Updated July 27, 2015
Unfiled Unpaid Payroll Taxes Chicago Illinois
So you’ve been in business for a while, and you haven’t filed and/or paid your payroll tax returns. What do you do?
The next step is complicated. Completing the payroll tax returns is nothing more than a matter of accounting and tax work. Figuring out how to pay for them is another thing altogether. If you have the money, than they should be paid as soon as possible. Once submitted, the Government will forward a bill covering the additional interest and penalties involved in the late filing of these tax returns. If the bill is reasonable, it should be handled as soon as possible.
If you cannot pay the payroll taxes on returns that have already been filed and assessed, then there are several options depending on your goals. Payroll tax liabilities are split into two different categories; the Trustee Portion and the Company Portion. Please understand that part of the payroll tax is withheld from the employees checks. That part is called the Trustee Portion. In affect, you are acting as a Trustee on behalf of the government to get them money from the employees checks.
The other portion of payroll taxes is the Company Portion. This is the part of social security and medicare tax which is doubled before the payment is sent into the IRS. This is strictly a company obligation. The government’s abilities to collect this portion are lesser in comparison to the other. The side of the problem should always be handled last.
But the Trustee portion is completely different. The money never belonged to you or the company. It belonged to the employee. As such, if it is not paid into the government, the you the Trustee is considered the responsible party, and you will be held personally liable for this payment. Neither a business nor a personal bankruptcy will relieve you of this obligation.
Payment options include payment plans where you would normally have up to three years to repay the debt. I have had payment plans approved that handled the debt over much longer periods of time as well.
If this is not an option, then an Offer In Compromise may be appropriate. This is a process where you make and offer, and after much due diligence on behalf of the government hopefully a compromise is met. At that point payments terms are also a possibility.
If neither a payment plan nor an Offer In Compromise is possibile, then we would look at the options necessary to give you more time to come up with a solution. Under various and certain circumstances we have been able to give several additional years to clients who were unable to pay payroll taxes where liens where in place.
You do have options, when you have unfiled unpaid payroll taxes chicago illinois or owe back payroll tax deposits. Continuing to ignore the problem will not solve it. Stop the harassing letters and telephone calls. Stop the liens and levies. Stop the unscheduled visits from Revenue Officers.
If you are having problems with your Unfiled Unpaid Payroll Taxes Chicago Illinois or have issues with your accounting in general, we would love to help. I enjoy hearing from my readers, and can be contacted at
Chris@AccountingSolutionsltd.com
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Chris Amundson is the President of Accounting Solutions Ltd., a full service public accounting firm of Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents handling the bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation, and audit representation needs of Businesses, Estates, Trusts, and Upper Income Individuals.