The Big Bad IRS Man

I am not a tax expert. I'm not a tax accountant. I have no formal training in taxation. I've acquired limited business tax knowledge through different avenues in life. The owners of this little shop had gone 4 years without filing or paying tax to the big bad IRS man. This is one of the reasons they asked for my help.

So, I started this job in a firestorm of IRS letters that were quite unsettling and a bit threatening. We've all heard the horror stories of people who have gone through IRS audits. We've all heard about what can happen when you don't pay taxes. And here I am, with limited knowledge, trying to appease people who have been described as no less than monsters.

What I have discovered is that the IRS is the easiest, most helpful, most informative tax agency in existence.

My first action was to call them and make sure I had the right to talk about the taxes on behalf of my employer. A few papers and faxes later, with help and advice from the big bad IRS people, I was able to discuss every aspect of what was owed as well as what was going to be owed on the next tax year. The problematic taxes were W2/W3 and the owner's personal 1040.

The second item on the agenda was to make sure the amounts were accurate. The non-filing penalty for W2/W3 is $50 for each employee. The penalty we were assessed would mean we have well over 100 employees. After one phone call to the IRS, this tax was reduced to the actual penalty we owed.

Nice, easy, simple and friendly.

I then made sure the "estimated tax" for the 1040's were accurate. Again, the big bad IRS man was helpful and friendly. A circumstance with my boss came up in the conversation and we were automatically given a tax advocate who in turn was able to lower even more of the taxes owed.

Once everything was nailed down, we began making payments. Fortunately, we were able to pay off the taxes, penalties and interest earlier than expected.

The big bad IRS man, if he exists, didn't ever speak to me. As long as you're working with them, showing them you intend to get it all sorted out, showing them you're not purposely trying to be a tax evader, you'll find that the IRS can be very easy to work with. They must keep the big bad IRS man under lock and key until he is needed.

Other tax agencies are a different story. One in particular...