The collapse of the late-night cable TV tax settlement industry proves that “pennies-on-the-dollar” tax settlements aren’t easy to come by. If they were, that business model would be a license to print money.
But sometimes taxpayers are really so broke that they will never catch up on their tax debts. TaxGrrrl explains how the IRS Offer in Compromize program really works, with this wise advice:
OICs are not home runs. The IRS tends to reject a majority of OICs that are submitted; in fact, the acceptance rate is less than 1 in 4, according to the 2010 IRS Data Book (downloads as a pdf). That’s why you need to think long and hard before you jump into an OIC…
If you’re in the market for an OIC, hire a competent tax professional who understands the rules (including any applicable deadlines) and will respond promptly to IRS.
Russ Fox has more on the travails of tax settlment firm TaxMasters.
Links: Old-plaform posts tagged “Russ Fox” and “TaxGrrrl“
