What To Do If You Receive a Levy Notice From the IRS

Have you received a notice of levy from the IRS? The IRS is not one to mess around with when it comes time for repayment. They are the least forgiving creditor when it comes to collecting what they think is owed to them. The IRS will seize assets including bank accounts and property such as wages or real estate.

Contact a Tax Relief Firm

The IRS is known for tricking people into giving incriminating answers. You should not represent yourself as you may end up in more trouble. Find someone who knows how to help! Finding a reputable tax resolution specialist is your best option since the average tax preparer does not know how to deal with these situations. The IRS is not your friend. They are the most brutal collection agency on the planet, existing solely to assess and collect taxes. The IRS will do whatever it takes when they think you have their money. They will also file a notice of federal tax lien. Have a real estate transaction pending? Any proceeds from the sale of that property over the mortgage amount will be intercepted by the IRS to go towards your outstanding tax debt. A tax resolution professional will ensure to protect your assets and income from the long arm of the IRS.

Next Steps

The next step you will want to do is gather all of your financial documents and call our firm. We will help put together your case to the IRS and represent you to let them know that a levy will cause hardship for you and your family. We will need documented evidence that the levy will cause financial hardship for you, and if you can prove this, the IRS will release the levy. However, this is just putting a temporary band-aid on the situation, you will still owe the balance to the IRS. Once we get the IRS levy released, it just means the IRS will not garnish your income and will work with you to figure out a game plan to resolve the debt.

Make Payment Arrangements

We can negotiate a payment plan for your back taxes with the IRS. Once you are entered into an installment plan, the IRS will release the levy notice.

Get an Offer In Compromise

More often than not, you can get your debt “settled” for less than what you actually owe. Oftentimes, for a lot less. This is what we call an offer in compromise. An offer in compromise allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe. It may be a legitimate option if you can’t pay your full tax liability via payments. Or if paying the full liability creates a financial hardship. The IRS will look into your ability to pay, your income, your expenses, and your assets to determine if you qualify for an offer in compromise.

The IRS generally approves an offer in compromise when the amount showcases the most they can expect to collect within a reasonable period of time. If you do move forward with an offer in compromise, make sure you hire a tax resolution specialist. The specialist will help you prepare, submit and negotiate an offer. Be sure to check their qualifications before working with them. In these situations, you want the best of the best to represent you before speaking to the IRS.

The IRS is no place for the faint-hearted. It’s hard enough filing your taxes on time every year! If you ever find yourself in need of tax resolution services that can help permanently resolve IRS problems – reach out to our firm! We will look into your situation and give you the best options for your specific case. Contact one of our tax resolution specialists at McCauley Law Offices, P.C. today.

DE Man Saved $100k in tax debt with McCauley Law on his Side!

McCauley Law was able to get this man out of a big Tax Jam with the state of Delaware. How was it that our client saved some much? Our client came to us owing over $140,000 to the state of Delaware! We negotiated zealously with the state and were able to secure a settlement. After retaining McCauley Law, the client only had to pay $37,874.00. Thats a savings of over $100,000!

McCauley Law Offices can help you out of your Tax Jam too. Contact us for a FREE consultation, and let us get the tax liabilities off your back. We work to resolve both state and federal tax controversies every day, it’s all we do!

Donna Laansma obtained a corporate credit card as a controller for Astea in 2014 that she kept hidden from management and used until 2020. She paid down the credit card with company funds and hid the payments by allocating them to legitimate business expenses in company books. Laansma was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling 1.8 million dollars from her employer and failing to report the money on her tax returns.

Laansma used the credit card to pay for personal expenses that included her son’s college tuition, vacations, gift cards, shoes, groceries, and furniture. The secret credit card was discovered in 2020 after Astea was acquired by another global software company. Laansma failed to report any of the 1.8 million dollars she stole on her tax returns.

McCauley Law Offices, P.C.

McCauley Law is in the tax controversy resolution business, and it is our ONLY business. Our team is dedicated to getting our clients out of their Tax Jams and securing the best possible resolution scenario with the IRS.

In 2015 and 2016 Jason Cory was the manager of an information-based company in New York. From 2017 to 2019 he was the CEO of another company in Florida. While working at each of these companies, Cory submitted invoices for consulting services that were never performed, from a company named Gambit Matrix, that he controlled. His employers paid more than 1.5 million dollars to Gambit Matrix. Jason Cory pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns for failing to declare income he received from a scam he perpetrated on his employer.

Cory did not report the income from Gambit Matrix on his tax return for 2015. The CEO also failed to file tax returns from 2016 through 2018. To conceal the fraud from his employers, he created fictitious owners for Gambit Matrix, made false statements, falsified emails and IRS forms, such as a W9 form. Cory used the money for personal expenses that included rent, gym memberships, and credit card bills. He faces up to five years in prison and more than $600,000 in restitution to the IRS.

McCauley Law Offices, P.C.

McCauley Law Offices can help you out of your Tax Jam and get the IRS off of your back. We offer completely FREE consultations, so give us a call today and let us help you. Our experienced attorneys and team specialize in settling tax disputes, it’s what we do, it’s ALL we do.

If you are a gambler, this success story is for you!

Gambler Saves $60k in IRS Tax, Penalties & Interest

When this client retained our firm, he owed the IRS $61, 316.21. When we were finished, he owed the IRS only $820.65 thanks to our negotiations and the subsequent waiving of tax, penalties and interest.

Our client received a letter indicating an audit being performed on his 2016 tax return. His lack of gambling income declared raised some red flags!  The client attempted to work directly with the IRS for quite some time. The IRS in turn, made an additional tax assessment of over $34k with another more $26k in penalties and interest!

The client gambled at casinos and was receiving IRS Forms W-2G but was not reporting gambling winnings on his tax returns because he had lost money overall. This is a common misconception amongst gambling clients that ultimately retain us. All gambling winnings must be claimed, regardless of whether money is lost or not. All loses can then be written off on IRS Form Schedule A so long as all deductions are itemized.

After this client retained our firm, we were able to negotiate with the IRS, reducing the $61,316.21 that he owed down to $820.65.  If you received an audit letter from the IRS because of unreported gambling income, contact us for a free consultation!

Yale Employee Headed to the Big House for Stealing $40 Million Worth of Electronics!

A former Yale Medical School employee was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing 40 million dollars in electronics. Jamie Petrone was the Director of Finance and Administration for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the school and was authorized to make purchases for the department with a limit of $10,000 per purchase order.

In 2013, Petrone began falsifying internal forms so she could buy electronic hardware from Yale vendors using Yale funds. She would break up the purchases into orders below her $10,000 limit to avoid detection. The equipment was shipped to an out of state business that would sell it and wire Petrone’s share to a business bank account controlled by her.

Petrone then used the funds for expensive cars, real estate and travel. In total, she caused Yale a loss of $40,504,200. She also failed to pay taxes on the money she received from the stolen equipment. Petrone then filed false tax returns for the years 2013 to 2016, where she claimed the stolen equipment as business expenses, and didn’t file any returns for 2017 through 2020. She caused the IRS a tax loss of $6,416,618, which she has been ordered to pay.

McCauley Law Offices is here to help with your tax controversy resolution. We offer FREE consultations with no risks and no obligations. Contact us today to get started! When the IRS knocks, let us answer. Tax controversy resolution is what we do, and it is ALL we do.

Tax Jam: Engineer Caught by IRS Engineering a Sham Trust

Don’t be shocked by the power the IRS has. McCauley Law Offices can help you out of your Tax Jam. Just contact us for a totally FREE consultation today!

John Everson, owner of an electrical engineering business, was found guilty of tax evasion after he used a sham trust to conceal three years of business income. From 2012 to 2015, Everson earned more than 1.3 million dollars from the business and asked his clients to make the payments to the trust. He used the money in the trust to pay personal expenses and regularly withdrew large sums in cash. Some of the cash was then funneled to non-profit accounts that he and several family members controlled. To further conceal his income and assets, he also put his home and personal airplane in the name of a non-profit organization.

Everson cost the IRS more than $500,000 in tax loss. Additionally, he faces up to five years in prison on each of three counts.

When the IRS knocks, let us answer. You’ll sleep better with us on your side, we promise.

A great win for another McCauley Law Client with this OIC!

 This client came to us owing $62,327 to the IRS. Our team was able to negotiate and Offer in Compromise whereby the client would owe just $4131. That is a 93% “discount” leaving the client to pay just 7% of the original amount owed.

Tax Jam: Tax Preparer Preps for Prison

McCauley Law Offices can help you out of your Tax Jam. Give us a call for a FREE consultation to get started! When the IRS knocks, let us answer. We can help you and you will breathe easier with our team on your side. Today’s story is about a Tax Preparer who is now preparing himself for a stint in the big house. If you feel like the cell door is closing on you, reach out to us today and let our seasoned team help you.

Orland Reed was an employee of a tax preparation business in Mississippi. Reed was sentenced to 27 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for his clients.

Reed prepared returns that included false education credits, dependent information, federal tax withholdings and retirement contributions so he could get larger refunds for his clients. On several occasions he signed the returns with a different preparer’s name. Twice Reed misappropriated portions of his clients’ refunds that were sent by the IRS to the tax preparation business in the form of prepaid debit cards.

In addition to the prison sentence, Reed was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $69,185.

Tax Jam: Landscaper Digs Himself a Hole & Ends Up in the “Yard”

McCauley Law Offices can help you out of your Tax Jam, just give us a call for a FREE consultation to get started! When the IRS knocks, let us answer. Don’t let the let your issue with the IRS pile up on you like leaves in the fall. We can help you and you will breathe easier with our team on your side. Our cautionary tale today is about a landscaper who dug himself a whole and ended up in the yard, the prison yard that is.

Owner and operator Scott Herzog of Herzog Landscape Solutions was found guilty of filing a false tax return. Herzog failed to report more than 1.5 million dollars in income from his landscaping business.

Herzog had a gross income of 4.1 million dollars between 2016 and 2018. He had a bookkeeper and an accountant and provided them both with only a partial record of customer payments. He regularly asked customers to pay him with checks or money orders made out to him instead of the business. Herzog would then either cashed the checks or deposited them into accounts not affiliated with the business.

In 2016 Herzog received 1.1 million dollars in payments from customers but only deposited $749,041 into the business bank account. He cashed $107,460 and deposited $133,971 into personal bank accounts.

He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and $499,958 in restitution to the IRS.