As long as TaxMasters has been in business, we have fielded questions about tax tips. From taxpayers to reporters, everyone seems to be looking for that one snippet of info you just can’t get anywhere else.  We made this site to function as a collection of tax tips and as a place where you can ask questions about taxes. We encourage you to comment and ask questions on any of the posts listed on the right of the screen. Just click one and fire away in the comments section. As with all content online, please understand that nothing you see here can be construed as tax advice. We are simply offering common sense direction for people with tax problems.

About Tax Debt

Tax Tips from Tax Masters

Most people call TaxMasters initially because the IRS is after them to pay a tax debt. Understand something very clearly. Tax debt tends to be a symptom of the overarching tax problem. Most tax problems begin with compliance issues. Either a taxpayer did not file a tax return, make an estimated tax payment, file and pay employment taxes on time, or failed to comply with one IRS demand or another. Most often, compliance issues are oversights on the part of the taxpayer that amount to nothing more than a simple mistake. The problem is that this simple mistake can grow into a massive tax problem, even a tax crisis, if the taxpayer does not get back into compliance.

Compliance is the Key

First and foremost, every person with a tax debt must regain compliance with the IRS before he or she can even begin thinking about negotiating a tax debt. Compliance is the key. Being out of compliance landed you on the IRS’ radar screen and regaining compliance is the first thing you have to do to begin the process of removing yourself from that radar screen. Filing all delinquent tax returns and making any current estimated quarterly payments puts you back in the driver’s seat. Until you do those things, the IRS is driving and you are merely along for the ride.

At TaxMasters, we offer a Compliance Phase, also called Phase 1, which addresses all compliance-related issues. At the end of this Compliance Phase, not only will you be back in compliance with the IRS, but you will also have a 433 Analysis Report from us outlining the tax debt payment and settlement options you should qualify for given your specific financial situation. The report is yours to do with as you wish. You may choose to hire another tax representative to apply for a tax debt settlement, attempt to negotiate a settlement directly with the IRS on your own, or hire TaxMasters to negotiate for you.

Tax Debt Settlement Options

People who can afford to pay their tax debt, either over time with a payment plan or  by selling their property, will typically have to pay their tax debt in full. If you hire TaxMasters and complete the Compliance Phase, you will be legal with the IRS and ready to negotiate a tax debt repayment plan.

If you choose to hire TaxMasters to represent you in the Negotiation Phase (also called Phase 2) with the IRS, you don’t pay us unless we achieve a settlement or repayment plan acceptable to both you and the IRS. That’s right. After you are in compliance, you don’t pay TaxMasters a dime until you and the IRS agree on a payment plan or settlement. Why do we do it? To our knowledge, no one else in the industry currently stands behind their settlement services without demanding payment first.

While the IRS has the final say, we believe strongly in our ability to determine what repayment or settlement options you should qualify for. Instead of asking you to take that financial risk and front the money, we take the risk and will accept payment for settlement service only if we are successful.

Tax Tips

You will find all kinds of information here. Feel free to look around. If you happen to find yourself in trouble with the IRS, contact us. You can just use the yellow form on the right of the screen. And if you have a question about taxes, use the comments section on any post on this site to ask us a question. We’ll do our best to give you an answer and we might even create a new post about it.