Tax Liens

As tax problems go, one of the worst things the IRS can do is attach tax liens to your property. They can always garnish your wages and levy your bank accounts, but tax liens are a particularly paralyzing weapon in the IRS arsenal.

Many taxpayers with lingering issues don’t realize just how much trouble they are in until it is too late. They see notice after notice come through with ever-increasing amounts of money owed and escalated warnings. The problem is that reading an IRS notice is about as easy to the average taxpayer as reading tea leaves.

Final IRS Notices

If you receive a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (CP 90) or a Final Notice before Levy on Social Security Benefits (CP 91), the IRS is about to take your money.

While this is a 30-day notice, you do not have 30 days to act. If you receive one of these final IRS notices, you need to call us immediately. Even if you call today and we get everything in place in the next week, it’s a possibility that the IRS systems will not update quickly enough to stop the tax liens, levies, and garnishments that are scheduled to take place 30 days from the day the final IRS notice was sent.

If you are receiving any IRS collection notices, do not wait to take action, the longer you wait the more expensive the solution becomes. If you do have a Final Notice of Intent it is not too late, but you must act today to preserve your rights. Act immediately and call TaxMasters now!

Consequences of Tax Liens

Tax liens carry many consequences, short-term and long-term. As soon as the IRS files a tax lien, all property registered in your name is flagged. You generally cannot refinance or sell a piece of property, even to pay off your tax debt, without going through lien subordination or coming to some sort of agreement with the IRS beforehand.

In addition to freezing your ability to sell property, a tax lien puts a big red flag on your credit report. Most finance companies will not lend to you if you have a tax lien. And those that will lend to you in this circumstance typically charge almost inconceivable amounts of interest.

The long-term effects of the IRS filing a tax lien tend not to be discussed much, but they are very real. First, there’s the cost it will take you to get back into compliance with the IRS. Cost of services at any reputable IRS tax relief firm goes up as soon as you have a tax lien in place. The reason is that it takes a great deal more work to bring a taxpayer back from the bottom of the IRS tax lien cliff than to stop them from falling off in the first place. While you are working to regain compliance, the tax debt grows because of penalties and interest. So you wind up spending your resources and time on efforts to regain compliance instead of actually paying off the debt. Even after you have regained compliance fully and have paid your tax debt in full, settled that debt, or worked out a payment plan with the IRS, your credit remains in shambles. In many ways a tax lien does more damage to your credit long-term than does bankruptcy. So everything you finance over the decade following the enforcement of a tax lien costs more due to high interest rates.

All the additional costs that come with tax liens amount to an increased tax on the non-compliant. The current IRS and financial systems are designed not only to punish you for your tax lien now, but to continue to punish you for at least the next ten years.

Avoiding Tax Liens

Avoiding tax liens should be your highest priority if you currently have a tax problem. The way to do that is to call us today and get started right away on fixing your tax problem before it leads to a tax lien. Do not wait until you receive a final IRS notice. We can still help you even if you already have a tax lien, but the odds of stopping the IRS from filing a tax lien plummets exponentially with each day you wait to call.

Contact us or call us today at (866) 694-4018.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox TaxMasters

Economic ‘Crisis’

The glance I took at the headlines this morning was flat out depressing. Small Banks Ailing as Recession Mounts, Hedge Fund is Dissolving as It Faces 2nd Inquiry, Shake-Up at Shell, Quarterly Earnings Fall at Staples… these are just a few. There is some growing optimism out there, but it’s my perception that most people think we are in terrible economic shape. It’s clear that people are scared to spend right now, even though most are still making about what they were this time last year. Of course there’s those who have lost their jobs and we empathize with that situation. But most of us still have a job. So what’s the deal?

Gallery Furniture–What Recession?

There is a business here in Houston named Gallery Furniture run by an incredible retail business mind in Jim McIngvale, better known around town as Mattress Mac. I can’t recall where I saw the reference, but when asked about the impending recession several months back, McIngvalestated plainly that he couldn’t control others, but that he didn’t plan to participate in any recession or downturn. I like that kind of attitude. It happens to be the same attitude we have at Tax Masters.

If You Get Knocked Down, Stand Back Up

Last week the main warehouse for McIngvale’s furniture business burned. This was a 100,000 square foot facility full of furniture, mattresses, and electronics. Gone. We all watched andwaited to see how Mattress Mac would respond. Less than 48 hours after the incident, Gallery Furniture was running a new television ad, thanking people for their support and informing everyone that their store on the west side of Houston was open for business and they were carrying on their Memorial Day sale as planned. If that’s not resilience, I don’t know what is. Our hat’s off to Jim McIngvale and Gallery Furniture for refusing to go down. Jim is known to be a class act here in Houston. I have met him once or twice and wholeheartedly agree with that opinion of him.

It’s my assertion that it will take people like those at Gallery Furniture to get this country back on track. It’s going to take people who refuse to stay on the floor when knocked down.

Proposed Increases in IRS Enforcement Budget, People, and Resources

As the recession, real or perceived, tightens its grip on the common taxpayer in the United States, the IRS is going to more aggressively pursue every dime they think you might owe. As a matter of fact, if you have been following my posts, you’ve already read about Obama’s 800 and about the current administration’s push to quadruple the IRS enforcement budget over the next five years. The message is plain. Pay your taxes and play by the rules or the IRS is coming for you.

Solve Your Tax Problem Now Before It Grows

As I’ve stated before, now is not the time to have a tax problem. Some estimate that 20 percent of U.S. taxpayers have some sort of IRS tax problem. That’s one in five. Look around you. Think about your friends. One in five of them owes the IRS money or is facing an audit. Now is the time to fix these problems, before the IRS has more resources and a larger budget with which to pursue tax evaders. Don’t let simple mistakes become a crime. This is a simple choice. But it’s a choice you must make.

Tax Masters is Strong and Here to Help

As Mattress Mac stated concerning the economy and what it means for Gallery Furniture, we’re not participating in any recession at Tax Masters. We are strong and we are here to help taxpayers all over the country fix the problems they have with the IRS. If you have a tax problem, you really need to get this fixed sooner rather than later. Don’t let your tax debt grow into something you can’t possibly pay off. Those penalties and interest are working against you right now as you read this.

Call Tax Masters today at (866) 694-4018 and put yourself on the road to settling with the IRS right now. You’ve already procrastinated long enough. Tax debt does not go away unless you take the appropriate actions to make it go away. Call us. We can help.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

Tax Representation and Resolution from Tax Masters Patrick Cox

The recent commentary about tax law changes and tax law enforcement budget increases coming from the White House has many in big business stopping and taking note. The implications of changing how the IRS taxes multinational companies will mean a good deal of work for staff and contract accountants all across the nation. Doubling the budget for IRS enforcement activities in a single year and adding almost 800 new agents will invariably increase audits, levies, liens, garnishments, and yes, collected revenue. You probably saw that President Obama had several things to say about taxes and the IRS over the last two weeks. We were particularly struck by the following quote.

“If financial institutions won’t cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens, and act accordingly. And to ensure that the IRS has the tools it needs to enforce our laws, we’re seeking to hire nearly 800 more IRS agents to detect and pursue American tax evaders…”

Guilty Until Proven Innocent? 

I had to do a double take when I saw this quote from the president’s remarks from the White House on May 4, although I will say that we have seen the IRS getting even tougher since the election and the White House messaging plays into that trend. The implication of an IRS that assumes guilt until the taxpayer proves innocence harkens back to the IRS feared by so many before RRA ‘98 was passed into law. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone should pay their taxes, even multinational conglomerates. However, the implication that these companies are defrauding the government of money seems odd, especially when it is the very rules put in place by current tax law that allow these multinational companies to establish systems that keep them from being double- or triple-taxed by multiple governments. Regardless of the merits of the proposed tax law changes, the fact is that many of these multinational companies will be very busy over the next year or so figuring out how to get around whatever language finds it way into the new laws. And when the 800 agents hired to chase these companies can get no traction, guess where they are going to turn their attention.

Focus on the Middle and Working Classes

Being in the tax resolution business, we know that IRS agents tend to go after low-hanging fruit first. In the world of tax evasion, back taxes, tax debt, and audits, it is generally far easier to allege and collect tax debt from those who cannot afford to hire tax help. This is in no way a judgment against the IRS, but rather an observation. When these new 800 agents get up to speed and realize how difficult it’s going to be to fight accounting staffs at multinational conglomerates, they’re going to need some easy wins to balance their case load. And we fear that they’ll turn to the middle class and working class tax offenders in short order.

Congress to IRS Commissioner–Shrink the Tax Gap

We are extremely concerned about how a growing deficit, unprecedented tax gap, and planned budgetary increases for IRS collections will effect our typical client and the common American. I had the fortune of speaking with a respected Senator this week who sat on the confirmation committee that eventually voted to confirm former IRS Commissioner Mark Everson. I mentioned to him that the days of a kinder, gentler IRS seem to have ended. The Senator agreed and shared with me that in the confirmation hearings, Everson had been told in no uncertain terms that it was his responsibility to enforce the law and that Congress expected him to figure out how to shrink the tax gap. That was in 2003. The six years since Everson’s appointment have been tumultuous for the IRS, but one thing is certain given the recent focus on enforcement–the IRS is ramping up to increase its ability to locate and collect additional tax revenue.

Tax Masters–A Step Ahead

That’s where Tax Masters comes in. We are here to help taxpayers who encounter IRS abuse and who cannot afford to pay the IRS what they owe. We are extremely successful at what we do because we know the law, pay attention to trends and changes in the IRS, and use what we know to keep our clients a step ahead of aggressive collections actions.

If You Have a Tax Problem, Tax Masters Can Help

My advice today is simple and direct. If you have a tax problem, now is not the time to sit back and wait for tomorrow. Given the president’s proposal of doubling the tax law enforcement budget in a single year and quadrupling funding for tax compliance to $2.1 billion over the next five years, it’s clear that this administration plans to fund the Congressional mandate to collect the tax and enforce tax law. Acting before the IRS hires more agents and implements new strategies for locating and collecting additional tax revenue can keep you out of more serious trouble. Compliance is the key. Contact us today and let us help you solve your tax problems before they escalate any further.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

2008 Tax Season Draws to a Close

During a time of year when most IRS tax firms enter a quiet period of recovery after the frenzied tax season, at Tax Masters our day continues like normal. Most of our tax representation work actually occurs after April 15th. If you have an IRS tax debt or have serious tax problems, we stand ready to help you.

If You Did Not File, Act Now to Resolve the Problem

The first group of callers we see at this time of year tends to be made up largely of taxpayers who did not file their tax return or an extension. Because it’s after April 15, there are penalties and interest that will be assessed if you did not meet the filing deadline, but you should act now to correct this mistake before it becomes a more serious problem. Because of the current financial situation, many taxpayers may not be able to pay what they owe in full. Don’t let that be an excuse for not filing. It’s not illegal to owe the IRS, but it is illegal to refuse to file.

File Your Past-Due Tax Returns Now

Filing past-due tax returns is not particularly difficult if you know what you are doing and have good IRS tax representation. And if there is a tax debt associated with an unfiled return, it becomes more critical that you seek help in making sure you complete the process effectively, taking advantage of all deductions you have coming your way.

If You Filed an Extension, You Still Owe the Money

Also remember that filing an extension does not mean you are excused from paying what you owe. Interest accrues and does not stop accruing until you pay your tax liability in full or reach a settlement if you cannot pay.

Avoid Future Tax Problems

We work hard at Tax Masters not just in solving immediate tax problems, but in helping taxpayers understand how to avoid actions that can lead to additional tax problems in the future.  Tax representation to many firms is just about processing the payment, performing the service, and sending the taxpayer on his or her way. At Tax Masters, we want to help our clients get out and stay out of trouble with the IRS. If you have an IRS tax problem, give us a call today and talk it over with us at (866) 694-4018.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

Tea Parties

As I hope everyone realizes, yesterday was tax day. It was also a day filled with civil demonstrations being called “tea parties” that took place all over the country. Some were larger than others, but the turn-out was greater than we expected it would be at Tax Masters. While we have been watching this grass roots movement from afar, we decided it was time to go ahead and comment on the situation. I want to clearly state that we don’t support or condemn this movement, but there are some things about some of the rhetoric being thrown around that concern us.

The Law is the Law

Civil demonstrations are incredibly important in a republic, especially when the press is able to cover such events and to make them known to a wider audience. The key concept in civil demonstration to us at Tax Masters is the first word in the phrase: civil.

Not only does “civil” imply courteous, but it also refers to following the rules established by law. In other words, while it is perfectly legal and in fact moral to demonstrate for or against something you believe, you must still follow all current laws in order to avoid being labeled a criminal. It is incredibly important that you not use the fervor and fanfare of these tea party demonstrations as an excuse to not pay income tax and to not file tax returns. While demonstration is a great method for delivering a message to those who have the power to change the law, it is not a method by which you should disobey existing law.

A Warning About Tax Protesters

There are many issues being cited as relevant at the tea party demonstrations, including misuse of tax dollars, deficit spending, irresponsible use of tax dollars to bail out unworthy entities, and increased federal control over certain state-run programs like unemployment. While we have no first-hand knowledge of tax protesters joining the ranks at the tea parties, we have no doubts that this contingent will attempt to influence this movement as much as they can.

Our advice to the tea parties is to keep the tax protesters at arm’s length. They can be very convincing if you don’t have all the facts and they are capable of quickly dismantling the genuine spirit with which the tea parties have demonstrated. For those who have not dealt with tax protesters in the past, the most common argument they use is that the Sixteenth Amendment was not properly ratified, or that the state of Ohio was not actually an official state at the time of ratification. This argument is simply not true and has been repeatedly challenged and upheld in United States courts of law. At a time when Stuart Varney of Fox News (www.foxnews.com) is reporting a twenty-five percent collections shortfall at the IRS so far for the 2008 tax year, being affiliated with tax protesters might not be a great move. Also be aware that these protesters advance their agenda based in large part on paranoia. This may or may not be something tea party organizers can control, but they need to be aware that the tax protest crowd has a past and a reputation.

Tax Representation for Those In Need of It

We suspect that most of the people at these tea parties are law abiding people who are a bit upset about how much they are paying in taxes and about how that money is being spent. However, we’ve been in this business long enough to know that people can make innocent mistakes that get them into trouble with the IRS very quickly. One such mistake we are seeing more of is people taking money out of their retirement accounts before they are of retirement age. This can lead to significant tax debt if the financial institution doesn’t withhold the tax and early withdrawal penalties. For those who are having problems paying their taxes, we can help at Tax Masters. We offer comprehensive tax representation services, from audit representation to settling outstanding tax debt, to suspending levies, liens, and wage garnishment. If you are having trouble with the IRS, contact us today. We can help you solve your tax problem.

A Word to the Tax Protesters

Okay, here we go. I appreciate your frustration at paying taxes, but the law of the land demands that you file yearly tax returns and pay income tax to the United States government. Plainly stated, the IRS is a legal division of the United States Department of Treasury and has the constitutional duty to collect federal income tax from the citizens of the United States. The Sixteenth Amendment argument has survived all these years because proponents mistakenly believe that the courts have refused to address the issue.

Per information put out by the IRS itself (www.irs.gov), the courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the federal income tax. Just three years after the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified in 1913 by forty states (including Ohio), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the income tax laws that were based on the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in Brushaber v. Union Pacific R.R., 240 U.S. 1 (1916).

A surge of cases were brought in the 1980’s, all set on debunking the Sixteenth Amendment. In Knoblauch v. Commissioner, 749 F.2d 200, 201 (5th Cir. 1984) cert. denied, 474 U.S. 830 (1986), the court admonished the case as having no merit whatsoever and fined Knoblauch for bringing such a frivolous appeal before the court, stating that “Every court that has considered this argument has rejected it.”

In United States v. Stahl, 792 F.22d 1438, 1441 (9th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1036 (1987), the court upheld Stahl’s conviction for not filing returns and for making a false statement. The court clearly declared that “the Secretary of State’s certification under authority of Congress that the Sixteenth Amendment has been ratified by the requisite number of states and has become part of the Constitution is conclusive upon the courts.”

In Miller v. United States, 868 F.2d 236, 241 (7th Cir. 1989) (per curiam), the court sanctioned the plaintiffs for having advanced a “patently frivolous” position. The court stated that “We find it hard to understand why the long and unbroken line of cases upholding the constitutionality of the Sixteenth Amendment… and those specifically rejecting the argument advanced in The Law That Never Was, have not persuaded Miller and his compatriots to seek a more effective forum for airing their attack on the federal income tax structure.”

The Tax Masters Conclusion

At Tax Masters, we believe it is our duty and privilege to pay our fair share of income tax to the government of the United States of America. Our role as a tax representative and tax resolution firm is based solely on our ability to help taxpayers regain compliance, settle outstanding tax debt, avoid unnecessary interest and penalties, and get back in the good graces of the IRS.

We stand ready to assist any US taxpayer who is in need of our services. To the tea party demonstrators and organizers, we stand behind your right to demonstrate, but we strongly encourage you not to use this movement as an excuse to avoid filing and paying your federal income tax. Running afoul of the IRS at a time of shortfall is tantamount to running headfirst into a brick wall. You’ll probably survive, but it sure is going to hurt.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

One of the tax consultants that works for us here at Tax Masters shared some particularly sad news with me this week. He had been working with a potential client to customize a solution that would eventually free the potential client from some significant IRS tax problems.

Unfortunately before we could get the process started to help this individual, we learned from family members that he had taken his own life. The family cited the man’s IRS tax problem as a key contributing factor in the suicide.

First, we want to offer our condolences to the family. Losing a loved one is always difficult. But to lose a loved one because of IRS problems or financial problems must be incredibly difficult. We wish you peace and healing in this time of loss.

Next, I want to express to everyone reading this that no matter how bad your IRS problems seem, they are never bad enough to cause you to take your own life. Particularly as tax day approaches, many people are feeling the stress and anxiety of having to deal with the IRS. Don’t let mistakes from your past get the better of you. No matter how you wound up with the tax problems you have–whether you failed to file a return, made honest mistakes about deductions, or even if you outright lied to the IRS or are being prosecuted for tax evasion–there’s always a way out. While that way out may not be exactly the outcome you wanted, we all know that life is not perfect. Mistakes happen. Don’t let tax debt turn into something more than it is. At the end of the day, it’s just debt.

If you are having tax trouble, seek representation. We would prefer that you call us, but even if you don’t, call someone and get the help you need before it gets to be too overwhelming. Whatever mistakes have led to your tax problems, they can be overcome with the right help. As a good friend said to me recently, it is always easier to regret a poor decision than to make the right decision in the moment. Doing the right thing is seldom easy and is often the most difficult path. But there are people who can help.

When you get to the point where you can’t see a way out and you feel like you have no one you can talk to, there’s a number I want you to call. If you are considering taking your own life, please make a call first to the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-784-2433. They are always on and always ready to talk and to listen. If you are a person of faith, I would encourage you to call or visit a spiritual leader in your community just to talk about the things going on in your life. Sometimes talking things through helps you see the best way through a crisis.

If you want to talk specifically about your tax issues, we are here. You can reach any of the departments at Tax Masters listed below:

Tax Consultations: 888.497.5937 | Billing and Finance: 877.668.8082 | Operations: 800.682.3679

In particular, if the IRS is harassing you unlawfully, we can generally get them to curb their behavior. And if we can’t do it on our own, we know how to deal with the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Office, or your Congressman,  to get them to rein in unlawful and outlandish collections behaviors of agents at the IRS.

I would just like to close this email with a final simple statement.

You have been given a life to use as you wish. It is yours and no one else’s. You can do what you want. But before you take drastic action, please consider the effects your actions will have on those you love and on those who love you.

Patrick Cox

Why Not Represent Yourself with the IRS?

I had a conversation this week with a bright enough fellow. He had gotten behind with bills and taken his 401(k) out to live on. Before he knew it, he was hit with the early withdrawal penalty and was soon in serious trouble with the IRS, owing tens of thousands without a way to pay it. He basically called to get as much information as he could out of us in hopes of taking what little information he could glean from our conversation so he could represent himself with the IRS. I strongly encouraged the gentleman not to take that course of action, but at the end of the day, sent him on his way with our best wishes and the reassurance that we would be here to help pick him up even after he made all the mistakes he was sure to make with the IRS. For the record, the worse off your problem, the harder it is to fix, the more it costs to fix, and the longer it takes. So the sooner you address your issues in the right way, the better off you’ll be.

From the Horse’s Mouth

I commented in January about Nina Olson’s report from the National Taxpayer Advocate’s office regarding her take on just how well the IRS did in 2008. One of the things she discussed at length is the fact that the tax code has become so complicated and convoluted that an entire industry is currently being supported by taxpayers who are simply trying to comply with existing tax laws.

It comes as no surprise that she goes on to discuss the fact that taxpayers with serious tax issues tend to benefit from IRS tax representation. Based on the statistics given by Ms Olson, we were able to draw the natural conclusion she could not explicitly state because of political reasons: Taxpayers are achieving more favorable results if they engage a qualified IRS tax representative.

Dangers of Engaging the IRS on Your Own

I’m going to remove my TaxMasters-hued glasses for a moment and simply record some things you might expect from the IRS if you are one of the self sufficient few who insists on doing this yourself. Before I continue, let me emphatically state that I do not recommend that you engage the IRS by yourself unless you are an enrolled agent, CPA, tax attorney, or another type of tax professional accustomed to dealing with the IRS routinely. With that caveat out of the way, here’s what the IRS has been reported to do when engaging in audits and aggressive collections activities. The IRS can:

• Assume the worst about you–that you are a tax cheat, that you are lying, that you are intentionally and criminally defrauding the US Treasury of funds
• demand that you pay immediately all the money you owe
• When you inform them you can’t pay the full amount they say you owe, set up payment plans you might not be able to afford because the IRS doesn’t ask you about all your expenses and you don’t know which expenses qualify, which don’t qualify, and how to present your bills to benefit your case
• File returns for you when you fail to file, excluding any non-standard deductions to which you are entitled, and then send you a bill to pay the full amount immediately along with all penalties and interest
• Ask you questions in an audit specifically designed to catch you off-guard to uncover additional information the IRS can use against you to collect even more revenue
• Ask your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, clients, business associates, and employers leading questions about your financial situation, your purchases, your habits, and even your criminal history (whether you have one or not) in an attempt to get as much information against you as possible; and if they refuse to cooperate, there is always the fear of the IRS looking more closely into their affairs
• Take your money and assets regardless of how much you need to make payroll or to pay the bills necessary to keep your household or business solvent

The TaxMasters Benefit

We have made a living at TaxMasters by knowing what to expect from the IRS and by using their own rules, tendencies, and habits to protect our clients. For the do-it-yourself tax negotiators, I have a vital point to make. If you are facing an IRS problem, regardless of how you arrived at that problem, you are different from TaxMasters in one very important aspect. While you are facing uncertainty and fear about facing the IRS head on, we don’t have that fear at TaxMasters. We don’t fear negotiating with the IRS because we know their rules and we study their tactics and tendencies. We don’t get caught off guard or surprised by the IRS tactics that tend to strike fear into taxpayers.  We are successful at negotiating with the IRS because we do it every day and understand what constitutes a real threat and what IRS actions amount to nothing more than a toothless bark. It’s far easier to stop a punch if you know exactly when and how it will be thrown.

It’s Your Call

So think about it, yes? Those of you feverishly working through the latest do-it-yourself book or tax prep for dummies paperback, take a minute to think this through. Even if you are up to all the technical aspects of negotiating with the IRS, do you know when your negotiation tactic can be considered criminal? Do you know what questions the auditor can ask in an audit and how to redirect the auditor if they step out of line? Are you ready to use the law not only to represent yourself, but to hold the IRS agent pounding on your door accountable?

But even more important than any of these things… If you are afraid of the IRS, they will exploit that fear and are likely to take from you far more than you, or we, think is fair.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox TaxMasters

Internet Complaints

You can find Internet complaints against Tax Masters on several sites out there. We have even seen claims that we are perpetrating a conspiratorial Tax Masters scam, defrauding people out of their hard-earned money and even helping people cheat on their taxes. There’s no two ways about it, we are incredibly successful at what we do and that puts a rather large target on our back. While we do charge for the services we are hired to perform, let me categorically state that Tax Masters is not a scam. We are not a fraud. We do not cheat people. We never help anyone cheat the IRS. If you know what you are doing, it is not necessary to lie or cheat. We know how to solve tax problems without having to resort to fraud, scam, or cheating anyone.

Client Service is Our Focus 

At Tax Masters, we are dedicated to providing quality, consistent tax representation services designed to bring clients back into compliance with the IRS, fight the IRS audit or appeal audit findings, assure that you are treated fairly, and, when appropriate, to allow us to negotiate with the IRS the best possible payment options for those we represent.

Tax Masters Client Satisfaction–97% Approval Rating

It might surprise you to know that Tax Masters has a 97% customer satisfaction rating. That means 97 out of every 100 clients we work for are happy with our services. If you work at Tax Masters, you are not surprised by this statistic. But if all you see of this company is what is written about us on complaints boards and ripoff reports, then I can see how this information might not jive with your perception of who we are. While even three unsatisfied clients out of 100 are too many, we are proud of our 97% satisfaction level.

Quality Assurance–A Dedicated Team

At Tax Masters, we have a Quality Assurance team dedicated to make sure we treat our clients fairly and provide quality, consistent services. This team works with and monitors our tax consultants and tax professionals to ensure that clients are properly qualified and that all services purchased are completed efficiently and in a timely manner.

If You Have a Complaint, We Want to Help

Our goal is 100% client satisfaction. If you are an existing client and you have a legitimate Tax Masters complaint, please contact  your Case Coordinator. If this does not resolve the problem, please ask to speak with a representative of our Quality Assurance team. They are in place to be sure we help our customers properly. As a matter of fact, we encourage you to contact us with concerns and  complaints because we use them to stay sharp and to improve our services as we grow.

Why We Don’t Respond To Anonymous Internet Complaints

We do not respond to anonymous Internet posts at Tax Masters. This is for several reasons. One is that we are bound by federal privacy laws as an IRS tax representative and we are bound by our even higher standard of confidentiality of client records.  We hold this trust sacred.  By law, we are not allowed to discuss any particulars of a client’s case with anyone except the client unless the client gives us permission. In other words, since all we are comfortable doing is making general statements, no rebuttal we supply will be worth much to the complainer or the reader. Another reason we don’t respond to Internet posts is that we’ve discovered that an unreasonable  number of the posters are in fact competitors planting false and erroneous information and are not in fact clients at all. Yet another reason we don’t respond is that any response we provide lends weight to the post, accurate or not, and serves as chum for the inevitable feeding frenzy to follow.

If you choose to post on the Internet, that is your decision. However, posting out there instead of contacting us directly doesn’t get you any assistance with your complaint, and more importantly, it doesn’t help you out of the tax trouble you are in. I know it is easier at times to lash out than to confront your tax problems head on, but this sort of activity does not help your situation.

A Final Word on Tax Masters Complaints

I founded this company because I saw a need for our services. I like the service industry because we get to help people out of tough situations. Our clients come from all walks of life, from doctors and lawyers to mechanics, truck drivers, soldiers, school teachers, and retired persons. We have served politicians, medical professionals, school board presidents, oil executives, mail carriers, and preachers. Tax troubles don’t follow one particular segment of the population. The IRS can go after anyone.

In Tax Masters, I created a company that provides equal protection and representation to every one of our clients. If we fail you, we go out of business. I don’t want to be out of business. Quite the opposite, even in this time of economic strain, we are still serving new people everyday. The reason is because we do what we say we will and we win favorable resolutions for our clients with the IRS. If you have tax problems, you need our help. Don’t let fear control you. Contact us and let us help you through this. Tax representation is what we do for a living, all day everyday. Let us share this burden with you. We know the way to the other side and we can guide you. 

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

Tax Masters Patrick Cox–When Tax Representation Needs to be a High Priority

I received an email today from a friend that had a story I’d heard before. It’s been used by Stephen R. Covey and many others to demonstrate a point about priorities. It goes like this, you fill up your bucket with the big rocks first (highest priorities) and then add the pebbles (second-level priorities), then the sand (lower priorities), then the water. The point is to handle your largest priorities first and let the others fill in the gaps. To go at life the other way around is to let the most important things slide off the list, leaving them undone. While we often think of this in terms of our family, health, spirituality, and personal well-being, sometimes our finances force us to shuffle our priorities. Particularly in today’s climate where every other word out of the politicians is “crises” and where scams and fraud alerts are on the rise, you may very well be in a position that forces you to elevate your finances and your ability to pay your taxes to a higher priority. So when does your tax problem become something you can no longer ignore?

Could the IRS Think You are a Scammer, a Schemer, an Evader, or are Guilty of Tax Fraud?

There’s an argument to be made that if you were putting all the large rocks in the bucket first, you would not wind up in tax trouble to begin with. While there is a degree of truth to this, it serves as nothing more than a finger wagging I-told-you-so if you are facing back taxes. As the founder of Tax Masters, I’m not here to point fingers at anyone. If you are someone in this situation, let’s start afresh. Regardless of how you wound up with delinquent taxes and IRS tax debt, the IRS tends to assume the worst about you. They can classify three or more unfiled tax returns as tax evasion. They can allege that serious mistakes or intentional ommissions on a return are in fact tax fraud. As we’ve seen in recent headlines, tax scams and schemes to perpetuate fraud and even identity theft are on the rise. Even the current Secretary of the Treasury was caught misreporting his taxes and having to pay a hefty amount of penalties and interest to the division of the government he now runs. If some of this feels a bit upside down and chaotic, you’re not alone.

The Longer You Wait, The Worse the Problem Gets

If the IRS has contacted you in any way whatsoever claiming that you owe them more money than you have paid, you have a tax problem. And as much as I want to tell you otherwise, the IRS will stay after you until they get the money they think you owe, making problems for you that don’t go away on their own and that will seriously affect your ability to focus on what should be your highest priorities. If you have been contacted by the IRS, don’t wait until you are facing imminent aggressive collections actions like a tax lien, IRS levy, wage garnishment, or Social Security garnishment to address the issue. If you have been notified that you are being audited or that the IRS has not received even a single past-due tax return, it is time for you to make tax representation a big-rock priority. And if you have received notice of intent to levy or intent to place a lien, you are in an extremely precarious position and you need to hire tax representation immediately.

At Tax Masters Complaints about the IRS are Not New

As always, Tax Masters is here to help. You can spend the next several months aggravated, angry, fearful, and complaining every step of the way about what the IRS is doing to you. But you could also call us today and let us get between you and the IRS. Tens of thousands of people with tax problems have engaged us and been completely satisfied with the services provided by Tax Masters. Complaints about the IRS and IRS tactics are many. We see agents do unconscionable things to try and strong arm taxpayers into payment arrangements they can’t afford. If you have IRS tax debt, call us. The sooner you get us involved as your IRS tax representative, the better shot you have at saving money and regaining full compliance quickly and with as little distraction to you as possible.

Don’t Evade, Scam, or Scheme–Seek Representation Instead

If you are a tax evader, scamming and scheming to avoid paying the IRS at all costs, or if you are one of the unlucky few who are attempting to challenge the constitutionality of the IRS, you are heading into serious trouble. We strongly encourage you to turn from either of those paths and call us. While we do not condone tax evasion and will not represent tax cheats, scam artists, or fraudulent filers, we can help you if you are genuinely seeking to return to compliance with the IRS. We have heard probably every complaint there is about the IRS. Yours will likely not be new to us. And the good news is, you don’t have to lose sleep over this any more. Make tax representation a big-rock priority and call us. We’re here to help.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters

Tax Masters Patrick Cox Fighting the Back Tax Trap

Another case just came across my desk that made me want to revisit what I’ve coined the back tax trap, discussed previously in the post titled Avoiding Unfiled Tax Returns - Patrick Cox Tax Masters and in Unfiled Taxes and Back Taxes - The Back Tax Trap.

Unable to Pay Back Taxes

Every year, we see an increasing number of taxpayers falling into this category. They typically arrive at the back tax trap by one of two routes. The first involves carrying tax liability past the time it’s due. If the taxpayer still doesn’t have the tax paid in full when they need to file taxes for the following year, they are discouraged and less likely to file on time. Particularly if tax debt increases over several years running, the taxpayer, out of frustration and despair, simply stops filing tax returns. The tax debt quickly builds and spirals out of control. This is not a good place to be and is the situation many retirees and fixed-income taxpayers find themselves in.

One, Two, Three Unfiled Returns

The second route typical of people who wind up in the back tax trap involves people who don’t have tax debt or tax problems, but for whatever reason fail to file a tax return for a given tax year. This happens for all kinds of reasons, from plain forgetting to file to not being able to file due to military service or a number of other situations. If the IRS doesn’t contact the taxpayer or file an SFR (substitute for return) in that first year, the taxpayer can be lolled into a sense of apathy, thinking perhaps that the IRS isn’t paying close attention. So they miss the second year, then the third. This can go on for a number of years, but when the IRS finally decides to act, the ramifications of the taxpayer’s non-compliance can be overwhelming. This tends to be the situation that plagues younger taxpayers.

When Unfiled Tax Returns Become Tax Evasion

Regardless of how a taxpayer winds up in the back tax trap, the weight of mounting IRS debt soon grows from a molehill into an unmovable mountain. Penalties and interest are the enemy of everyone with a tax debt. And continuing to allow tax years to go by without filing compounds and complicates the problem, making the taxpayer look like a tax evader to the IRS.

At Tax Masters, we take the time to understand your specific situation from your perspective and then recommend a course of action to solve your tax problem. We then contact the IRS on your behalf to make sure there is nothing in your file that you don’t know about or that might have been overlooked. At this point, we share with you exactly what the IRS thinks you owe and what collection actions are pending. Often our clients are in a bit more trouble than they realize. This review process with the IRS lets us redirect tactics and adjust the strategy for combating your specific tax problems.

File Every Year

The worst thing you can do as a taxpayer is to not file your tax return every year, regardless of what you owe and of how much the return might increase your tax debt. The IRS won’t even consider negotiating with you until all unfiled tax returns have been filed. And if the IRS has filed SFRs for you, there is still a possibility that you can reduce the amount you owe by letting us help you file a replacement return that takes advantage of all available deductions.

Call Tax Masters to Climb Out of the Back Tax Trap

If you are in the back tax trap, call us today. Depending on the severity of your situation and tax debt, every day that goes by without acting increases what you owe. If you are one of the taxpayers struggling with the fact that you still owe from 2007, make sure you file your 2008 tax return, regardless of whether you can pay the tax liability when you file.

Being in the back tax trap can be absolutely deflating. If you’re in this situation, we can help and the relief can start today. All you have to do is call us and tell us about your situation. You can reach our tax consultants at (866) 694-4018. We’ll tell you what we can do to correct the problem, discuss the options available to you, and talk about what it will cost to get the IRS to take the bulls eye off your back.

Until you need us,

Patrick Cox Tax Masters