Guy A. Finocchiaro, CPA

My client came to us with a balance in the six figures and three years unfiled. First we filed the missing returns, because nothing gets negotiated until every required return is in.

Then we pulled the account detail apart and found penalties that qualified for abatement. Then we built the monthly number from what she actually keeps after real expenses instead of from what the first agent suggested.

The balance that remains is one she can carry without skipping payroll.

Save this if the number printed on your notice feels impossible.

Doing nothing isn’t free, it just doesn’t come with an invoice, and the people who wait longest usually pay the most in the end. If you feel like you can’t afford to deal with the IRS, comment AFFORD and I’ll DM you how the free consultation works.

A lot of people read the balance on their IRS notice and treat it as carved in stone. It often is not.

Between penalties that can be abated, returns that were filed wrong and can be corrected, and programs that reduce or restructure what you owe, there is frequently real room in a number that looks final. Assuming it cannot change is exactly what keeps people from ever asking.

The IRS is not going to volunteer the openings, someone has to know where to look. Before you accept that figure as your fate, let us read it. DM ‘Notice’

Somewhere in this you started to see yourself as the person who is secretly behind on taxes, instead of the person who built a real business. Both are true, but only one of them is the whole story.

Falling behind on the IRS does not undo the thing you created or make you irresponsible. It makes you a busy owner who hit a hard stretch, like most owners eventually do.

Getting it handled is not admitting failure, it is acting like the responsible operator you already are. You get to be that person again.

People think there is only one option with the IRS, so here is the real menu. Offer in compromise.

Installment agreements. Penalty abatement.

Releasing wage garnishments and bank levies. Defending against liens.

Filing years of unfiled returns. Audit representation.

Payroll tax problems. Innocent spouse relief.

Collection appeals. Most situations qualify for more than one path, and the skill is choosing the right one for your numbers instead of forcing everyone into the same box.

You almost certainly have more options than you think.

Send us a message and we will tell you which ones fit your case.

Unpaid payroll taxes are pursued harder than almost anything else and can reach the owner personally, which is why small doesn’t mean safe. If you’ve let payroll deposits slide telling yourself you’ll catch up, comment PAYROLL and I’ll DM you where we’d start.