IRS Debt Collections Tips and Tricks
Being an IRS debt collector for a living wage can’t be a fun job. Everyone thinks you are out to get them and everyone conspires to lie to you, defraud you, and do anything they can to throw you off from doing your job. To say that you get no admiration is an understatement. If you have a date with IRS debt collections, you may want to take the following tips and tricks into account before your meeting. It could be the divergence between dealing with someone eager to overlook a few small discrepancies and someone who is going to throw the book at you.
First, you can’t overemphasize the importance of simply being nice. Don’t be overdue to your meeting, don’t be loud or disrespectful to the collector at any time, and don’t come unprepared. retort to all mailings in a timely manner and don’t selling, do what you can to make the meeting as accommodating as feasible. Be careful about going too far, yet. You don’t want to give the impression that you are pandering or that you are trying to solicit an undue advantage with excessive niceties or bribery. Your kindness could backfire.
Having dealt with IRS debt collections on more than one occasion, I can tell you that it also pays to watch what you say. You never want to give a short or incomplete counter to a question asked during an audit, but you don’t necessitate to volunteer any other information. It could lead to a whole new line of questioning and an even higher tax bill. You aren’t lying by not volunteering everything that you know. It is up to them to ask; otherwise, you are fine keeping things to yourself.
If you should to, most IRS debt is certified for an extension. If you have an audit coming up and you are missing a few pages of key paperwork, ask for an extension and explain why. If you think you can replace the lost paperwork in short order, go further on and reschedule a new day for your audit. Dealing with IRS debt collections is severe business and you don’t want to go into the fight without all of your bullets in consign. If you do, you are risking expense beyond what you actually owe.
Finally, do everything you can to be as honest as likely. The mistake that many people make is that they lied on their initial return and they now find themselves in an audit with the IRS. They then have to decide if they want to keep the original lie ongoing and risk getting into deeper trouble, or do the right thing and come clean, simply accepting the penalty for the initial lie. As complex as it may be, option two is the superior one. You don’t want to get into deeper trouble, especially with someone who is trained to tell when someone is lying. Honesty is the paramount policy.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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