The truth behind Innocent Spouse Relief from tax attorney

What is Innocent Spouse Relief?

If you owe the IRS money because of your spouse and you were not involved in what is owed you will not be liable for the balance.

Did something like this happen to you?
Did your spouse lie on your joint return? Do you owe the IRS money and is there anything you can do? Do you worry about your personal liability from the taxes on a joint tax return? Did your ex-spouse report the wrong income, not report income at all, or claim improper deductions to the IRS?

Joint and Individual Liability

When you file a joint return with your spouse, each spouse is jointly and individually liable for the entire amount of tax owed based on that return. In other words, the IRS can go after either spouse to collect the full amount of tax due including penalty and interest. Unfortunately, this also true if a couple divorces and the divorce decree states that one of the spouses are liable for taxes due. Innocent spouse is very difficult to get accepted because the IRS takes the view that you knew about the tax problem and you have to prove that you did not. Three different Innocent Spouse Relief provisions.

First, Relief for Innocent Spouse

You want to attempt this type of relief if your spouse understated the taxes owed. This can be from a mistake, unreported income or deductions that were not allowed. To qualify for this you need to prove you did not know about the tax problem and you could not have known. You can qualify for this if you are still married or divorced.

Second, Seperation of Liability

This is exactly how it sounds. When you file a joint return and you want to seperate what you are liable for and what your former spouse is liable for, you would attempt this type of Innocent Spouse Relief. In order to qualify for this you must no longer be married, legally seperated or lived apart for the last 12 months.

Third, Equitable Relief from Liability
If you do not qualify for the previous to Innocent Spouse Relief provision you may qualify for this relief. To qualify for unpaid tax, you need to show that when the return was filed, you did not know and had no reason to believe that the tax would not be paid, and you thought the tax was paid.

To get this relief you need to download an 8857 form from the IRS. Make sure to attach a statement to the request saying why you qualify. BE VERY CAREFUL, there is a statute of limitations of 2 years for Innocent Spouse Relief and Seperation of Liability. That means you have 2 years from the date the IRS started to collect this from you to file an innocent spouse request. However, the IRS recently changed the rules for Equitable Relief from Liability where you do not need to file within the 2 year period.

To better understand if you qualify for Innocent Spouse Relief please Contact us by calling 888-965-3829 or visit us at www.wtaxhelp.com.

Offer In Compromise. The facts you need to know

Every company or attorney that provides tax relief will want to tell you how they got a client into an Offer in Compromise. An Offer in Compromise is a tool a taxpayer can use to get finality to there tax problem. However, getting an Offer in Compromise ("Offer") accepted is not an easy task and is not for everyone. Here is the truth behind an Offer In Compromise.

The purpose behind the IRS Offer in Compromise is to collect as much taxes from a taxpayer that they can, as soon as possible, on the full amount, without wasting more time and money. This program makes it so any taxpayer who owes back taxes to the IRS can make them an Offer that will put an end to there tax problem once and for all.

The IRS when they determine whether you qualify for an Offer will look at your Reasonable Collection Potential ("RCP"). In determing your RCP they use a financial formula as well as other factors.These other factors make it so the IRS can reject an offer based on their belief they can collect money from you in the future. So if you qualify for an offer based on your financial circumstances they can still reject you.

Three different types of Offers exist. The first being, Doubt as to Collectibility. The IRS has a statute of limitations that is 10 years. This means that the IRS has 10 years to collect on the money you owe them. In this type of Offer you are saying that it is unlikely that you will pay your debt off in full before the statute expires.

The next type of Offer is Doubt as to Liability. This is exactly as it sounds. This type of Offer is if you believe you do not owe the entire amount for some reason and you want to offer them what you believe you do owe. Types of problems include, you are not entirely responsible, accuracy as to the tax, calculation is incorrect, etc.

The last type of Offer is Hardship, which is the most common. This is when the debt you owe would have substantial ramifications that you and your family would not recover from.

To learn more information about an Offer in Compromise and whether you qualify contact attorney Evan Wolf at 888-965-3829. Free Confidential Consultation.

What should I do if I could not file my return or extension by the deadline?

If you forgot to file your return or extension by the April 17, 2012 deadline do not get too worried. In fact, if you have a refund the IRS will not add interest and penalties.  However, if you are going to owe the IRS money make sure to file your tax return, even if it is going to be late.

When you file late, the IRS normally charges a late filing penalty of 5 percent per month up to a maximum of 25 percent. If you file the return more than 60 days passed the due date, the minimum IRS penalty will be $135 or the balance due, whatever is less.

Not only does the IRS make you pay a penalty for late filing or paying, they also charge interest on the amount you owe. It is normally half a percent per month, as well as, interest at 3 percent per year, compounded daily. Therefore, it is in your best interest to file as soon as possible and pay any balance due off in full. However, if you can't pay your balance in full contact the IRS or let someone from Wolf Tax Consultants help save you the most money possible. To contact Wolf Tax click here or call (888)

WOLFTAX (965-3829).

Tax Day is approaching, make sure to final an extension if you can't file on time.

Tax day is April 17, 2012. If you are a taxpayer and can't file or pay your taxes on time, do not worry.  You have the right to file an extension and it is very easy. To access the form click here on form 4868. Just be careful because this is an extension to file; not an extension to pay. The extension gives you until October 15, 2012 to file.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call Wolf Tax at  (888) 965-3829 or visit at www.wtaxhelp.com.

Don't be fooled by one of these tax scams!

The IRS has just released their lists of the top scams that taxpayers fall prey too. Be careful that you are not one of them.  If you are solicited by someone saying that they can save you money, get you lost refunds and get you free money from your tax return be very careful that you are not a victim of one of these scams.

If you believe you have been contacted about one of these scams make sure to report the person or parties immediately because if and when they are caught all the returns they prepared will then be re-examined.  Once re-examined those returns will be adjusted and will most likely destroy your life. These illegal scams will result in significant interest, penalties and possible criminal prosecution.

What to watch out for?

When you sign your return make sure the person preparing the returns has signed it and put his/her information on the line before yours. If they have not, you should not pay for the return or submit it.

If you have any questions, make sure to call 888-965-3829 or visit http://www.wtaxhelp.com.