Dealing With Past Due Taxes ? A Matter Of Perspective

Dealing With Past Due Taxes ? A Matter Of Perspective

Federal, state, county and local governments all run off of the taxes we pay. As you probably have noticed, they get a bit touchy when you don’t pay the amount you owe or do it on time. If you owe past taxes, you are going to have to deal with the problem sooner or later. How you do it is a matter of perspective.

Every single tax agency is a massive government machine that grinds along day after day after day. Practically speaking, this means the agencies are generally very slow to react. Once they do, however, the collection effort can be hard to stop and you can easily get trampled into the ground under the assault of agents and audits.

If you don’t pay your taxes this April, the IRS is not going to be knocking on your door the next day. In fact, the agency probably isn’t going to do much of anything other than send out computer generated correspondence if even that. I will give you a classic example. My accountant filed my personal return for 2005 electronically. The IRS did not get it. It wasn’t until 2007 that I heard about it. Yes, a full two years.

While it took a bit, the agency did track me down and it was not pleased. The first notices were for tens of thousands of dollars and I nearly fainted. After much discussion and copies of tax returns, the agents finally realized I was not trying to play funny with the money as they say. I ended up paying some penalties and interest and that was it. It was an extremely stressful time and the only thing that really saved me was I had paid the original taxes on time.

This example should give you a clue on how important perspective is in these matters. If the IRS starts hunting for you, fending the agency off is going to be difficult, stressful and expensive. If you voluntarily come forward and try to deal with the issue, the agency is much more willing to work out arrangements with you. You don’t have to live with past due taxes hanging over your head.

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Changes to tax in the past year may affect you and your return - find out what has changed

Changes to tax in the past year may affect you and your return - find out what has changed

It is time to start organising yourself for 2008-09 tax return preparation and lodgement. The past financial year has seen some changes to the taxation landscape that will certainly make a difference to lot of Australian taxpayers this “tax time”.

Changes include education tax refunds and family tax benefits as well as changes in the Medicare levy surcharge threshold and claiming donations to charity.

Education tax refund
Eligible parents who incurred education expenses for primary or secondary school students in their care on or after 1 July 2008 are able to claim a tax refund for a proportion of the incurred expenses.

Generally, eligible parents are able to claim 50% of their education expenses for the year. The maximum claimable amount for primary and secondary school children is 0 and 00 respectively. This results in a maximum refund of 5 for primary school children and 0 for secondary school children. Parents can claim the full refund for each child who meets the schooling requirement. Independent students under the age of 25 who are undertaking primary or secondary school studies are also eligible to claim a refund on some of their education expenses.

You should be aware that not all expenses can be claimed. Purchases such as laptop and home computers and school text books are able to be claimed, whilst school fees and uniforms are not. The most important thing is keep you receipts in order to verify the eligible purchases in your return.

Family tax benefit
Effective from the 2008-09 financial year you are no longer able to claim the family tax benefit in your return. In order to claim the benefit for both current and existing years you must claim it as either a fortnightly or a lump sum payment through the Family Assistance Office.

Family Assistance Offices are located in Medicare Australia offices and Centrelink Customer Service Centres around the country or you can contact them on 13 61 50 for assistance with your family tax benefit queries.

First home saver accounts
First home saver accounts were introduced in October 2008. For those with a first home saver account the Government will make an annual contribution to that account based on contribution amounts for the year. You are not required to pay tax on any earnings by the account and as a result you don’t need to declare any income from this account on your tax return. If you are not required to lodge a tax return, you will need to lodge a First home saver account – notification of eligibility form before the Government will pay any contributions.

Medicare levy surcharge thresholds
For the previous financial year, 2008-09, the Medicare levy surcharge thresholds have been increased for both single persons and families. For single persons who earned above ,000 during 2008-09 and did not have private patient hospital cover a surcharge of 1 percent for any period during the year that they did not have the cover will be levied. For families the threshold is increased to 0,000.

For the 2008-09 financial year only, you are considered to have been covered by private hospital cover all year if you took out an appropriate policy some time between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2008, and then continued to be covered from 1 January to 30 June 2009.

Claiming donations to charity
As a result of the dramatic events of the past year, such as the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods, many taxpayers made donations to fund-raising and charitable organisations.

You are able to claim a tax deduction in your 2009 tax return for any gift or donation if the organisation is a registered deductible gift recipient.

When claiming the deduction you should be sure to keep your receipt as evidence. For donations made via the web, over the phone or through a third party such as a bank or retail outlet web receipts or credit card statements are acceptable. Additionally, for any ‘bucket donations’ made during the year you are able to claim a tax deduction equal to your contribution up to without being required to produce a receipt.

The team of accountants and tax agents at The Quinn Group are able to advise you on all of the deductions and refunds that you are eligible for in your 2008-9 tax return. We will work with you to legally minimise your tax liability and get you the maximum return that you are eligible for. Contact us on 1300 QUINNS or click here to submit an online enquiry.

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How to Get Help with Past Due Taxes

How to Get Help with Past Due Taxes

There are times when you will find it hard to pay your income tax.  There are several factors why this problem happens.  One of the primary causes is economic hardship.  Your current finances may not be enough to pay your taxes.  In case you skipped paying your taxes in the previous years, it is very important for you to seek tax help.  There are several ways how you can get help with past due taxes.  You can consult a tax attorney or if you want to get free advice, you can simply sign up with the tax support services of Free Tax Support.   

It is in your best interest to pay taxes on time because the amount of penalties imposed by the IRS can be very staggering.  So before you experience much trouble, you have to seek tax help as early as possible.  Sometimes, the reason why you can not pay your taxes is that you are overpaying the IRS.  There are several items in your tax returns that could be eligible for deductions.  But because you are not aware of it, you will pay higher taxes which should not be.  In cases when you have to pay back taxes, you have to be aware also that the IRS has several tax relief programs.  So it is best to consult a professional tax support service so you can get help with past due taxes.  You never know, you may qualify for the tax relief programs of the IRS so you can resume paying your taxes and avoid legal issues.  

When getting help with past due taxes, you must understand that there are several tax help and relief options available for you.  First, you can take advantage of the Tax Relief Settlement.  This is a negotiated settlement with the IRS.  You will only be required to pay a certain percentage of the taxed owed to the government.  The terms of the settlement will depend on your income level, assets, and expenses.  You will be able to save a lot of money if you take this tax relief option.  Another option that you can take is the so called Offer in Compromise.  This relief program was mandated by Congress to help taxpayers in settling their debt with the government.  The IRS will offer you a settlement agreement where you will pay just a fraction of the original amount that you owe.  

In getting help with past due taxes, it is really important to consult a tax professional.  You can hire a tax attorney which will represent you.  This is a costly option but can be very advantageous for you because you might get favorable settlement deals.  Another route you can take in getting tax help is to get free tax advice from Free Tax Support.  The agents of Free Tax Support are experts in handling tax problems.  Free Tax Support can also provide you with comprehensive documents and free tax kits detailing the process on how to handle tax issues and problems with the IRS.

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Steps to Solve Problems with Past Due Taxes

Steps to Solve Problems with Past Due Taxes

Having past due taxes should be stricken off your to do list.  This is a problem that can cause a lot of headaches for you.  However, no matter how diligent you are on paying your taxes there will be times when paying your taxes on time can be very difficult thus resulting to back taxes owed to the IRS.  You need not worry too much though because there are several solutions to this problem.  For one, you can hire a tax attorney to handle your case. You can also try the following steps before you hire a tax attorney.   

The first thing that you can do is to review IRS regulations and laws and find out if you are eligible for tax discharge.  It is possible for your past due taxes to be discharged completely so you will not pay anything at all.  However, there are certain requirements that you have to meet before you can apply for tax discharge.  First, your past due taxes should be at least three years overdue.  Second, you have to show that the delinquency is not due to fraudulent reasons or tax evasion.  This means you have to show proof that you really can not pay your taxes anymore because of economic troubles and that your prior tax returns are not fraudulent.   Discharge of past due taxes are specifically created for those who really can not pay owed taxes.  

Another way to settle your past due taxes is to negotiate with the IRS and see if you can set up a payment plan.  In most cases, this option is the best route that you can take in settling your issues with the IRS.  The tax service is very much willing to help you in setting up a tax due payment plan.  If you show that you really want to settle your account with the IRS, then you can get favorable payment terms.  If you are going to take this option, it would be best to consult a tax attorney or get free advice from tax support services.  In most cases though, the IRS will be able to provide assistance for you in setting up a payment plan.  

If your tax problems are really serious, then it is probably time to contemplate getting the full service of a tax attorney.   There are cases when simple negotiations will not work anymore.  In cases like these, a competent tax attorney can help you to fix things up pretty quickly.  You will also need legal advice if you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy so you can discharge your past due taxes in one swift stroke.  This should be your last option because filing for bankruptcy can be very complicated sometime.  As mandated by law, once you file for bankruptcy, the IRS will be compelled to withhold collecting past due taxes from you.  

Paying your taxes diligently is the best way to avoid getting into trouble with tax laws.  But if you are still unable to pay your taxes on time resulting to several back taxes owed to the IRS, then you have to take active steps to solve your tax problems by seeking professional tax advice or hiring a tax attorney.

Easy Prior Year Taxes

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Steps to Solve Problems with Past Due Taxes

Steps to Solve Problems with Past Due Taxes

Having past due taxes should be stricken off your to do list.  This is a problem that can cause a lot of headaches for you.  However, no matter how diligent you are on paying your taxes there will be times when paying your taxes on time can be very difficult thus resulting to back taxes owed to the IRS.  You need not worry too much though because there are several solutions to this problem.  For one, you can hire a tax attorney to handle your case. You can also try the following steps before you hire a tax attorney.   

The first thing that you can do is to review IRS regulations and laws and find out if you are eligible for tax discharge.  It is possible for your past due taxes to be discharged completely so you will not pay anything at all.  However, there are certain requirements that you have to meet before you can apply for tax discharge.  First, your past due taxes should be at least three years overdue.  Second, you have to show that the delinquency is not due to fraudulent reasons or tax evasion.  This means you have to show proof that you really can not pay your taxes anymore because of economic troubles and that your prior tax returns are not fraudulent.   Discharge of past due taxes are specifically created for those who really can not pay owed taxes.  

Another way to settle your past due taxes is to negotiate with the IRS and see if you can set up a payment plan.  In most cases, this option is the best route that you can take in settling your issues with the IRS.  The tax service is very much willing to help you in setting up a tax due payment plan.  If you show that you really want to settle your account with the IRS, then you can get favorable payment terms.  If you are going to take this option, it would be best to consult a tax attorney or get free advice from tax support services.  In most cases though, the IRS will be able to provide assistance for you in setting up a payment plan.  

If your tax problems are really serious, then it is probably time to contemplate getting the full service of a tax attorney.   There are cases when simple negotiations will not work anymore.  In cases like these, a competent tax attorney can help you to fix things up pretty quickly.  You will also need legal advice if you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy so you can discharge your past due taxes in one swift stroke.  This should be your last option because filing for bankruptcy can be very complicated sometime.  As mandated by law, once you file for bankruptcy, the IRS will be compelled to withhold collecting past due taxes from you.  

Paying your taxes diligently is the best way to avoid getting into trouble with tax laws.  But if you are still unable to pay your taxes on time resulting to several back taxes owed to the IRS, then you have to take active steps to solve your tax problems by seeking professional tax advice or hiring a tax attorney.