Anthony Cannon

Roller Coasters and Tax Liens, Only One of Theses Rides is Fun



Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009

by Anthony Cannon
Do It Yourself Tax Releif

Up and down, round and round, loop-de-loop it's funny how the same action can be so much fun on a roller coaster and so disastrous with the IRS. As a kid, I wanted to ride the roller coaster over and over, but no one wants a ride on the IRS collections machine ever again. Most people don't realize exactly what kind of ride they are getting into when they have tax debt problems.

Its starts out calm enough, but quickly you can end up on the IRS topsy-turvy machine and your pocket is turned inside out. You miss a tax return filing for whatever reason; no biggie the IRS mails a letter politely notifying you that the tax return has not been received. Maybe you filed and owed money you couldn't afford to pay at the time. A half-year later the IRS asks you to please pay, again, no big deal. Since the tax debt isn't freaking the IRS out why should you worry. Often IRS letters are mailed to your last known address, so you might not have received any correspondence at all. Like other roller coasters, the first part of the ride is relatively calm.

At some point however, the roller coaster that goes up must come down. When that first downhill run starts, the anxiety begins. After a few unsuccessful attempts to collect via nice letter your case (yes, you're a case now) is moved to the collections department. Heard all those nasty stories about the IRS; that's the "friendly" collections folks. Unless you owe over $100,000 the IRS is going to let computers do the dirty work, this is known as the Automated Collections Service or ACS. Maybe you're thinking; how bad could a computer hurt me? Answer- Big Time Hurt.

The IRS computers work with the post office to deliver the pain. Other debtors are required to go through the courts before aggressively collecting. They have to file a lawsuit, have you served, bring you to trial, prove their case, win the case, obtain a judgment, file the judgment and wait for you to not pay the judgment. After all this aggressive tactics like paycheck garnishment or bank seizure can finally be applied. Not so with the IRS. Those inconvenient steps along with the time and effort to take those steps are completely unnecessary. All other creditors must follow these procedures, but the IRS does not.

Don't get me wrong the IRS has a procedure to follow but their computers are up to the task. They have a few notification requirements before a Federal Tax Lien is filed. Then your paycheck is garnished, bank account seized or home auctioned. It s easy, the mailman and computers do the work. Even the signature on the tax lien filing is printed by a computer nowadays. Did you ever see the movie Brazil? It is about a hapless chap whose trouble began with a government computer glitch. Think that scenario minus the storm troopers.

The IRS may be slow moving the roller coaster up the first incline, but like other roller coasters once you reach that first pinnacle your getting the ride. Once your case is turned over to ACS, the downhill run begins. In most cases, the sooner you contact the IRS to put the brakes on your tax debt problem the better. The tax lien will ruin your credit and a garnishment or bank seizure will wipe most folks out financially. If you have a tax debt problem and do nothing you are headed for the roller coaster. There is an inexpensive and simple solution to tax debt offered on my website Do It Yourself Tax Relief .com. If you do not want to deal with the IRS, an accountant or lawyer can easily help as well. Do not wait to ride the roller coaster - it's just no fun.

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