Jim Payne's Tax Blog in Gainesville, FL

A lien is a legal claim or right against someone else’s property, usually for the payment of a debt. The IRS can place a lien on your property if you owe taxes and have failed to pay them. This can be a very stressful and difficult situation to deal with, but it is important to know your rights a...

The IRS can levy social security benefits. Even worse, that levy can continue even though the statute of limitations has expired. The question is how often does the IRS levy social security payments? And what can you do if it does?The IRS annual statistics report does not drill down anywhere clos...

The CP11 letter arrives in the mail. You open it up and see the words "We made changes to your return because we believe there is a miscalculation. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes." Yep, this is going to be a great day. Usually, these notices are vague. They typically lis...

The IRS does abate penalties provided you can prove reasonable cause. Establishing reasonable cause is very much a hit-or-miss proposition. However, there is a more effortless penalty abatement procedure if you can qualify.First Time Abate or FTA will automatically remove the Failure to File, Fai...

I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS.Here is the scenario. You filed your 1040 on February 1 in the hopes of getting your refund fast. Three weeks later you receive a 1099 in the mail that was not included on your return. Worse, it was for...

Rumors are leaking out in the tax representation community that the IRS is finally going to do something about answering their phone. They have a pilot program running with the Practitioner Priority Service phone number that requires the caller to repeat a phrase before being placed on hold. The ...

I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS.It’s a natural tendency to want to avoid dealing with an unpleasant task such as an IRS debt problem. After all, the IRS is not particularly speedy in most of the things they do, so ignoring them, in th...

Economic Hardship is a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to dealing with IRS Collections Division. It can be used to get a levy released or an Offer-in-Compromise accepted if the financial analysis showed the result would place the taxpayer in an economic hardship  So, just what is ...

I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS.A retired couple decides to liquidate some of their stock investments because they are no longer able to handle the ups and downs of the market. This action puts them into a strong and safe cash positio...

I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS.The IRS does have the power to have the State Department revoke your passport for owing back taxes is YES. Recently the Fifth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the government restricting internati...