Strategies for Doctors with Tax Debt Part 1

Strategies for Doctors with Tax Debt Part 1

Similar to all other professions, doctors in Jacksonville, Florida are required to report income, track day-to-day expenses, and remit taxes according to Federal tax law. For doctors who also have medical practices, they are also required to file and pay 940 and 941 payroll taxes quarterly. Similar to all other businesses and professions, when a doctor doesn’t pay his or her taxes, he or she can face an aggressive pursuit from the IRS or relevant state tax agency. When the passed due tax debt is from the failure to pay 940 and 941 taxes payroll tax, criminal charges can be filed, and the doctor can lose his or her license to practice. Because payroll tax is held in trust from employees’ paychecks, it’s a very serious offense to the Internal Revenue Service. Doctors that have Payroll Tax Debt, should never do the Trust Fund Recovery Interview with a Revenue Officer. The Revenue Officer may threaten you, but he or she cannot compel you to complete the interview without legal representation. IRS Form 4180 is the interview and it can lead to perjury and/or Federal criminal charges for tax evasion. This potentially incriminating form interview should not be completed without counsel present or legal counsel to guide you on how to answer or not to answer.

If you are a doctor with tax debt and in the Jacksonville, FL metropolitan area, whether your tax debt is personal or business tax related, our team of tax attorneys in Jacksonville, FL is experienced at working in all 50 states with medical professionals. We can develop creative tax debt solutions for your unique situation, and we can defend you against Federal and State tax agencies. Over the last four years, we have fought for 156 doctors and our firm has a 91% success rate in gaining successful outcomes.

In the following article, we have included case studies from the past year to help demonstrate our experience along with the strategies we utilize to secure successful outcomes for every doctor.

Tax Debt Case Study # 1 – Dr. E

J David Tax Law was contacted by Dr. E who had $509,000 in federal payroll tax debt. An IRS Revenue Officer (RO) had been assigned and appeared at the practice on several occasions demanding payment. The staff at Dr. E’s office had become concerned that the threat by the Revenue Office to shut the practice down was eminent. To pay down the tax debt, Dr. E began attempting to sell assets such as real estate to raise cash. She wanted immediate help in negotiating the best option possible so the IRS would not shut her practice down. The IRS had imposed a lien on some of her properties and the IRS would not release the lien which would allow the debt to be paid. The next steps by the IRS agents were to refer Dr. E to the United States Department of Justice so all of the assets she owned could be seized and auctioned after seizure for the unpaid Federal Payroll Taxes. Part 9, Chapter 7, Section 9 of the Internal Revenue Service Manual permits this action by the IRS and Justice Department.

J. David Tax Law’s Tax Debt Solution:

To settle this doctor’s tax debt and allow her employees to remain employed, our tax experts handled negotiations with the IRS Revenue Officer. A tax debt investigation was performed by our legal staff to ensure it was indeed valid, assessed for maximum penalty abatement, and most importantly a Federal lien subordination agreement which allowed Dr. E to liquidate her real estate to pay down the tax debt. The outcome included a reasonable installment agreement $3,760 less per month than the IRS’ original demand after the tax debt was paid down to $211,700 by Dr. E. Our plan allowed Dr. E’s practice to remain viable. She was able to pay the remaining tax debt over the course of several years. Dr. E was very happy with the outcome. It put her in compliance with the IRS and ensured her medical practice could do business while continuing to grow.

Tax Debt Case Study # 2 – Dr. T

J. David Tax Law was contacted by Dr. T who had $207,000 in federal personal income tax debt. The IRS assigned a Revenue Officer, and Dr. T had 30 days to make full payment. Dr. T’s accountant of 23 years had died, and Dr. T had not filed federal tax returns in three years. Dr. T needed help within a few days’ time. He’d waited three weeks and took no action since he received the demand. To protect his family’s home and to attempt removal of the IRS imposed bank levy, Dr. T needed a tax law firm. The day before he contacted our firm, the levy took $18,901 from his personal bank account. The amount taken in the bank levy would be applied by the IRS to his outstanding tax debt. Further, if the deadline for full payment was not met within a few days from his call to us, the IRS was moving forward with a wage levy that would seize 65% of Dr. T’s medical practice wages.

J. David Tax Law’s Tax Debt Solution:

To ease Dr. T’s financial concerns, settle his tax debt, and prevent the impending wage levy, his tax attorney instantly negotiated a collection hold with the assigned Revenue Officer. After a financial analysis of Dr. T’s assets was performed, the tax liability assessment was verified, and the tax debt was validated, Dr. T’s attorney and staff prepared and filed all delinquent federal income tax returns, which brought Dr. T into IRS tax filing compliance. When the federal returns were filed it brought down the tax debt tremendously as the IRS had created a substitute for his returns with no expense allowances and for failing to file the taxes, they assessed a 25% Failure to File Penalty. Dr. T’s attorney then negotiated a $639 per month IRS installment agreement and was able to get $11,901 returned from the original bank levy.

Click here to read Strategies For Doctors With Tax Debt Part 2.

We Can Help Doctors in Jacksonville with Tax Debt

Doctors who have State or Federal tax debt will face actions, including large penalties and even criminal charges by the IRS and state tax agencies. Their collection attempts include an aggressive pursuit when tax debt issues are not resolved quickly. If you have been contacted by a State agency or the IRS regarding your delinquent tax debt, our Jacksonville, FL tax attorneys can help. To ensure we can have a positive impact on your case, the initial consultation can be completed by phone. Following the consultation, you can meet with your attorney in our Jacksonville, FL office near J. Turner Butler Boulevard and I-95.

Click here to request a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with J David Tax Law in Jacksonville, FL.