Federal Tax Lien Withdrawal on Dissolved Entity

[andy22man]

Hello,

I have been approached with a request to remove a federal tax lien on a dissolved corporation using IRS Form 12277. The lien, which was filed in June, 2011, stems from a penalty generated from late filing of payroll tax returns (all taxes have been paid). Looking for any thoughts on whether this is the best approach, or if we should try to have the case reopened and attempt to have the penalty abated or settled instead? Some other colleagues have suggested using a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request instead of calling the IRS, to get the details on the steps leading up to the lien. I would personally rather call the IRS myself to find out what lead to the lien filing? Thank you in advance for your help.

Andy22Man

 

[tranquility]

Having the government forgive the money they think the deserve is hard. Get a professional.

 

[swalsh411]

You may be able to abate penalties if you have a good filing history and can make the case the delay was not willful and there was no intention to not pay taxes owed. You will not be able to abate interest.

When you say returns (plural) it leads me to believe this happened over a period of time. Why wasn't a responsible person making sure deposits were made timely? A one-time late payment due to an administrative goof is one thing, repeated late deposits over a period of time demonstrate either willful late payment or incompetence.

I don't see what good a FOIA request would do.

 

[LdiJ]

You may be able to abate penalties if you have a good filing history and can make the case the delay was not willful and there was no intention to not pay taxes owed. You will not be able to abate interest.

When you say returns (plural) it leads me to believe this happened over a period of time. Why wasn't a responsible person making sure deposits were made timely? A one-time late payment due to an administrative goof is one thing, repeated late deposits over a period of time demonstrate either willful late payment or incompetence.

I don't see what good a FOIA request would do.

I got the impression that the taxes were deposited in a timely fashion, its just the quarterly returns themselves that were not submitted in a timely fashion. In the last few years the IRS has become more and more unwilling to abate penalties for late filing of payroll and information returns.

 

[swalsh411]

OP needs to clarify whether it was just the returns that were filed late (with deposits made on time) or it was both the returns and deposits which were late.

 

[davew128]

I agree with Tranq and LdiJ. Its clear to me that the outstanding balance is a penalty amount, properly imposed, and there is a better chance of finding a snowball in Panama than getting a lien removed while there is still an actual amount due.