Delinquent Returns
While not all taxpayers have a filing obligation, most do and sometimes taxpayers avoid, ignore, or delay the filing of a tax return. The IRS has specific delinquent return procedures for dealing with these types of situations, but there could be substantial financial or even criminal penalties for a multi-year delinquent taxpayer. Unfortunately, many taxpayers believe that it is better to wait to file a tax return until they are able to pay the taxes owed. While there are penalties for non-payment of taxes, there are also substantial penalties for non-filing of a tax return. Other times, a taxpayer may indeed file and pay the tax liability reported on the tax return, but still have a delinquent return problem.
The issue is that the tax law can get very complex and many tax preparers who hold themselves out as tax professionals do not have the background and education to identify a need to even file certain returns. This happens a lot with taxpayers who have financial connections abroad, non-residents, or others whose immigration status is not a simple green card holder or US citizen. Here, the taxpayer may have several informational forms obligations, such as, form 3520 or 8938 that may remain unfiled.
The point is that there are many reasons why taxpayers may have not filed tax returns for several years. These reasons can be attributed directly to the taxpayers concern regarding an inability to pay, it may be due to the fact that there are many tax preparers who are not credentialed for more sophisticated tax work, or there could be the issue of just not knowing of the filing requirement or knowledge of the item that requires the filing (such as, a foreign trust or estate inheritance from a grandparent living in a foreign country). It is always best to hire a tax professional with proper credentials and experience such as, enrolled agents, certified public accountants, or attorneys as a preventative measure. However, if you already find yourself or your company in this predicament, it is best to seek the guidance and assistant from an attorney-cpa, such as, Michael Anidjar of Anidjar Law. The dual skillset and experience allow for Michael to be able to assist a taxpayer with getting caught up with the tax filing requirements and negotiate a resolution with the IRS to avoid potential levies, wage garnishments, or other actions the IRS is permitted to take in order to collect taxes owed.
If you aren’t sure about your filing requirements, but think that you may be delinquent with filing tax returns, then contact Anidjar Law for assistant. Anidjar Law’s directive is to provide practical solutions to complex problems.
