A tax relief organization can help individuals settle their tax debts and avoid IRS penalties such as bank levies and wage garnishments. What you may not know is that there are some unscrupulous tax resolution companies perpetrating tax relief scams. Partnering with such companies can worsen your problems before we can even start talking about settling your taxes and avoiding IRS tax penalties. That is why you must first learn about a company’s history and know how to avoid IRS debt relief scams before securing their services. In this blog post, we introduce four signs that can help you avoid IRS debt relief scams.
1. Pennies on the Dollar
While the IRS allows taxpayers to pay less taxes than they owe, this depends on a number of factors. You can pay less than what you owe through an “Offer in Compromise” agreement. Similarly, if you qualify for the innocent spouse tax relief program, you may not have to pay any tax, at all. Any debt relief company therefore, cannot promise to help you pay less tax than what you owe from the outset, and if it does, be careful, as it might be a tax relief scammer.
2. Guaranteed Acceptance of Settlement Offers
The IRS understands that there are individuals who genuinely want to settle their tax debts but are unable to do so due to financial problems. That is why it offers provisions such as “Offer in Compromise”. This does not mean that the IRS will accept any and every settlement offer. If a company guarantees that to get your settlement offer accepted or claims that the IRS has never denied any of their settlement offers, watch out. You could be in the wrong hands.
3. Promise to Stop Levies
If the IRS decides to levy your bank account or wages – after they have sent you the “Final Notice of Intent to Levy” – the only way to stop the action is paying your taxes. The IRS may allow you to pay your taxes in installments, more time to settle your taxes, or pay less than what you owe, but you will have to pay your outstanding tax debt. Whether the IRS extends such provisions, depends on the case under consideration. No firm can therefore, guarantee that they will prevent your wages from being garnished unless they have spoken to and heard from the IRS.
4. Large Upfront Fee with No Guarantees
The biggest sign of a tax resolution scammer is that they ask for a large upfront fees without even studying your case. The companies boast that they have helped thousands of people settle their tax dues and can help you do the same, when they do not even know what the IRS thinks about your case. The fee they ask is often non-refundable, and they often do not have a local office in your area.
Must Read: Tax Debt Settlement: Everything You Must Know On IRS Tax Settlement Firms
Conclusion
There are many companies running scams in the name of tax resolution firms. The tax relief scammers charge you huge amounts of money without solving your problem, and can even take you from the frying pan into the fire by recommending illegal actions. That is why it is important to always check the credibility of a tax relief firm and know how they work. Ensure they are not a national chain of tax relief offices but a team of financial tax analysts, case managers, and CPAs, with proven expertise in their field. If you need to work with reputable experts who abide by the strictest ethical practices and seek solid resolutions to your tax issues, contact the Law Offices of Nick Nemeth. To schedule an appointment with Nick Nemeth personally, please call us at (972) 426-2553. You can also fill out our contact form, and we will get back to you shortly.
