Category Archives: criminal tax law

As part of the Security Summit effort, the Internal Revenue Service announced in IR-2020-267 today that starting in January the Identity Protection PIN Opt-In Program will be expanded to all taxpayers who can properly verify their identities.

The Summit partners, including state tax agencies, the nation’s tax industry and the IRS, marked the third day of the National Tax Security Awareness Week by urging taxpayers who want the proactive protection against identity theft to opt into the Identity Protection PIN program in 2021.

The IP PIN is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers to help prevent the misuse of their Social Security number on fraudulent federal income tax returns. An IP PIN helps the IRS verify a taxpayer’s identity and accept their electronic or paper tax return. The online Get An IP PIN tool at IRS.gov/IPPIN immediately displays the taxpayer’s IP PIN.

“When you have this special code, it prevents someone else from filing a tax return with your Social Security number,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The fastest way to get an Identity Protection PIN is to use our online tool but remember you must pass a rigorous authentication process. We must know that the person asking for the IP PIN is the legitimate taxpayer.”

The online tool uses Secure Access authentication which uses several different ways to verify a person’s identity. Before using the “Get an IP PIN” tool, the IRS encourages taxpayers to review the requirements at IRS.gov/SecureAccess.

For those who cannot pass Secure Access authentication, there are alternatives. Taxpayers with incomes of $72,000 or less and with access to a telephone should complete Form 15227 and mail or fax it to the IRS. An IRS assistor will call the taxpayer to verify their identity with a series of questions. For additional security reasons, taxpayers who pass authentication will receive an IP PIN the following tax year.

Taxpayers who cannot verify their identities remotely or who are ineligible to file a Form 15227 may make an appointment, visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center and bring two forms of picture identification. Because this is an in-person identity verification, an IP PIN will be mailed to the taxpayer within three weeks.

Taxpayers who obtain an IP PIN should never share their code with anyone but their trusted tax provider. The IRS will never call to request the taxpayer’s IP PIN, and taxpayers must be alert to potential IP PIN scams.

Here’s what taxpayers need to know about the IP PIN before applying:

• The Get an IP PIN tool will be available in mid-January. This is the preferred method of obtaining an IP PIN and the only one that immediately reveals the PIN to the taxpayer.
• Taxpayers who want to voluntarily opt into the IP PIN program do not need to file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit.
• The IP PIN is valid for one year. Each January, the taxpayer must obtain a newly generated IP PIN.
• The IP PIN must be properly entered on electronic and paper tax returns to avoid rejections and delays.
• Taxpayers with either a Social Security number or Individual Tax Identification Number who can verify their identities are eligible for the opt-in program.
• Any primary taxpayer (listed first on the return), secondary taxpayer (listed second on the return) or dependent may obtain an IP PIN if they can pass the identity proofing requirements.
• The IRS plans to offer an opt out feature to the IP PIN program in 2022 if taxpayers find it is not right for them.

There is no change in the IP PIN program for confirmed victims of tax-related identity theft. Those taxpayers should still file a Form 14039 if their e-filed tax return rejects because of a duplicate SSN filing. The IRS will investigate their case and once the fraudulent tax return is removed from their account, confirmed victims automatically will receive an IP PIN via postal mail at the start of the next calendar year.

IP PINs will be mailed annually to confirmed victims only and participants enrolled prior to 2019. Because of security risks, confirmed identity theft victims cannot opt out of the IP PIN program. Confirmed victims also can use the Get an IP PIN tool to retrieve lost IP PINs assigned to them.

The IRS, state tax agencies, the private sector tax industry, including tax professionals, work in partnership as the Security Summit to help protect taxpayers from identity theft and refund fraud. This is the third in a week-long series of tips to raise awareness about identity theft. See IRS.gov/securitysummit for more details.

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On October 29, 2019 we ORIGINALLY posted The IRS is Now Criminally Prosecuting Employers For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes! where we discussed that the IRS is stepping up criminally prosecuting business owners for failing to turn over withheld payroll taxes.

Then on October 12, 2020 we posted The IRS Criminally Prosecutes Yet Another Employer For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes!, on June 4, 2020  we posted Another Employer Gets Criminally Prosecuting For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes!, on June 29, 2020 we posted More Employers Gets Criminally Prosecuting For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes!, on October 28, 2020 we posted IRS CONTINUES to Criminally Prosecutes Employers For Failure To Pay Withheld Payroll Taxes - As Promised! and now according to DoJ, George Gilmore, a partner at an Ocean County, New Jersey, law firm, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for his conviction on two counts of failing to pay over payroll taxes withheld from employees to the IRS and one count of making false statements on a bank loan application submitted to Ocean First Bank N.A. 

On April 17, 2019, Gilmore, 70, of Toms River, New Jersey, was acquitted of two counts of filing false tax returns for calendar years 2013 and 2014; the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on one count of income tax evasion for calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015. The verdicts were returned following a trial that began April 1, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court. 

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial, Gilmore worked as an equity partner and shareholder at Gilmore & Monahan P.A., a law firm in Toms River, where he exercised primary control over the firm’s financial affairs. Because he exercised significant control over the law firm’s financial affairs, Gilmore was responsible for withholding payroll taxes from the gross salary and wages of the law firm’s employees to cover individual income, Social Security and Medicare tax obligations. For the tax quarters ending March 31, 2016, and June 30, 2016, the law firm withheld tax payments from its employees’ checks, but Gilmore failed to pay over in full the payroll taxes due to the IRS. 

Gilmore also submitted a loan application to Ocean First Bank containing false statements. On Nov. 21, 2014, Gilmore reviewed, signed, and submitted to Ocean First Bank a Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) to obtain refinancing of a mortgage loan for $1.5 million with a “cash out” provision that provided Gilmore would obtain cash from the loan. On Jan. 22, 2015, Gilmore submitted another URLA updating the initial application. Gilmore failed to disclose his outstanding 2013 tax liabilities and personal loans that he had obtained from others on the URLAs. Gilmore received $572,000 from the cash out portion of the loan. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Gilmore to three years of supervised release. 

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 For the 2020 filing season, the IRS projects that more taxpayers than ever will file and owe. Many will be able to pay – but a lot of them will need to make other arrangements because they can’t pay their full tax bills to the IRS. 

When taxpayers can’t pay their tax bills, they have a number of options, including payment plans, to pay off their outstanding taxes and accrued penalties and interest. Of the 16 million taxpayers who owe back taxes, 97 percent of them qualify to use a payment plan that’s fairly easy to set up and would likely give them the best payment terms.
The IRS has three simplified payment plans:

• Guaranteed Installment Agreements (GIA): 36-month payment terms for balances of $10,000 or less.
• Streamlined Installment Agreements (SLIA): 72-month payment terms for balances of $50,000 or less.
• Streamlined Processing for Balances Between $50,000-$100,000: 84-month payment terms for balances between $50,000 and $100,000.

Advantages of 36-, 72-, and 84-month agreements
These are the three most common IRS payment plans. They’re all easy to obtain from the IRS, because they:

• Require minimal, if any, financial disclosure to the IRS;
• Don’t require an IRS manager to approve the payment terms;
• Don’t require taxpayers to liquidate assets to pay the IRS; and,
• Can be set up in one phone call or interaction with the IRS.

The GIA (36 months) and SLIA (72 months) can be completed online using the Online Payment Agreement tool at IRS.gov. The GIA and SLIA are also attractive to taxpayers who don’t want a public record of their tax debt, because these agreements don’t require the IRS to file a public notice of federal tax lien. Taxpayers who owe between $25,000 and $50,000 must agree to pay by automated direct debit or payroll deductions to avoid a tax lien.

The “Streamlined Processing” 84-month payment plan works a little differently. The IRS started the 84-month plan as a pilot program in 2016 to make it easier for taxpayers who owe between $50,000 and $100,000 to get into a payment plan with the IRS. Taxpayers can avoid filing their financial information with the IRS if they agree to pay their tax bill by direct debit or payroll deductions. If they don’t agree to these automated payments, the IRS requires taxpayers to provide a Collection Information Statement (IRS Form 433-A or 433-F). Even with streamlined processing, the 84-month plan has one catch: The IRS will file a federal tax lien. 

The pilot program for the 84-month plan is still in effect today. The IRS hasn’t completed its study on whether the 84-month plan is an effective collection option. One thing is clear about the program: It likely provides better payment terms and relieves burden for taxpayers.

The rules
GIAs are for taxpayers who owe the IRS $10,000 or less. As the name suggests, the payment plan is “guaranteed” if the taxpayer meets all conditions of the GIA:

• It’s for individual income taxes only;
• Total balances owed, including penalties and interest, must be $10,000 or less
• The taxpayer must pay within 36 months;
• All required tax returns have been filed; and,
• The taxpayer has not entered into an installment agreement in the previous five years.

SLIAs can be used by individual taxpayers who meet these conditions:

• It’s for income taxes and other assessments, including unpaid trust fund penalty assessments;
• The total assessed balance is $50,000 or less (not including accruals of penalties and interest after the original assessment of tax, penalties, and interest);
• The taxpayer must pay within 72 months; and,
• All required tax returns have been filed.

Taxpayers can set a GIA or SLIA by:

• Using the online payment agreement tool at IRS.gov;
• Filing Form 9465 with the IRS; or,
• Contacting the IRS by phone

Terms may be shorter for old tax debt

Taxpayers should be aware that they may not get the full length of time to pay their outstanding tax balances if their debt is old. For each of these simple payment plan options, the IRS will limit the terms if the collection statute of limitations (generally 10 years from the date that tax is assessed) is shorter than the prescribed payment terms. 

For example, if a taxpayer’s collection statute expires in 24 months, any GIA, SLIA, or 84-month plan will be limited to 24 months. Taxpayers who can’t afford these payments may have to consider a payment plan based on their ability to pay. 

Ability-to-pay installment agreements require taxpayers to file a Collection Information Statement and prove their average monthly income and necessary living expenses. In addition, the IRS often asks taxpayers to liquidate or borrow against their assets to pay their outstanding tax bill in ability-to-pay agreements.

Fees apply
There is a setup fee for all IRS installment agreements. The fees range from $225 for installment agreements set up by phone and paid by check, to $31 for agreements set up online and paid by automatic direct debit. Taxpayers who meet low-income thresholds can get the fee waived.

Tips for all three agreements
The GIA, SLIA, and 84-month payment plans are usually the best way to set up a payment plan with the IRS. They’re usually quick and easy to set up and likely provide taxpayers with better payment terms than most other options.

Taxpayers who can’t pay according to the GIA and SLIA terms face tax liens if they owe more than $10,000. Taxpayers also need to request the GIA or SLIA before the IRS files a tax lien. After the lien is filed, taxpayers must pay their full balance to get the lien released, or pay down the balance to $25,000 to start lien-withdrawal proceedings. 

Here are a few other tips related to these simple agreements:

1. Avoid a tax lien – pay down the balance to get into a SLIA. Here’s the best plan for taxpayers who owe more than $50,000: Get an extension to pay of up to 120 days, get funds to pay the balance down to under $50,000, and obtain a SLIA. Doing so will avoid the filing of a tax lien. 

2. For SLIA, it’s the “assessed” balance – not the total amount owed. The $50,000 SLIA threshold is based on the taxpayer’s assessed balance – not the total amount they owe. The assessed balance includes tax, assessed penalties and interest, and all other assessments for each tax year. It doesn’t include accrued penalties and interest after the original assessment. For example, if a taxpayer’s original assessment is under $50,000 for an older tax year, he may accrue additional penalties and interest that puts the total balance over $50,000. In this situation, they would still qualify for a SLIA based on the original assessed balance. Taxpayers can also designate payments to reduce their “assessed balance only” to help them qualify for a SLIA.

3. Apply and pay automatically to reduce fees. The IRS increases installment agreement setup fees if taxpayers pay by check. Reduce the setup fee by agreeing to automatic direct debit payments. Automatic payments also avoid a monthly reminder letter from the IRS about the payment due.

4. Pay by direct debit or payroll deduction to avoid default. IRS installment agreements have a high default rate. To avoid a default, taxpayers must make their monthly payments. The best way to avoid missing a payment is to have the payment automatically deducted from the taxpayer’s financial accounts.

5. Don’t owe again. The second most common cause of defaulted installment agreements is filing future tax returns with unpaid balances. Taxpayers need to change their withholding and/or make estimated tax payments to avoid owing taxes that they can’t pay in the future.

6. Taxpayers can miss one payment a year. Most IRS payment plans allow taxpayers to miss one payment per year and not default. It’s best for the taxpayer to notify the IRS in advance if they can’t make a payment.

7. If the taxpayer’s financial situation worsens, get an ability-to-pay plan. Taxpayers can always renegotiate their payment plans if their financial circumstances change. For example, if a taxpayer loses their job, they may not be able to pay the IRS. In these cases, the taxpayer can contact the IRS and provide documentation on their ability to pay. This may mean a lower payment or even payment deferral (called currently not collectible status). Be careful here: If the taxpayer owes more than $10,000 and can’t pay within 72 months, the IRS is likely to file a tax lien.

8. Remember to ask for penalty abatement at the end of the plan. One important action to take at the end of a payment plan is to request abatement of the failure to pay penalty. Taxpayers should consider using first-time abatement or reasonable cause abatement if they qualify. 

Each year, more than 3 million taxpayers get into a payment plan with the IRS. With tax reform, we can expect that more taxpayers will need a payment plan in 2019. Taxpayers who owe less than $100,000 should first look at 36-, 72-, or 84-month payment plans with the IRS. Many will also benefit from the help of a qualified tax professional to find the best option. 

Need Help with an Installment Payment Plan?

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini& Associates, P.A.  
 

 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact Us at:

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 

or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243 





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The IRS has provided guidance on taxpayers and their representatives making verbal requests for transcript information, in their update to the Internal Revenue Manual: Verbally Providing Transcript Information.

Tax transcripts are summaries of a taxpayer's tax information. There are different types of tax transcripts such as wage and income transcripts and return transcripts. Wage and income transcripts are used by tax professionals to make sure that their clients’ returns contain all of the information that has been reported to the IRS. Return transcripts are used by lenders to verify a borrower's income.  

Tax professionals with authorization (i.e., a properly completed Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization) can obtain client transcripts by: 

(1) calling IRS to request a taxpayer's tax transcripts be mailed to the taxpayer's address of record; (2) calling IRS to have a taxpayer's masked or unmasked transcripts placed in the practitioner's e-Services secure mailbox; or
(3) using IRS e-Services Transcript Delivery System (TDS) to obtain a taxpayer's masked or unmasked transcripts. 

In addition to the three methods for obtaining tax transcript information described above, taxpayers and authorized representatives can call the IRS and ask for information contained on a tax transcript to be provided verbally.

Before responding to a taxpayer and/or a taxpayer's representative's request for verbal disclosure of tax transcript information, taxpayers and their representatives need to confirm their identity and their entitlement to receive the requested tax transcript information. 

A taxpayer, after confirming their identity, can give Oral Disclosure Consent (ODC) to have tax transcript information released to a third-party only when it relates to the resolution of an open tax matter, such as an IRS-issued notice. 

Have IRS Tax Problems?

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A. 

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