TAX RESOLUTION

K Diffley Law provides a range of IRS and NYS tax resolution and audit representation services to our clients, including:

 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)                                 

• Offer in Compromise                                                

• Tax Lien and Levy Relief

  • Wage Garnishment Avoidance                                             

• Collection Due Process Hearings

• Payment and Penalty Abatement Requests                          

• Installment Agreements

• Unfiled - Delinquent Tax Returns

• Payroll and Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

• Responsible Person Assessment

• Audit Representation                                                            

  • Business Tax Audits                                                  

  • Individual Tax Audits

 

State of New York (NYS)

• Offer in Compromise

• Tax Liens, Warrants and Levy Relief

• Installment Agreements

• Payroll and Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

• Responsible Person Assessment

  • NYS Sales and Use Tax

  • LLC Member Responsible Person Assessment

• Audit Representation

  • Business Tax Audits

  • Individual Tax Audits

  • NYS and NYC Residency Audits      

  • Sales and Use Tax Audits

 

Contact K Diffley Law today to discuss your IRS or NYS tax relief, tax resolution and audit representation matters.

OFFER IN COMPROMISE

 

A commonly utilized tax relief strategy known as an Offer in Compromise is a settlement between the IRS or NYS and a taxpayer for less than the amount of outstanding debt that is owed, including interest and penalties. K Diffley Law represents businesses and individuals in the negotiation and settlement of our clients outstanding tax debt. Our firm negotiates with the IRS and NYS to reduce our clients’ tax obligations to the greatest extent possible.

 

REQUIREMENTS: On a case by case basis, and depending on a taxpayers payment history and financial status, the IRS and/or NYS will agree to an Offer in Compromise if a taxpayer is  current with (i) tax return filings, (ii) estimated tax payments for the year in which an offer is being negotiated, and (iii) federal payroll deposits for the quarter in which an offer is being negotiated.

 

After an initial consultation with K Diffley Law, we will review and analyze our client’s income, expenses and assets under ownership as well as the outstanding tax debt for any errors or improper assessments by the IRS and/or NYS. If we conclude the tax obligations were imposed inaccurately, we submit our findings to the IRS or NYS and negotiate an Offer in Compromise.  

 

OTHER FACTORS: The IRS and/or NYS may also agree to an Offer in Compromise based on a taxpayers’ current financial situation. If we can prove that (i) our client would face undue financial hardship by paying the outstanding tax debt in full, or (ii) that our client is unable to make the full payment, then we seek to settle the debt with the IRS and/or NYS through an Offer in Compromise.

 

 

 

TAX LIENS

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K Diffley Law provides tax resolution services for clients with active liens issued by the IRS and NYS against their real property or other assets. The IRS and NYS may place a lien on a taxpayer’s assets as collateral to satisfy the outstanding tax debt and claiming a legal right to those assets. When this happens, the tax lien encumbers a taxpayer’s assets making it difficult, if not impossible, to sell, transfer or finance the assets unless the lien is extinguished and satisfied. If outstanding tax obligations continue for an extended period of time, the IRS or NYS may move to levy or seize the lien-encumbered assets, which may include a client’s real property, personal property, inventory, equipment, bank accounts and other valuables.

 

Our firm works directly with the IRS or NYS to obtain lien releases or, in certain qualifying circumstances, lien withdrawals. The result of a lien release or lien withdrawal is that taxpayer’s assets are no longer encumbered and subject to levying. The procedures to negotiating a tax lien release or withdrawal are complex and differ between the IRS and NYS. Our firm is experienced in negotiating tax lien releases and withdrawals with the IRS and NYS.

 

We advise clients with assets that are subject to an IRS or NYS lien to contact K Diffley Law before the IRS or NYS moves to satisfy the outstanding tax debt by levying the encumbered assets. After an initial consultation, our law firm will determine whether our client’s conditions fall within one of the qualifying circumstances required by the IRS or NYS to obtain a lien release or lien withdrawal.

 

TAX LEVY

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A tax levy is generally the last option taken by the IRS or NYS when it decides to enforce its tax lien and seize a taxpayer’s assets to satisfy outstanding tax debt. A levy may also include taxpayer wage garnishment or a levy on a taxpayer’s bank account. We urge our clients to never ignore letter requests and default notices of the IRS and NYS, especially those regarding outstanding tax balances. Should the IRS or NYS levy your assets our firm may be able to assist in retrieving those assets or their cash value equivalent.

 

 

COLLECTION DUE PROCESS HEARINGS

 

K Diffley Law assists clients that receive collection notices regarding tax liens or levies for their outstanding tax debt. Taxpayers that receive collection notices from the IRS have an opportunity to request a Collection Due Process hearing if the request is filed timely.

 

Our law firm has experience with Collection Due Process hearings, where we present evidence and protest the IRS’s collection action on our clients’ behalf. Filing a Collection Due Process hearing request gives a taxpayer time to resolve their tax issues and offers our firm an opportunity to negotiate alternative collection methods with the IRS. We employ meticulous defense strategies and work diligently to obtain the best outcome for our clients.  

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PENALTY AND PAYMENT ABATEMENT

 

K Diffley Law’s tax relief services include penalty abatement alternatives for our clients with one or many tax penalties. Our law firm negotiates and obtains penalty abatements for clients for failure to pay, failure to deposit, and failure to file penalties.

 

There are a number of penalty abatements programs available to delinquent taxpayers.

 

• A first-time penalty abatement is an option for clients that can show three years of tax compliance preceding the penalty and have never before invoked the first time penalty abatement.

• A reasonable cause abatement may be invoked if the taxpayer has a viable justification for the circumstances which led to the penalty. The reasonable cause abatement is based on the facts and circumstances of the taxpayer and reasoning behind their tax delinquency. In order to invoke the reasonable cause abatement, the taxpayer must prove that they made reasonable efforts to comply with its tax obligations.

 

 

INSTALLMENT AGREEMENTS

 

K Diffley Law assists clients by negotiating and obtaining Installment Agreements as a tax resolution service provider. An Installment Agreement with the IRS or NYS spreads out tax liability over a period of time so that the outstanding debt can be paid in installments rather than in a lump sum. Our law firm negotiates with the IRS and NYS on behalf of our clients, in order to extend the repayment period as long as possible to make payments more manageable.

 

An Installment Agreement is a tax relief option that is invoked only after determining that a taxpayer cannot prove that they do not have the financial means to pay their outstanding tax obligations. In most circumstances an Offer in Compromise will be more preferable, but if declined by the IRS or NYS, an Installment Agreement can be valuable for clients that have sufficient income but may be highly leveraged with other business debt.

 

 

UNFILED DELINQUENT TAX RETURNS

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K Diffley Law represents businesses and individuals that have unfiled tax returns and delinquent tax payment obligations. If you failed to file your tax returns, the IRS may impose penalties and levies to satisfy outstanding tax obligations, including retaining your refund checks and future earnings. 

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Our law firm aims to reduce our clients’ tax debt and penalties through a variety of tax relief options. If you consistently neglect to file your tax returns, then the IRS, in addition to imposing fees and penalties, may decide to enforce criminal charges – the willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor and an over act of evasion is a felony.

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We provide tax relief options to clients that have unfiled and delinquent tax returns. Whether or not you have already been contacted by the IRS regarding your delinquent tax filings, there may be relief available to you.

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PAYROLL & TRUST FUND RECOVERY PENALTIES

 

K Diffley Law represents clients in connection with payroll and trust fund recovery penalties. The IRS and NYS have been increasing employment tax investigations in recent years. We assist clients that are unable to make payroll tax payments or have delinquent payroll tax returns by challenging tax assessments and negotiating settlements with the IRS and/or NYS.

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All business owners with employees must retain employment trust funds, where the money withheld from employees’ paychecks are held until the owner or responsible person makes payment to the IRS and NYS. The IRS and NYS will enforce collection to resolve unpaid payroll taxes and unfilled payroll tax returns, which may include levying a business’s bank account, business inventory, assets, or equipment. In certain circumstances, the IRS or NYS will move to close a business for continued non-payment of payroll taxes.

 

RESPONSIBLE PERSON ASSESSMENT

 

When business payroll taxes go unpaid and tax returns unfiled, the IRS and NYS will seek to enforce collection. Even if a business closes or files for bankruptcy protection, the IRS and NYS can look to the ‘responsible person’ (usually the owner but may be another person with a duty to direct the payment) to collect the trust fund payments. Even if the responsible person does not own 100% of the business, the IRS or NYS can still seek to enforce 100% of the business’s outstanding payroll debts against that person or persons.

 

If your business did not file or pay past due payroll taxes, a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessment could be placed against the responsible person by the IRS or NYS. The responsible person may be held personally liable for the business’s unpaid payroll taxes. If this happens, the IRS or NYS may seek to enforce collection against the personal assets and accounts of the responsible person. Remember that unpaid taxes are not dischargeable, even in personal bankruptcy situations. Therefore, it is critical to not let unpaid payroll taxes or filings continue without speaking to a professional.

 

NYS - Sales and Use Tax Responsible Person Assessment

 

New York State collects sales and use taxes from businesses. In NYS, the responsible person assessment may also be used to enforce collection against a ‘responsible person’ for a business’s outstanding sales and use taxes. Like the responsible person for outstanding payroll taxes, similar rules and procedures apply for outstanding sales and use taxes.

 

NYS - LLC Member Responsible Person Assessment

 

In NYS, every limited liability company (LLC) member or owner (whether directly or indirectly) is responsible for the LLC’s NYS sales tax liability, regardless of the member’s involvement with the business operations or management. Exceptions for certain LLC members that (i) own less than 50% of the LLC’s interest and profit sharing, and (ii) have no duty to act on behalf of the company in connection with compliance of the sales tax law, may apply. LLC members that fall within the exception to the rule are relieved from personal liability for an LLC’s unpaid sales tax obligations, but only (i) to the extent of the member’s ownership interest of the LLC’s distributions and (ii) provided that they assist tax authorities with identifying the appropriate individual(s) responsible for the business’s affairs. Our law firm can assist you by providing tax relief options in this complex area of taxation.

 

We advise clients with delinquent taxes to act as quickly and contact K Diffley Law before the IRS or NYS moves to enforce collection.

K Diffley Law provides audit representation to individuals and business clients in connection with IRS and NYS tax audits. As our clients’ authorized representative during their tax audits, we negotiate and prepare documents requested by the IRS and NYS and attend meetings and teleconferences with auditors and government tax personnel. Prior to and throughout each tax audit, K Diffley Law formulates a defense to auditor inquiries and strategically navigates all communication and correspondence with auditors and IRS or NYS tax personnel.  

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If the IRS or NYS tax department contacts you requesting personal or business tax information, contact K Diffley Law immediately. We provide audit representation in connection with:

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• IRS Business Tax Audits

• IRS Individual / Personal Tax Audits

• IRS Income Tax Appeals (Tax Court)

• New York State and City Residency Audits

• New York State Business Tax Audits

• New York State Individual / Personal Tax Audits

• New York State Sales and Use Tax Audits

• New York State Income Tax Appeals (Tax Court)

 

Our law firm assists clients with income tax appeal services by negotiating with the IRS or NYS on your behalf, in an attempt to reduce your tax liabilities and obtain a settlement. If the IRS or NYS are unwilling to negotiate or reduce our clients’ tax liabilities, our law firm will file a formal appeal in tax court. Contact us for more information about how we can provide you with audit representation and tax relief services.