What is The IRS Fresh Start Program?

Fresh Start Program: An IRS Program Aimed at Helping to Resolve More than $3 Billion in Back Taxes

What Is The IRS Fresh Start Program?

The Fresh Start Program is designed to help individuals that have fallen behind on their tax obligations establish themselves on a repayment schedule, or completely resolve the tax debt, halting the collection procedures that the IRS has at their disposal. Tax debt is a challenge for many families and small business owners in America just trying to make ends meet between paychecks. Getting relief from tax debt is a priority if you, your family, or your business want to get back on the right track and relieve the stress that comes from collection notices and threatening letters.

Key Benefits of the IRS’ Fresh Start Program:

• The IRS revised their policies, making it less likely that you’ll experience the frustration of an IRS tax lien if you owe less than $10,000.
• Federal Tax Liens can now be removed once a taxpayer establishes themselves on a repayment plan. Previously, these could only be removed once the debt was paid in full. There are only a narrow set of situations where the IRS will remove a tax lien before the debt is fully repaid, so consulting a tax debt professional would be a wise first step.
• If you receive a notice of an impending tax lien from the IRS, you could possibly prevent that lien from being put in place if you quickly get on a qualified repayment plan with the IRS.
• The Fresh Start Program expanded the terms of their installment payment plans to include terms up to six years.
• The restrictions limiting the IRS’ ability to accept an Offer in Compromise have been overhauled to allow additional taxpayers to qualify. The Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualification tool is an excellent resource. You may qualify, even if you didn’t qualify before. Again, consult a tax debt professional to assess all of the options available to you as a result of the Fresh Start Program.

Who qualifies for the Fresh Start Program?

You may qualify for the IRS’ Fresh Start Program if the following conditions apply to you:

1. You owe less than $50,000 in total outstanding tax debt to the IRS. 
2. You are a businesses that owes less than $25,000 in back taxes to the IRS.
3. You can provide evidence of your inability to pay the total tax burden in a timely manner, either through installments or a lump sum payment.
4. You earn less than $100,000 in annual income.

Above are the primary qualifications, but every situation is unique. Taking advantage of every option available to resolve your tax burden is very important.

Any taxpayer applying for the IRS Fresh Start must do the following in order to qualify:

1. Provide evidence that current assets are insufficient to satisfy the tax debt.
2. Ensure all tax returns have been filed (payment is not required in order to file).
3. Small business owners and self-employed individuals must pay all estimated tax payments for the current fiscal year.
4. Ensure all tax deposits required by the IRS for your business have been paid on behalf of your employees.
5. Resolve or discontinue any bankruptcy proceedings.

Quickly contacting a qualified tax resolution expert to assist with your case should be your top priority. They will have the experience and knowledge of the system to make sure you are able to take advantage of the best resolution according to your financial situation. Consulting a tax professional does not put you at additional risk for IRS tax collection procedures. The most dangerous thing a taxpayer can do with an IRS tax debt is ignore the problem.

5 Reasons Consulting a Tax Professional is Better than Working Directly with the IRS

1. The IRS offers taxpayers a variety of options for resolving their tax debt. From debt forgiveness, offers in compromise to a traditional IRS payment plan, a tax professional will help you find the right combination to minimize your total tax burden.
2. The IRS has hard and fast deadlines that must be met. Errors in filings or changes to program rules can impact your eligibility. A tax professional will help keep your appeal, application for a payment plan and repayment on track until your tax debt is nothing more than an unpleasant memory.
3. A tax debt professional can help you find an approach that minimizes the impact of the IRS’ collection activities on your daily life. Proper communication and prompt filing is key. First-time taxpayers dealing with the IRS have a hard time quickly comprehending their options and communicating in terms the IRS understands.
4. Letting a tax professional lend a helping hand reduces the personal strain and stress on your family. Let your representative handle the IRS’ verification requests and filing requirements. Conversations with the IRS are rarely pleasant, especially for worried taxpayers. Your pro has been there before and knows how to effectively handle your case.
5. In the end, it can actually be more expensive to deal with the IRS on your own. Tax debt professionals help taxpayers take care of tax debts quickly, while minimizing the total amount owed whenever possible.

How can CuraDebt Help?

Resolving tax debt, while it may seem like a simple process of paying back what is owed in a timely manner, can be complex. There are many cases where a taxpayer’s tax debt from the IRS isn’t justified. It’s possible that the IRS has only a limited picture of your financial history. Letting a qualified tax professional review your information, and compare it with the information provided by the IRS is a great first step towards verifying the legitimacy of every penny the IRS claims is owed.

Spending the Time Necessary to Investigate Your Unique Situation

Even filing the proper paperwork in a timely manner, innocent errors can delay or disqualify you from the IRS’ best programs. These innocent mistakes can cost a taxpayer thousands of dollars in a potentially unjustified tax burden.

Don’t let the IRS’ size and collection means scare you. Resolve your tax debt in an honest, transparent manner with the help of CuraDebt’s expertise.

Three-Phase Approach to Tax Debt Relief

CuraDebt employs a team of tax experts, CPA’s, Tax Attorneys and former IRS agents to thoroughly analyze each tax debt case. With more than 60 years of experience, there are few things the team hasn’t already tackled for previous satisfied clients.

Our three-phase approach to tax debt relief starts with an in-depth investigation of your tax liability. If the IRS is in the midst of filing for or collecting on your tax debt, we may request a Stay of Enforcement on your behalf. This gives us extra breathing room to complete an audit and verify the legitimacy of the tax debt. Wage garnishments and tax liens hurt your good name. It’s our goal to avoid these aggressive collection actions entirely.

The second phase involves ensuring the taxpayer is compliant with the IRS. Compliance means that all required paperwork has been filed with the IRS (i.e. tax returns, disclosures, etc.). It’s entirely possible that a filing of a past tax return can dramatically decrease the tax debt the IRS has estimated you to owe. Once filed, you and the IRS can work off the same set of facts, instead of estimates.

Finally, the third-step involves tax debt resolution. Once you’re fully compliant with the IRS, it’s time to identify the best IRS program for resolving the legitimate tax debt you legally owe. 

By taking the time to completely understand the situation, ensure compliance and develop a gameplan for resolving the debt, it’s possible to take off your stress from burdensome tax debt. Our three-phase process is proven to quickly and completely resolve even the most complex tax debt crisis.   

Free Tax Consultation – 1-877-999-0486

If you are currently facing IRS tax debt, avail of a strictly confidential, no obligation free tax debt consultation from CuraDebt. Our experienced tax debt counselors will assess your unique situation and help create a path towards total resolution with the IRS.