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The Irs Sent Me A Letter - Am I Going To Jail?
By admin | January 26, 2008
No, you most likely are not going to jail - but you absolutely do need to open and read the letter, because the Internal Revenue Service will not just go away.
There is an understandable tendency on the part of many people to not want to open and read correspondence from the IRS, particularly when they think the letter contains bad news. But the letter may not contain bad news and if you do not respond you might only make the matter worse - perhaps much worse.
Most importantly, many Internal Revenue Service letters trigger the running of statutory time periods. This means that you must take some action within the time frame specified in the letter. If you do not act within the time period set forth in the letter, you may lose very important rights. Thus, it is imperative that you read any correspondence from the IRS as soon as possible. This cannot be stressed enough. For details on procedures and additional rules and resources log on to
http://www.gottrouble.com
How should I correspond with the IRS?
When you correspond with the IRS, it is generally a good idea to use certified mail. If the correspondence is in any way “time sensitive”, it is definitely a good idea to have a post office date stamp. Thus, for example, if a notice says that you have say 30 days to appeal an assessment or to protest a pending levy, you want to be able to establish that you filed your appeal or protest within the 30-day period. The burden is on you the taxpayer to establish that you mailed the correspondence on a timely basis. In addition to the post office, the IRS recognizes some private carriers, including Airborne Express, Worldwide Express FedEx Priority and Overnight, and the United Parcel.
What should I include?
Along with your letter to the Internal Revenue Service, it is generally a good idea to attach copies of any related correspondence you received from the IRS.
If you are sending documents or other information to the IRS, do not send originals - send copies only.
Finally, make a specific request as to some action you want to take and provide a telephone number where you can be reached.
How does “collection” operate?
Your case goes to the Internal Revenue Services “Collection” department whenever the IRS determines that you owe back taxes. This will happen if you file a tax return and don’t pay the tax owed, or if the Internal Revenue Service wins at an audit of the tax return you filed. They have many tools to collect the tax.
Once your case is in Collection, you will receive notices asking for payment of the tax. If that does not bring about payment, then the IRS automated system will begin seizing assets they know exist (such as your bank accounts).
If the amount you owe is high enough, an IRS Revenue Officer will be assigned to your case. The officer will call you and will either ask you to come in to an IRS office or come out to see you personally.
Henry Dahut is an attorney and marketing strategist. He is the author of the best selling practice development book
For this and more tax and collection information visit http://www.gottrouble.com and learn how to protect your financial future.
Henry Dahut Esq. (September 2007)
Tags: IRS Tax
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