Once in a while, taxpayers may have certain issues related to their taxes and may have to deal with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to settle such issues favorably. According to most analysts, IRS is a reasonable organization, which seeks taxpayers’ corporation when it comes to tax issues. Therefore, having the right negotiation skills or the right representation may win the taxpayers significant reductions in their dues most often than not. Thus, this article hopes to discuss some of these skills that are fundamental when it comes to dealing with the IRS.
Try to find reasonable representation
According to some analysts, having a tax attorney or a tax service representing the case would be a sure way of negotiating favorably with the IRS. The reason being that knowing the trade would make a person deal with tax related issues far better than those who do not and it allows the taxpayers to avoid their emotions from intervening with their decision-making capacity during the negotiation. However, it is also important to know the costs involved and the chances of the tax negotiations becoming successful before forging ahead with the services offered by such agents.
Always be honest with the IRS
Honesty counts a great deal when dealing with organizations such as the IRS as distrust, on the part of the IRS, may reduce the chances of becoming successful in the negotiations. At the same time, being dishonest would mean becoming the focus of attention of the tax agents and if proved, such dishonest disclosures may lead to lengthy jail terms and hefty fines as well.
Collect enough information pertaining to the tax issue
Before going before the tax agents of the IRS or finding representation to pursue a tax issue, it is necessary for the taxpayer to gather all relevant information pertaining to a particular tax issue as well as all the information that may help in successfully negotiating with the IRS. This information might include documented evidence to show the taxpayer is incapable of paying any debt due to a ‘reasonable cause’, documents to prove that the taxpayer is the ‘innocent spouse’ of such instances, or even documents to indicate the ‘financial reversal’ the taxpayer is presently having which culminated to default the tax payments.
Never agree to terms that cannot be fulfilled
When the negotiations are ongoing, the IRS would always come up with settlement plans, which they think that are reasonable. However, if such payment plans are not realistic in the long run, it’s better to inform the IRS about the difficulty from the beginning rather than accepting the offer and defaulting the payments once again.
Avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations by talking little
In some instances, people tend to divulge more information than what they should have. These may include the disclosure of personal details, which are sensitive in nature. Such disclosures may not help much with the negotiations but would make the IRS more suspicious and wanting to investigate further into the matter. Thus, it is always best to talk little and to the point when answering questions from the IRS while at any time during the negotiation, if one feels intimidated or uncomfortable, the negotiation can be halted and resumed later.
Have face-to-face interviews rather than phone calls
It is always good practice to schedule a face time for discussing the tax issues with the agents rather than answering the questions through the phone. This is especially so when dealing with major tax issues or instances where the outcome could be highly favorable towards the taxpayer.
Although these are some of the important methods of dealing or negotiating with the IRS, one would find that there are many other ways of striking a successful deal depending on the type of issue and the circumstances of the negotiation.