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Washington Tax Services has been assisting individual taxpayers and small businesses with their past due tax troubles since 1989.  Whether you have been dealing with the IRS for years and can't get caught up, or are just now falling behind and don't know where to begin - We know the tax collection system and have the experience and expertise to get you the best results possible under the law. 

If you owe less than $7500 in back taxes and feel that you could probably take care of your tax problem on your own if you only knew what to do, then this page is for you.  

As a Professional Tax Firm who deals exclusively with people who owe taxes to the IRS, we are contacted every day by people who need help in one way or another but just aren't good candidates for our service.  In many cases, especially for people with debts under $7500, it is difficult to provide help for a reasonable fee considering the amount of time it takes to get anything done when dealing with taxes and the IRS. 

For example:  If someone contacts us who has been assessed $200 in penalties because the IRS made a mistake on their tax return, there is good news and bad news.  The good news is that there is a way to get the IRS to cancel the penalties.  The bad news is that in order for us to get the penalties removed it would take a certain number of hours to review the case, a certain number of hours to write the Penalty Abatement Request and possibly even a few more hours to communicate with the IRS if necessary, which is a service that we cannot realistically provide for less than the $200 the taxpayer is trying to save.  Either way, the innocent taxpayer loses the $200 and no one really benefits. 

We know that to most working people $200 is still a lot of money to lose, especially because of a mistake on the part of the IRS.  Therefore, we have created this web page to pass along some of our knowledge as well as to recommend some helpful books and links in an effort to point people in the right direction for solving their tax problems on their own.  

The best place to start getting information is directly from the IRS, using the IRS customer service line at (800) 829-1040 or by visiting their web-site at www.irs.gov.  

Where to Start

How to Contact the IRS about a Problem

When you want help with an IRS problem, the place to start is their customer service line: (800) 829-1040.  If customer service is unable to assist you or if you are not happy with the information they give, the next step is to contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate, who's job it is to assist taxpayers who are having trouble getting their problems resolved through normal channels.  If you are just looking for information about filing or other tax questions, the IRS website is probably the best place to look.  To mail them a letter, you can find the right address to send it to by clicking here.  

How to Get Copies of Your W-2's or Tax Returns

One of the most common problems people have when trying to file past due tax returns is getting a hold of their old W-2s.  If you have already contacted your employer(s) but still have not been able to get copies of previous years' W-2s, the best thing to do is to send in a Form 4506 (Adobe Acrobat Required) to the IRS.  With this form you can request copies of all W-2's which have been filed in your name for any particular year.  This form can also be used to request copies of old tax returns you have filed.  

How to Find Out How Much The IRS Claims You Owe

The best way to find out how much is claimed you owe is to call the IRS customer service line directly at (800) 829-1040.  You may have to wait on hold for a while, but they should be able to answer any questions you have.  If you want to receive a copy of your IRS records in writing, you will need to request a transcript of your records.  The easiest way to do this is to send a letter by certified mail asking them for the information you need.  You should mail your request to the IRS address where you normally mail your tax returns.

How to Get Blank Copies of Tax Returns and Forms

The IRS has copies of most of their forms dating back to 1992 available online.  To get them, go to the Forms and Pubs section of the IRS website.  To find out which IRS address to mail your forms to, be sure to download the instructions for each form you are mailing in.  The correct address for where to mail each form will be located in the instructions for the form you are mailing.  

Payroll-Tax Help

If you are a business looking for information about, or assistance with, your company's on-going Payroll Taxes, we suggest you try Payroll-Taxes.com as a helpful resource.  If your problem is with a Payroll Tax debt, click here.

Helpful Books 

We've found these titles to contain accurate and easy-to-understand information, and we believe they provide good guidance to taxpayers with small debts and simple cases (keep in mind, there really is no substitute for professional assistance.)