IRS back taxes

[ledeaux]

Owe IRS roughly 14K back taxes for years 03 & 04 - because of this, during the years 05-09 IRS retained my refunds which totaled overall roughly 15K. IRS representative won't give me credit for those funds and has instead, because I'm unemployed, has put me on the non-collectible list (penalties and interest continue to accrue) until I am reemployed and can begin a payment plan. What are my options in the face of this obviously unfair situation?

 

[davew128]

Owe IRS roughly 14K back taxes for years 03 & 04 - because of this, during the years 05-09 IRS retained my refunds which totaled overall roughly 15K. IRS representative won't give me credit for those funds and has instead, because I'm unemployed, has put me on the non-collectible list (penalties and interest continue to accrue) until I am reemployed and can begin a payment plan. What are my options in the face of this obviously unfair situation?

WHY isn't he giving you credit for it? I have NEVER seen a situation where a diverted refund wasn't immediately credited to an outstanding liability.

 

[Proserpina]

OP, have you opened a case with the Tax Advocate Service?

http://www.irs.gov/advocate/article/0,,id=97402,00.html

 

[davew128]

Is your contact from the office of Parizek? He's in Utah.

Well you can argue you don't owe the the $$. (or did you?)

Then, if they make a finding not in your favor you have 2 options:

1) tax court (with IRS as fed. rep.) - payment not needed until after court rules (no jury trial available)

2) district court (after asking IRS for a refund & they deny/ignore you after 180 days) (must pay first then ask for refund)(with US attny as consul) (and you can ask for a jury trial)


I always do the second...just to get the IRS partially out of the litigation

And exactly why are you advising this costly waste of time? This is a simple administrative matter, and oh by the way, any refunds from 05-06 are statutorily barred from being paid to the OP either by check or credit against other debt.

 

[LdiJ]

I think that maybe the OP is misunderstanding the IRS, and maybe we have misunderstood the OP a little.

My guess is that the OP was on a payment plan. On top of the payment plan the IRS has seized (in the normal yearly course of things) the OP's refunds for 05 thru 09 and has properly credited them towards the debt.

The OP cannot currently honor the payment plan, and thought that he/she should get credit for the seized refunds, TOWARDS the payment plan, not just towards the overall debt.

Unfortunately for the OP, it does not work that way. The payment plan is the minimum the IRS is willing to collect, but they will continue to seize all refunds until the debt is paid off completely.

Even if the OP filed all the returns at once, at least the refunds for 07, 08 and 09 (and possibly 06 depending on when it was done) would have been applied to the debt.