only things
certain in life are death and taxes”; it was true two-hundred and twenty years ago, and its true today.
Let’s get into the meat of what this article is really about. If you owe or are sure you will owe money to
the IRS in the future, understand that your failure to pay is accompanied by serious consequences.
Should you decide to not file your tax return (or miss the April 15th deadline), the consequences can be:
• If you fail to file your tax return in any given year, you can be penalized at 47.5% interest on the
total amount you owe!
• The 47.5% composition is comprised of a 22.5% penalty for late filing, and 25% of the total. This
is MASSIVE – worse than any credit card interest rates you’ll ever experience.
• Fees, fees, and more fees. Late fees, installation fees, negotiation fees, consultation fees,
application fees, and it will go on and on…
• The IRS will eventually send you a “Substitute for Return” letter, in which the IRS is basically
informing you they have taken the liberty to calculate an estimation of what you owe, and now
want a payment.
• Should you continue to evade, a tax agent officer, or worse, a specialized tax agent officer will
be tracking you down and knocking on your door.

2. If you can’t file your taxes by the 15th, that’s ok. You can request an extension to file, when the new
deadline to file will typically be a few months after. If you have to pay and just don’t have the money or
any other choice, consider charging your credit card (assuming you’ve been financially responsible with
your card and you’re not overwhelmed in debt). Charging your credit card may seem irresponsible, and
in fact, it is. But the point is that the worst thing you can possibly do in any or all of these situations is
nothing.
Let’s say you filed on time but simply haven’t paid. Depending on many variable factors that include how
long you’ve owed and whether or not you have owed in the past, the consequences can be financially
dire.
• Rest assured the IRS tax officer will be in contact with you shortly! These collection officers are
designated to you specifically whose sole purpose is to get you to pay.
• The IRS can hold you responsible for taxes owed for up to ten years.
• Criminal tax evasion charges can be brought on in the most extreme cases. The IRS has the full
authority to seize cars, businesses, homes, assets, bank accounts, garnish your wages, and then
send you to prison.
• Once you’ve been pegged for an audit, not filing, or not paying, you will be a target for years to
come, regardless of the outcome of your current problems.
Because of the complexities shrouded in between the tax laws and penalty system within the IRS,
consulting with the IRS directly is probably not in your best interest. They will work with you, but not on
your terms.
Your best chances for renegotiating or settling the debt owed to the IRS satisfactorily lie with who you
hire to represent you. There are many debt settlement companies that offer tax relief, but there are a
few things you need to look for to ensure you want to hire a qualified, reliable firm.
• Experience matters. Tax relief and settlement representatives often work with the same IRS
representatives year after year. Make sure the firm you’re hiring is rich with experience; look
for former IRS employees, tax professionals and public accountants with more 10 years or more
on their belt.
• You want to a hire a firm with proven track records. Don’t be afraid to ask for what kind of
results you can expect and for the firm to prove it. You want to make sure this firm has been
able to stop fee levying, reduce or eliminate accrued penalties, and settle your debt to the IRS
for a fraction of what is owed.
• Ask the firm for a free consultation and what their fees are. Compare different firm’s fees; are
you more comfortable paying a flat fee or a percentage of the savings the firm was able settle?
With these guidelines, take some time and begin considering your options. The only guarantee you have
(besides death and takes) is that when it comes to owing debts, the more you do nothing, the worse
your problems will get.
Here’s a couple of other great tax quotes to go out on:

3. Death and taxes may be inevitable, but they shouldn't be related. ~J.C. Watts, Jr.
I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed. ~Nancie J. Carmody
Of course the truth is that the congresspersons are too busy raising campaign money to read the laws
they pass. The laws are written by staff tax nerds who can put pretty much any wording they want in
there. I bet that if you actually read the entire vastness of the U.S. Tax Code, you'd find at least one sex
scene ("'Yes, yes, YES!' moaned Vanessa as Lance, his taut body moist with moisture, again and again
depreciated her adjusted gross rate of annualized fiscal debenture"). ~Dave Barry
Source: http://www.re-lianceinc.com/blog/post/Keep-Uncle-Sams-Hands-Out-Of-Your-Pocket-e28093-
Understanding-Tax-Relief.aspx