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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. 

When the IRS assesses penalties to a taxpayer, those penalties are added automatically to their account by the IRS computer systems. Because of this, penalties are frequently added to a taxpayer’s debt without taking their individual circumstances into account.  Even if the taxpayer had a good reason for not paying their taxes on time, it is often extremely difficult to get these penalties removed without professional help.

If you've been charged penalties by the IRS because of late-filed or unpaid taxes, you may not have to pay all of them if you had an acceptable reason for falling behind in the first place.  In fact, you may not even owe penalties at all if they were assessed to you improperly.  Unfortunately, when it comes to IRS penalties, you are presumed guilty until you prove to them using their own language that you should not have to pay.  In order to avoid the penalties - or to have that money refunded back to you - you need to prepare a Penalty Abatement Request.      

The first point that must be established before the IRS will remove or refund your penalties is that you had a Reasonable Cause for getting behind on your taxes.  Listed below is a sample of SOME of the events which are considered to be Reasonable Cause for a Penalty Abatement.  Please look over the following circumstances and see which ones apply to your individual situation. Keep in mind, this is not a complete list, it is only a list of some of the most common reasons. Also, be aware that the events must have occurred at the time you fell behind in your taxes and must be related to what caused you to fall behind in your taxes in order to be considered "Reasonable Cause."

1. Embezzlement or theft.

2. Fire, flood, windstorm, riot or other disaster beyond your control.

3. Bad accounting advice.

4. Lost or destroyed records.

5. Serious health ailment.

6. Serious health ailment of a family member.

7. Death of a close family member.

8. A divorce that caused considerable anxiety and upset your financial and/or mental equilibrium.

9. Drug and/or alcohol problem (yourself or a close family member.)

10. Caring for someone who cannot care for himself or herself.

11. Retired or on a fixed income.

12. Psychological problem that required treatment.

13. Lengthy period of unemployment.

14. First time filer of a new tax form.

15. Other Reasons? Please contact us for more information.

The next point that must be documented is that you have been diligent and not neglectful in your efforts to repay your tax debt. You will need to describe to the IRS exactly what efforts you have made to repay your debt and get back into compliance with the IRS.  Obviously, the most favorable situation would be if you paid your debt in full and have filed and paid all of your taxes since. Of course most of the time this is not the case, and it does not necessarily mean that you do not qualify for a Penalty Abatement.  If you are in an IRS Payment Plan or have made some other consistent or significant effort to repay your debt and keep up with your taxes this will often be sufficient to recoup all or at least a significant portion of your penalties.

The final point that you must keep in mind when considering a Penalty Abatement is that after it is submitted to the IRS it will be reviewed by a real person. This person often has the ability to grant or deny your request completely at his or her own discretion. Because of this, it is very important to provide as much proof as possible regarding your circumstances.  For example, if you had a fire or flood it would help to have pictures of the damage, or if you had a theft, a police report detailing the incident would certainly help your case. Any documentation you can provide will improve your chances significantly. Everyone has the right to request a Penalty Abatement.  Naturally, the quality of your story and documentation greatly affects your chances of getting relief.

Our Penalty Abatement Service

Should you decide to use our Penalty Abatement service, our goal will be to get all of your penalties (and possibly the interest as well) either removed from your tax debt or refunded back to you by the IRS. In order to do this, we will have to show the IRS in writing that you had "reasonable cause" for not paying your taxes and that you have shown "due diligence" and "no neglect" in your attempts to repay your debt. We will do this USING THE IRS’S OWN LANGUAGE, applying the relevant sections of the IRS Code directly to your circumstances so that the agent who reviews your case will be forced to drop your penalties.

Washington Tax Services has the expertise and experience necessary to make sure that your Penalty Abatement is accepted by the IRS.  After almost 15 years of providing these services, we have mastered the subtleties of preparing a proper Penalty Abatement Request and getting it into the hands of the person who can make it happen for you.  

For More information on how a Penalty Abatement can be used to help you, please call today: