The letter is already on your desk. Let's decide what to do next.

A notice is a beginning, not a verdict. It tells you what the IRS believes, what it wants, and how long you have to respond — and the response window is the part people most often miss.

Michael will read the notice, identify the underlying issue, tell you honestly how urgent it is, and recommend a response. Sometimes that response is a letter with documentation. Sometimes it is an amended return. Sometimes the notice is simply wrong and needs to be answered as such.

Once the IRS contacts you about unfiled returns, it is not time to panic. In most instances the problems created by not filing can be resolved successfully — the returns get prepared, the actual liability gets determined, and the situation becomes something you can act on.

What does real damage is doing nothing. If a taxpayer fails to file back returns and takes no voluntary steps to remedy it, penalties for noncompliance can be severe, and in some cases a taxpayer may face criminal prosecution for failure to file when tax is owed.

The IRS generally is not going to appear at your home, seize your assets, or garnish your wages as long as you take prompt action and file accurate returns within the time it specifies. File on time even when you cannot pay — the filing and the paying are separate problems.

An installment agreement is a way to satisfy a tax debt once all returns are filed and the final liability is determined. If paying in full is not possible right now, this is usually the path.

The negotiation is detailed, because the IRS may question any part of what is submitted. The acceptable monthly payment comes out of applying specific IRS income and expense standards — local and national allowable-expense guidelines that Revenue Officers use — to the actual facts of your case. Michael reviews your finances thoroughly first, then negotiates on your behalf for a payment amount you can actually sustain.

In an audit, the government arrives represented: trained tax specialists, examiners, CPAs, and its own attorneys. If your return has been selected, the point of bringing in your own expert is to level that field.

Audits generally take one of three forms — an office audit at a local IRS field office, where you are asked to bring specific documents; a correspondence audit conducted by mail for a narrow set of items; and a field audit, where an agent examines records at your home or place of business.

Michael has sat on the examiner's side of that table. He knows which records will be requested and how the file is evaluated, and he prepares the documentation before it is demanded.

If you disagree with the result of an examination, the IRS has an appeals system for exactly that. The report or letter explaining the proposed adjustments also explains your right to request a conference with an Appeals Officer and how to request it.

Much more than examination results can be appealed: penalties, interest, trust fund recovery penalties, offers in compromise, tax liens, and tax levies. An appeals conference goes better with records and documentation supporting your position — Michael helps compile them, and as a CPA he can represent you directly before the IRS.

The IRS moves quickly once it determines that tax is owed and unpaid. It employs Revenue Officers who collect from individuals and businesses, and it has become more efficient at finding delinquent taxpayers. The first step is a letter demanding immediate payment.

At that point you have choices: pay in full, set up an installment agreement, apply for an offer in compromise, apply for noncollectable status, or — if the liability is incorrect — have it reduced or dismissed.

If you do not respond, the IRS is required to collect through enforcement: filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, or serving a levy on your bank account or wages. A lien gives the government first priority against other creditors and purchasers of your property, attaches to property you own and property you later acquire, and can significantly damage your credit. It may be filed only after the tax is assessed, a Notice and Demand for Payment is sent, and you neglect or refuse to pay in full within 10 days of that notice.

If you have received a Notice of Intent to Levy or a Notice of Filing of Federal Tax Lien, contact Michael immediately to protect your rights and pursue release or withdrawal.

Payroll taxes are the Medicare and Social Security amounts withheld from employees' wages, along with the employer's matching contribution. Employers must also file an Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (the 941) and the federal unemployment (FUTA) return within strict deadlines. These rules apply to every active employer with employees — corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietor alike.

The IRS treats failure to pay over collected payroll taxes as a serious violation, because the withheld money belonged to the employees. It can collect the tax plus substantial penalties and interest, and Revenue Officers who specialize in these cases pursue collection from the business and, in some cases, from officers, owners, directors, and other responsible individuals through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. In certain cases the IRS may recommend criminal prosecution for intentional failure to file or pay.

Michael's practice is experienced in defending businesses and individuals against forcible collection over unpaid payroll taxes, in establishing affordable payment plans to get back on track, and in working to avoid the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.