Navigating the IRS
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Anonymous
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Does anyone work for the IRS or BTDT when it comes to clearing a lien for old unpaid taxes for an elderly relative?
Trying to sell the house and settle any unpaid debts, but I'm getting conflicting information from the IRS. One person at the IRS confirmed the total amount for the original lien and also quoted the higher amount for penalties and interest --- but said not to worry about the higher amount because they can only collect on the lien. Then she said she couldn't help with the lien release/payment letter and connected me with the lien department who are now telling me they will absolutely collect the higher amount...but then indicated they are new and not really sure how it works. Struggling to figure out what to do to avoid slowing down closing on the sale of the home (noting the proceeds are needed for nursing care). Can't close on the sale of the house without documentation. |
Anonymous
| IME, they will collect on the original lien plus penalties and interest. If you can work with an agent in person, they may or may not help you get some of that waived. |
Anonymous
| How much higher is the higher amount? If it is not so significant to you...just pay it and be finished. Otherwise, call again and see what person #3 says. |
Anonymous
| Try contacting the Taxpayer Ombudsman's office. They can probably help in this type of situation. |
Anonymous
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1. The IRS literally doesn't answer the phone. It's possible to call and wait on hold for 2 hours (exactly) and then they drop the call ("Sorry, your call cannot be answered at this time. Please try again later.").
2. I was able to get someone on the phone, and they told me they will only need to collect the actual underlying lien amount. Hooray! But they couldn't provide the payoff letter for the settlement attorney, so they directly transferred me to the Lien Dept. Super nice, but admitted they are new, and they weren't sure how it works. They were seeing a higher amount that included the penalties and interest, so they transferred me to another dept. That dept gave me a new dollar amount, so now I'm wondering what is the correct amount and how to get the payoff letter. 3. The difference is more than $10k (depending on what number you use---they are providing different numbers). 4. The Ombudsman's office doesn't answer their phone either. You wait on hold and then they drop the call without ever answering ("Sorry, your call cannot be answered at this time. Please try again later."). Their answering service says they take requests in the order received and not to expect a return call for 30+ days. If there was a way to handle this in person, I would. I've wasted multiple days of work on the phone trying to handle this for two weeks without any luck. The local # clearly stated they could not help. Seriously, does anyone work at the IRS or has anyone navigated this sort of thing before? I don't want to leave $10k+ to the IRS just to make this go faster. I'm not even convinced my elderly relative owes anything based on the conflicting info I've received to literally every person I've spoken with at the IRS (one actually said they were owed a refund/credit of nearly $10k). It's bananas. |
Anonymous
| My MIL went through her congressperson to get to the Taxpayer Advocate Service (I think that's what's it's called, not sure if that's the same as the ombudsman). Her issue was handled very quickly after that. |
Anonymous
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No 10K is too much to just let go.
I had great luck calling them this year. I called and they said there was a 13 minute wait. I could stay on the line or get a call back. In almost exactly 13 minutes I got the call back from a friendly woman who answered my question. I would really try again. I read the percentage of calls that were answered this tax season was almost 90% |
Anonymous
I just saw you have been calling for 2 weeks... so my advice make no sense. |
Anonymous
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I've already reached out to the office of the congressperson. No luck yet. Still hopeful.
They did say this happens...a lot. |
Anonymous
| It seems really odd that they would assign interest and penalties but then say they were unable to collect them doesn't it? |
Anonymous
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Have you googled anything?
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/understanding-a-federal-tax-lien |
Anonymous
Yes, of course I’ve googled. The issue is the irs cannot provide a straight answer. After speaking with dozens of people in various departments, I’ve been given a wide range of balances AND I’ve had multiple reps tell me there’s a credit due to a refund that was held. I understand what a lien is. What I don’t understand is why the irs can’t provide a straight answer…and how they get away with not answering the phone or simply dropping calls after you wait for hours. Anyway, the congressperson’s office confirmed my suspicions: the irs doesn’t have their act together. |
Anonymous
| Why not hire someone to handle this for you. |
Anonymous
The IRS doesn’t have their act together due to (drum roll) a decade+ of underfunding by Congress since the Tea Party Revolution back in the 2010s. This is partially a monster of your Rep’s making if they are a Republican. |
Anonymous
How does underfunding keep the various departments within the IRS from communicating with each other? Do they need to hire interns to relay messages between the massive organizational stovepipes? |