Movies and TV tend to overdo it when it comes to telling scary stories. Sure, it would be scary to be chased around a locked home by a headless man with a whirring chainsaw, but we can think of something much scarier — a notice from the IRS that you owe back taxes.

What could possibly drive a grown adult into a bigger fit of anxiety, despair, and deep-rooted fear, than knowing that the IRS is officially onto you, and they’re ready to bleed your pockets dry until you pay everything you owe in full? For many people, the headless chainsaw scenario would be a preferable option.

While dressing up as back taxes isn’t likely to elicit a fearful response from children, us adults know better — IRS debt can be a scary, scary thing, even more so than the ghosts and goblins we dream up in our stories.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be so scary. With the help of professional tax accountants who know their stuff, you can make significant steps towards resolving your tax debt in a way that’s not crushingly stressful. The first step is understanding the following things about tax debt:

What You Need to Know About Back Taxes

Back Taxes Aren’t the End of the World

Okay, breathe. Just breathe. Yes, that’s better.

The truth is, it’s probably not as bad as you think it is. We know that when you’re penniless, the prospect of paying off debt is soul-crushing, but as long as you take a measured approach and work with the right people, it can be much easier than you expect. The first step is contacting a professional tax accounting firm such as Noack & Company in Fort Myers.

The most important step is just taking some kind of action. Any kind of action at all is better than doing nothing, and ideally, it’s something that pushes you closer to resolving your delinquency. This could mean communication with the IRS, contacting tax professionals, or getting all your tax information together.

The IRS Isn’t the Devil

The IRS is reasonably feared by many, and we’d much rather make an enemy out of Frankenstein’s monster than them. The IRS always wins, and they can admittedly play hardball when it comes time to collect from someone who’s been avoiding them for years.

Here’s the thing, though. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If there’s anyone who has the right to say this, it’s a team of tax professionals. You can bet that we’ve had extensive contact with the IRS, and when it comes to collecting unpaid taxes or following up on unfiled returns, they’re not always the faceless monster that many people make them out to be.

The truth is, communicating openly and honestly with the IRS can be a boon to your tax debt situation. We’re not saying that the IRS is suddenly going to let up, say “all is forgiven,” and forget about you for the rest of your life, but they do have human beings representing the organization who understand that people can come into hard times.

In a best-case outcome, the IRS could ease your situation if you make a good enough case. In an extreme scenario they might forgive some of the debt (don’t count on it), but even if they don’t do that, they might be willing to give you an extension, provide accommodating payment plans, or temporarily refrain from penalizing you further. Any form of tax relief is better than none.

More than anything, the IRS wants to know that you have a plan in place to take care of the problem. If you come clean, openly and honestly, you significantly improve your chances of them cooperating with you.

Tax Professionals Can Help In a Big Way

In a back tax situation, you really have nothing to lose from contacting your local team of CPAs. Certified public accountants, also known as tax accountants, know the ins-and-outs of tax law. Here are some of the ways they could help you:

• Easing the Tax Burden: Tax professionals are deeply educated on tax laws, deductions, debts, and exceptions, and they could potentially look at your tax situation and find ways to file which will result in you paying less overall. We can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be paying a lot more if you file your taxes alone, and that’s a thought almost too spooky to handle.
• Communicating With the IRS: Every tax firm worth their salt has communicated with the IRS and knows how to work with them. An advantage of partnering with a tax accounting team is that they know how to communicate with the IRS on your behalf. This is a win for both you and them — you can know that you’re getting the best advocate possible to represent you, and the IRS can have peace of mind knowing that you’re working with a professional entity who is committed to helping you get the money paid.
• Stopping Levies and Garnishments: In a scenario where somebody has repeatedly ignored IRS warnings, it can reach the point of wage garnishments. A garnishment is when the IRS contacts your employer and demands that a cut of your wage be removed every paycheck in order to start paying back your debt. This can be disruptive, and tax professionals can often cause these to cease, working out an alternative solution with the IRS.

Tax Relief in Fort Myers

If you’re somebody who’s seeking tax relief from spooky scary back taxes, you don’t have to feel so fearful. Rest assured that, if you’re in Fort Myers or any of the surrounding regions, we will gladly help you to climb out of your situation so you don’t have to feel the need to hide anymore. We know how crushing tax debt can be, and we have a genuine desire for you to be free of it. Contact the CPA’s of Florida today!