We're pain relief lawyers. We relieve the pain cause by IRS Payroll Tax Problems
If you're here, then you're likely either struggling with an IRS payroll tax problem (IRS Form 941), or if you've been assessed a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.
Checking out our website is a great place to start taking action to permanently end your IRS employment tax problems.
So come on in and have a look around. I invite you to get a free copy of my special report, "What the IRS isn't telling you about payroll taxes". Inside I share the secrets about the IRS' scariest collection machine and how to diffuse them so you can have the time and space you need to solve your tax problem - on reasonable terms.
Our Law Firm Does Only One Thing -
We Fix IRS Payroll Tax Problems
IRS Employment Tax Problems are the absolute worst, most perilous, most dangerous of all IRS problems to have, and that's why we want them!
We want the cases that are the toughest, the hardest, the most difficult to resolve because those are the tax problems causing our clients the most pain.
That's why we think of ourselves as pain relief lawyers.
Why Do Employment Tax Problems Cause so Much Pain?
The IRS HATES when businesses fall behind in paying over their employment taxes, or when they fail to file their quarterly IRS Form 941 returns.
These cases actually make them angry.
You know those taxes you withhold from your employees? It's the money you're suppose to deduct from your employees' total pay, and then send in to the IRS...
Well, when you don't send that money to the IRS, they view that in much the same way the police view theft. They see it as stealing because that money was earned by your employees, and it's owed to the government, but you have it.
And the IRS takes a particularly dim view of anyone it feels is stealing from the government.
It's personal for them because, among other reasons, that's the source of their funding.
The IRS moves with particular speed and aggression to collect these taxes - and punish those responsible. It likes to use the harsh punishments in these cases to set an example to other businesses.
They're very happy to scare us all into compliance.
IRS Collections Moves Like a Wrecking Ball in Payroll Tax Cases
Business owners could even face personal liability for their failure to withhold or pay these taxes, and once businesses receive notice of a failure to pay, it can be difficult to avoid steep penalties.
But it gets worse...
Business Owners Could Face Jail Time For Failure To Pay -
Remember somewhere up there on this page where I said the IRS sees the failure to pay over these taxes as a willful act of theft, even if it was caused by a payroll company!
Don’t assume that by hiring a payroll company your payroll taxes are handled. The employer or owner of a business is ultimately responsible for the payment of trust fund taxes, whether or not they choose to personally handle collection or submission of those taxes.
Owners are held responsible for checking that payroll companies are doing their job correctly and submitting these taxes. There are plenty of cases where payroll companies have even been found to keep funds collected as payroll taxes, for which you, the business' owner, could be held responsible.
Because in many cases the Revenue Officer will refer the case to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID), for potential prosecution of the owners and/or officers. That means the owner or officer could have his or her personal bank accounts, wages, or assets seized by the Internal Revenue Service.
Surprisingly, The IRS Doesn't Even Stop With Criminal Charges
The IRS can pursue claims against any “responsible person” within the organization that has failed to make its payroll taxes. In other words, any person the IRS thinks is responsible for submitting payroll taxes to the IRS who failed to do so could face a trust fund recovery penalty and, in some cases, prison time, in addition to paying the back taxes.
So a “responsible person” could be a sole proprietor, partner, officer, corporate director, LLC member, or even an hourly employee!
I've had cases where the IRS was pursuing $12/hr payroll clerks. And I've had cases where the IRS pursued passive stockholders of private corporations - even though they had NO involvement in the management or even access to the company bank account!
Can You Imagine? On Top of Everything Else Having to Hire a Lawyer for Your Employees?
Sure, the IRS has to prove that the “responsible person” being targeted for past-due payroll taxes and trust fund recovery penalties willfully chose not to collect or submit payroll taxes.
But it doesn't really matter.
By the time you're having this discussion, you're already in the thick of it, and you should already have competent legal representation.
IRS Employment Tax Problems Can Be Solved
Fortunately, IRS employment tax problems can be permanently solved.
Negotiating with the IRS to resolve employment tax issues is a complex matter that requires a skillful navigation of the IRS' collection function. Don't trust this to an amateur! Definitely do NOT call one of those nameless, faceless companies you see advertised on TV!
Especially when dealing with these specific types of tax problems that could lead to a criminal investigation, maintaining the attorney-client privilege is absolutely critical. This is your right to speak freely and candidly with your lawyer without anyone else ever being able to learn the details of those conversations.
Maintain your privacy rights and don't let anyone other than an experienced tax lawyer represent you!
How Scott Seideman Serves Small
Businesses and Their Owners
Hello, thank you for stopping by. I'm tax attorney Scott Seideman, and I resolve IRS employment tax problems for small businesses and their owners.
My practice is limited to serving entrepreneurs and their businesses, and the only tax cases I handle are IRS Employment Taxes (IRS Form 941 and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessments).
I started as a tax lawyer nearly 25 years ago, and during that time I've helped so many entrepreneurs and their businesses that I've lost count.
Over the course of the last two and-a-half decades that I've been handling payroll tax problems I've learned every trick in the book.
The IRS assigns its most skilled agents to collect on these cases because they know there's a high propensity to find illegal activity and people trying to avoid their tax obligations.
These IRS agents are some smooth characters. They'll do their best to try to convince you that they're just looking out for you, and that their job is really to help taxpayers not to hurt them.
If even heard IRS agents tell taxpayers that all those horror stories are about the old IRS, and that they haven't done things that way in years. It may sound funny, but it's not when you're on the receiving end, and you're scared, and you don't know the rules.
Well, Step #1 is that as soon as you retain our firm we file an official notice with IRS advising them of my representation. The IRS will then cease all direct contact with you, and will only speak with me. This way, no more smooth talking intimidation tactics.
If you're having a payroll tax problem with the IRS, then give me a call. I don't charge anything for an initial consultation. And regardless of whether I ever represent you, it's 100% confidential, even if we only speak on the phone.
There Are Solutions to These Problems
Unfortunately, the IRS isn't likely to tell you about all of the possibilities for resolving these cases - at least not until after they've finished intimidating you.
We provide immediate and concrete solutions for our clients including but not limited to:
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Acquire a short-term deferment of payroll tax
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Secure a release of tax levy and unfreeze bank accounts to make funds available for the continuation of business
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Negotiate an installment agreement with the IRS so that the payroll tax debt can be paid over a period of years
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Secure a release of tax lien for the purpose of obtaining a loan to pay the tax due (lien subordination)
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Establish not collectible status for a struggling business
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Evaluate the potential tax savings of shutting down the business, changing entity structure or reorganizing and later establishing a new business
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Determine if the statute of limitations for collection of unpaid payroll tax has expired or will soon
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Avoid the assessment of personal liability for payroll taxes (trust fund recovery penalties)
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Submit an offer in compromise to reduce the amount of trust fund recovery penalties at issue
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File a claim for abatement of penalties
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Avoid the filing of criminal charges
Your Ability to Take Advantage of Any of These
Solutions Depends on You Taking Action Now
That's one of the worst things about IRS problems - they only get worse over time, never better. Unless you call someone who can make things happen to finally end this mess once and for all.
The pain is real. The solutions are real. And now you know someone you can call.