financial-harmony-final

IRS on Your Back?

Tue, 13 May 2025 15:00:02 GMT

If you owe back taxes to the IRS or have received a notice of a lien on your bank account or a levy against your property, call a tax resolution expert. He or she will negotiate on your terms and help you come to an agreement with the IRS that is manageable for you.

I’ve broken down the process to successful IRS debt resolution into three steps. Each step helps the client understand his or her financial picture, including what is owed to the IRS, what he or she can pay, and what the options are for ending a tax problem.

Step #1: Order IRS and FTB Transcripts

The first order of business is to have a client sign a Power of Attorney so I can manage his or her communications with the IRS. I order transcripts of records and debts from the IRS and Franchise Tax Board (the FTB is in charge of administering levies on a taxpayer’s bank account). If a client has any returns that need filing, we will know which ones. We will also know about any liens, levies, or collection actions that the IRS/FTB are pursuing against the client.

Step #2: Complete Analysis of the Client’s Finances and Recommendations for Resolution

I completely analyze my client’s financial picture. To do that, I need as much documentation as possible of mortgage payments, health insurance premiums, and other monthly expenses. I provide the client tools to calculate these items. It is then the client’s job to gather receipts and provide the necessary paperwork for proving assets and debts.

Once I determine which expenses are “allowable” by the IRS, I take into consideration a client’s extenuating circumstances and adjust the income and expense sheet accordingly. I then look at the client’s complete financial picture, couple it with his or her IRS picture, and come up with a recommendation for a resolution and next steps.

Step #3: Prepare the Client’s Case and Negotiate with the IRS

Once I know a client’s financial state, I start to build a case for the IRS. Negotiated settlements with the IRS include such things as a properly structured installment agreement; an Offer in Compromise; or being placed into “Currently non-Collectible” status. I will know which resolution method is best after I analyze a client’s financial picture and tax problems.

I am certified to represent clients at every level of the IRS, so if a case goes to appeal, I manage the appeals process at every step. The client never has to talk to the IRS again.

I have helped many clients and I can help you too. With tax resolution expertise, you can save time and get the IRS off your back. Contact me today.

When You Can’t Pay Your Business Taxes

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Owning a small business requires financial diligence—especially staying on top of taxes. Tracking receipts and keeping orderly records not only makes tax filing easier, it paves the way to a healthier business.

But what if something goes wrong? Sometimes, come tax time, if income is thin and no money has been set aside, businesses must choose between paying their taxes and paying payroll, vendors, or important expenses.

If this is your situation, don’t panic. You can propose a payment plan to the IRS. Sometimes, a business in financial hardship can settle with the IRS for less than the debt owed. But you need a tax resolution expert to calculate your finances and then represent your case to the IRS.

If you ignore your debt, then you will face penalties and interest later. I have seen plenty of businesses in this situation and have helped plenty get out of it. The important point is to communicate with the IRS early to request a payment plan or some other negotiated agreement.

Submitting such a request will require full disclosure of business records showing your assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and business operation. That may sound like a lot but don’t worry, part of a tax resolution specialist’s work is to help hunt down all the deductions and credits you deserve.

If you aren’t able to file your business taxes, you can still make the best of your situation by doing the following:

File your current year tax return
File an installment agreement
Review you situation to make certain you owe as much as the IRS or FTB says you owe

You can also file these documents with the help of a tax resolution expert. It’s time to stop worrying about your taxes and get back to growing your business. Take the first step towards peace of mind and book a free consultation with me.

Are You Liable for Your Spouse’s Wage Garnishment?

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 14:30:00 GMT

If your spouse is in debt to the IRS and his or her wages are garnished because of it, chances are you are liable for the debt as well.

Not only does a spouse’s wage garnishment mean lost income, if he or she loses his or her job, that wage garnishment becomes your responsibility. California is a community property state, which means that any debt incurred during a marriage is considered a communal debt and both spouses are liable.

The IRS may seek to recoup its debt by taking money from any joint accounts you share with your spouse, including retirement and savings accounts. This is called a levy. They may also go after a bank account held in your name only.

But say your spouse entered the marriage with a wage garnishment. Perhaps he or she was paying off years of unpaid taxes that racked up long before you met. Are you still liable?

The answer is no, not if you live in a community property state. Debt incurred before the marriage is not considered joint debt. However, chances are that debt has continued to incur interest–additional debt for which you are now responsible.

Tax resolution specialists can help you keep your money by showing the IRS that certain accounts are not community property.

How about if you’re separated or recently divorced, and your spouse fails to pay taxes. Are you liable?

The simple answer is: yes you are liable if you filed a joint return for the tax year that went unpaid. However, if you filed individual returns, you are not liable for your spouse’s tax debt.

In the case of a joint return, if your divorce settlement stipulates you are not liable, the state and federal government will still see you as responsible. That’s why, if your spouse owes back taxes, it’s wise to file as “married, filing separately.”

The IRS allows you to claim single status if you have a legal separation or if you have lived apart from your spouse for six months out of the last year. If your divorce is finalized by the last day of the year, you are required to file as single, or “head of household.”

To learn more about how to solve tax debt, whether yours or your spouse’s, book a free consultation with me.

Keep Your Money–Tax Resolution Saves Time and $$

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 22:14:32 GMT

If there’s one truth about IRS tax debt, it’s that it can happen to anyone, regardless of one’s income.

A simple mistake can start the ball rolling and before you know it, a small IRS debt has snowballed into a big one because of added penalties and interest.

I want to ease your stress–and help you keep your money.

I am a tax resolution expert. Every year I must take a test showing that I know the rules and regulations of the IRS and how they apply to the treatment of taxpayers.

Most tax professionals do not want to call the IRS. I love to call the IRS and settle my clients’ accounts.

What I do is tell the IRS your story. I collect evidence that your money was spent appropriately and show documentation of your attempts to pay what you owe. If the IRS decides against you, I appeal. Or, if circumstances allow, I negotiate an offer in compromise. That means the IRS lets you pay less than what you owe in order to settle your debt.

Look at the results: negotiating an offer in compromise can sometimes reduce your debt. This has happened for many of my clients!

And what if that snowball problem is not your fault? I put together a record to show the facts.

Here’s one happy client who saved thousands of dollars because of my services:

“I was audited by the IRS regarding an issue that was an oversight by my previous tax preparer. Ralph Nelson of Financial Harmony took responsibility for dealing with the IRS. His excellent work saved us thousands of dollars, as well as doing all the dealings with the IRS.” – Hank S., Hayward, CA

Put your mind at ease. I have helped hundreds of clients and I can help you too. With tax resolution expertise, you can save money and solve your tax problems. Contact me today.

Tell the IRS Only What They Need to Know

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:10:53 GMT

I’m interested in helping you keep your money. Every step of the way, my tax resolution guidance is geared towards my client paying the absolute minimum amount of legal tax. There are many ways I do this.

First, as a tax resolution expert, I make sure the IRS complies with all tax regulations and their own internal protocols. I know the rules and regulations that govern the IRS and I put them to use in every case. Here are some common situations where I can intervene in a client’s case:

➡️ When an IRS decision creates a hardship for my client. I make sure information about my client’s circumstances–especially if payment of a debt would create unusual financial difficulties–is communicated to the IRS officer. I tally all of my client’s basic expenses, like transportation to and from work and maintaining a place to live, and give the IRS a full report. If an IRS decision about debt payment is too burdensome for my client, I appeal.

➡️ When the IRS files a tax lien on a client’s property or bank account, I strongly advocate for a client’s position and raise objections. I insist that the IRS give us a response if they do not agree with our position.

➡️ If an IRS agent attempts to extract too much information from a client. I make sure the IRS agent follows the law and isn’t unnecessarily intrusive in his or her request for information. My perspective is: There’s no need to disclose more than the minimum of information necessary to resolve a client’s case.

➡️ If an IRS debt calculation is wrong. I always assemble a client’s paperwork and determine the debt owed plus interest and penalties. There may be a discrepancy in the IRS’s calculation of a client’s debt or a wage garnishment. I make sure we have a watertight record of what has been paid and what is owed.

The IRS has its own regulations, processes, and language. I’ve spent 20 years learning why and how the IRS operates. It’s a system that requires experience to navigate. I bring that experience to your situation. Together we can resolve your tax debt.

Let me help you keep your money. Schedule a consultation now .

It’s Never Too Late to Pay Down an IRS Debt

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 22:08:29 GMT

Problems–life problems–can happen to anyone. When I met Richard, he was in serious trouble with the IRS. He had made a mistake many years earlier. At that time, he began a relationship with a woman he loved. But sometime during their relationship, she got sick. She required hospitalization. Richard had a good job and he helped pay her medical bills. But the bills soon spiraled out of control.

While he struggled to provide his girlfriend with the care she needed, Richard found it impossible to pay his IRS tax bill. The end of the year would come, and he would file his IRS return but he wouldn’t pay. Years of unpaid IRS debt began to accumulate. IRS penalties and interest also accrued. When Richard came to me, his debt had ballooned to almost $400,000.

What had started as an act of kindness and love, soon became a mixed-up trail of bad decision making. Often when people are grieving or in shock, they forget their responsibilities. They don’t think about the future.

Richard’s relationship had ended some time before he came to see me. He had a new girlfriend. But he wondered if his huge debt had ruined his future. I calculated what he owed and what he needed to live. The debt was too big for him to pay. He had been under duress. I offered these reasons as part of an offer in compromise to the IRS.

An offer in compromise is an IRS debt settlement proposal. As a certified tax resolution expert, I know how to negotiate with the IRS. I know what an IRS agent can or can’t do. I also help my client understand his or her options.

After I put forward an offer in compromise for Richard, I told him the offer might not work. The IRS could dismiss it out of hand. Or they could offer a debt payment plan that would still be too high for Richard to pay in any reasonable amount of time.

The verdict came in: our IRS debt offer was accepted! Richard was overjoyed. Witnessing his new lease on life was supremely gratifying. I’m delighted to report that he and his partner are now expecting their first child.

“I owed the IRS $385,812, Ralph Nelson of Financial Harmony Tax Resolution negotiated an Offer in Compromise and settled my tax problems for only $11,844. I got into trouble with the IRS because I tried to pay medical bills for a loved one. After years of not paying taxes, I needed help. That’s where Ralph’s help and guidance came in – he is a miracle-worker!”– Richard S., El Cerrito, Ca.

Stop the stress. I love to talk to the IRS on your behalf! Contact me now for a consultation.

Stop Wage Garnishments and Keep Your Money

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 22:05:28 GMT

A wage garnishment or an IRS garnishment of your bank account can be very stressful. I’ve had innumerable clients come to me in a panic, at the end of their ropes. The inexplicable IRS paperwork, frustrating waits on the phone to speak to a representative, and the panic and worry of understanding the process had them turned upside down.

After 20 years of experience working through these situations, however, I know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. You will find relief. That’s why I’m here.

The first thing I do for clients facing a wage garnishment is to make sure that the client actually owes what the IRS says they do. The second thing I advise clients about is how to pay down the debt: it’s best to pay the IRS debt down as soon as possible, depending on the client’s finances. Sometimes, when all the returns are filed and the liability is lowered, we find out the client has paid their full tax bill and an IRS refund is owed.

The fact is, there are so many IRS regulations and rules for both the IRS agent and the taxpayer to follow, that the system requires its own expertise. In order to file back taxes and clear your tax debt, your tax expert works with the IRS. This saves you hours of time filing IRS paperwork and calling the IRS.

I had a client–a married couple–with 6-8 years of unfiled taxes. Their tax issues had come to a head because they needed to file a financial aid form for their daughter, who was applying to college. Although the couple made good money, they were losing money every month from an IRS wage garnishment. That doesn’t mean the IRS takes only what they’re owed–they are also charging interest on the debt. Once I sorted through my clients’ paperwork and calculated their tax returns, it turned out they had been entitled to a $50,000 tax refund!

However, my clients were not able to claim their refund because they filed such a late IRS tax return–too late to qualify for the IRS refund. I understand why tax paperwork ends up late and that’s why I’m here: To help people get this elephant off their back–and keep their money!

The upside of fixing your tax problems is that when you get rid of IRS debt, you get your life back. I’ve seen it many times: when I tell a client their debt is resolved, their shoulders drop with relief and their eyes dance with delight. Their lives can restart and their joy is wonderful to witness.

I love talking to the IRS on your behalf! Contact me now for a consultation.

Business Audit: A Problem…and a Possibility!

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:02:36 GMT

A man who ran his own business came to me in a panic after the IRS notified him of an audit. The IRS said he owed many thousands of dollars. Not only that, my client told me frankly that his records were a mess. I told him to gather everything he could: bank statements, credit card statements, and receipts. Eager to cooperate, he was nevertheless soon overwhelmed by the amount of paper he had to track down.

Although he was able to gather together business receipts, he hadn’t noted what the occasion had been or why the expense had been (in IRS-speak) “ordinary and necessary.” Of course, unexplained expenses are just the kind of thing an auditor won’t tolerate–if you can’t prove what they were for, you don’t get to deduct them. However, I did have some good news to tell my client: simply by ordering his records and itemizing his deductions, I said, we would probably be able to reduce what he owed. And that’s exactly what happened.

After the audit interview, during which I met with the auditor alone and showed her my client’s (now) well-ordered records, the IRS returned with an amount due that was well below what my client had anticipated. My client was very satisfied with the outcome and I was able to call it a successful resolution.

The longer point of this story, however, is that an audit is good for you and your business. As I told my client, one day you’ll see this as the best thing that’s happened to you–I know because I see it with every small business client who gets audited. After going through an audit, business owners know what they should focus on to bring health to their business. They see statements of expenses and can start to understand where they can cut their spending and where they can invest so that their business makes more money.

Finally, keeping good records will help ensure you pay the right amount of taxes. You can’t trust everything to others–bookkeepers and accountants don’t know your business like you do. Simply collecting all your paperwork and keeping it in order will save you enormous time and effort in the end. Just ask my former client. His audit was stressful but it also made him reckon with his former bookkeeping methods–and he’s a better businessman for it.

Facing an audit? Let’s embrace it together! Contact me now for a consultation.

How to Prepare for an Audit

The most common reasons a small business is audited are for large cash amounts of income (in other words undocumented income), unsupported deductions, or discrepancies in financial reporting. It may feel painful and frightening to be notified of an audit, but in reality it’s a good thing for you and your business.

To prepare for your audit, collect and put in dated order the following records with a summary of the transaction:

Bank and credit card statements
Canceled checks or other income records
Business expense receipts with explanations attached as to why the expense is justified. (If no receipt available, then a diary documenting the expense may work)
Mileage records
Records of usage for cell phones, computers, or cars that are personal property and used for your business.
Travel and entertainment records justifying why the expense was for business purposes.

You don’t want to be present at an audit because you’re bound to reveal things that may be used against you. The auditors are accustomed to intimidating people who self-represent. More about that in my next blog!

I love talking to the IRS on your behalf! Contact me now for a consultation.

A Client Who Lived His Life “Underground”

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:57:11 GMT

I had a client recently who had not filed a tax return in eighteen years. He also did not have a checking account for 20 years. He cashed his earnings as an independent contractor and stowed the money in his house. His was a life lived “underground.”

If you neglect to pay your taxes, one of the most powerful tools the IRS has to collect on the debt is to file a Notice of Intent to Levy. It signals that the IRS will seize (or garnish) your assets–like a tax refund, your paycheck, or a Social Security check–if you don’t pay your overdue taxes, make other arrangements to satisfy your tax debt, or request a hearing within 30 days of the date of the notice.

If you can’t pay what you owe because the payment would prevent you from meeting basic living expenses, you can request that the IRS delay collection until you’re able to pay. Approval of your request will hinge on completion of a Collection Information Statement and proof of your financial hardship.

My client stopped working independently and took a W2 job. That’s when the IRS started to garnish his wages. He came to me feeling depressed and scared. I did an analysis of his financial situation. I discovered the Franchise Tax Board (which processes garnishments) had drawn more out of his wages than what he owed. He actually had a refund due! I also negotiated an installment plan with the IRS so that collections on his wages and other assets would stop immediately.

Once his case was resolved, my client was able to open a bank account. He got a loan and bought a new truck. He was overjoyed. “I now feel like I’m a member of the human race,” he said. When a client lets out a big sigh of relief and their tension gives way because they know the tax stress is over, I’m satisfied. That’s when I know I’ve done my job.

If you have received a Notice of Intent to Levy, it’s important to take action. By calling a tax resolution expert, you get expert help with the forms and statements you need to get the levy lifted. I have almost 20 years of experience communicating with the IRS, which helps a lot when negotiating on a client’s behalf.

Negotiating with the IRS to settle debts is what I do well. Let’s talk about your situation. Contact me to make an appointment .

Can the IRS Take My House?

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 21:54:32 GMT

The #1 fear of people with tax problems–whether it’s an unpaid tax debt or years of unfiled tax returns–is that the IRS will seize their house. In fact, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights discourages seizure of a primary residence. Those rights stipulate, however, that if a taxpayer does not attempt to pay–either by voluntarily paying down the debt or seeking to negotiate a payment plan with the IRS–then the agency may seize assets, including the debtor’s house.

The IRS will seek other ways to collect on a debt before it seizes your house. It may garnish wages, apply levies to your bank account, or file an IRS lien (or claim) on other assets you own. These measures can happen within months or years from the moment you miss a tax payment. Attempting to file back taxes will keep your assets safe and limit the fees and penalties you incur.

Showing a willingness to pay tax debt–even if you can’t pay the full amount you owe the IRS–is key. As the IRS says, “The worst thing you can do is nothing at all.” Voluntarily paying down as much as you can will forestall the IRS from beginning a collection action. A tax resolution specialist is certified to negotiate with the IRS for you so that you get the IRS debt help you need.

It’s also important to work with a professional if your house is seized. A review of IRS property seizures in 2016 revealed that in approximately 30% of cases, an IRS error was committed. An IRS restructuring by Congress, currently being drafted into law, specifies that taxpayers will not have their assets seized without proper, timely, and fair notice. So if you are concerned about notices from the IRS indicating a collection action may happen, contact a tax resolution specialist now.

The good news is that even if you’re burdened by a large tax debt, you can negotiate a settlement or a payment plan. I have helped many clients get rid of the “elephant” on their backs. I do this by offering expert IRS representation.

Get your life back. Contact me now for a consultation.

Offer in Compromise – Income and Expenses

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:50:37 GMT

Step One of our five step process to tax resolution is Assets, which we covered in the previous blog. Step Two is Income and Expenses which we will cover in this blog. Recall that the amount of your offer to the IRS will be a combination of assets and discretionary income.

Income – What is the difference between gross income and net income?

Gross Income . This is the total amount of all your income before you have anything deducted for taxes or payments of any kind. If you have a salary of $100,000 per year you have gross income of $100,000. If, in addition to the $100,000 of salary, you have $10,000 of dividend income your total gross income will be, you guessed it, $110,000.

Net Income. The following image may help you to understand what net income is. Imagine that your gross income is falling from the sky and you only have a fishing net to catch a portion of the total. The amount that you are able to collect in the net is, that’s right, net income, or part of your Gross income. Your net income is the amount you receive after subtracting all of your deductions for taxes, charitable contributions, 401(k), etc.

The critical issue with income, when you file an Offer in Compromise, is that it does not matter if the income is taxable or non-taxable. All of your income from all sources is entered in box D, section seven, of the IRS Form 433-A (OIC).

Expenses

The odds of you settling your tax debt are increased when you calculate your discretionary income by using the “Allowable Expenses” that are listed in the IRS’s National and Local Standards. This is an area where a lot of mistakes are made when the 433-A (OIC) is filled out. To increase your chances at being successful you will need to follow the ever-changing National and Local Standards. The IRS links below will give you up to date information on the four different kinds of National and Local Standards:

One deduction that is not mentioned in the IRS booklets is an additional $200 per month for a car that is either 6 years old or has more than 75,000 miles on it. Make sure to take this deduction if it fits. Each year the IRS deductions change so it is great to work with a professional so you don’t miss any deductions.

The amount of your offer

At this point you need to subtract your “Allowable Expenses” from your Gross Income to determine your discretionary income. This discretionary income will be added to the equity in your assets to determine the amount of your offer to the IRS. Here’s how it is done. If you can pay your offer amount in five months or less then multiply your discretionary income by 12 and add that to your equity in assets. If you need 24 months to pay then multiply your discretionary income by 24 and add that to the equity in your assets. Look on page 7 Section 8 of IRS Form 433-A (OIC) for info on how to calculate this.

You are doing quite well on your journey to resolve your tax debt situation. In our next blog we will discuss steps three and four: Becoming current with all tax return filings and estimates, and how to organize your documents and prove every number

Offer In Compromise – Assets

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:45:29 GMT

In order to solve your tax problems with an OIC you will need to fill out two IRS forms, Form 656, and Form 433-A (OIC). The assets will be entered in Section Three of the IRS Form 433-A (OIC).

What is an Asset and what does it mean to have Equity in an Asset?

Assets are what you own. They can be either a purchase or a gift from someone. The most important thing about assets as they relate to tax relief is the equity in an asset. Equity is the difference between how much your asset is worth and how much you owe on the asset. In other words equity is the value of the asset minus the debt you owe. If you buy a car with a value of $15,000 and you owe $10,000 the equity is, you guessed it, $5,000.

If you buy an asset for $5,000 and pay cash, of course, you have no debt. In this scenario the equity equals the full value of the asset because there is no debt. Remember the basic formula: Value – Debt = Equity. $5,000 – $0.00 = $5,000. The cash in your checking account has no debt so, it too, has an equity equal to the value of the cash.

What about gifts?

If your Aunt Bertha gives you a diamond ring valued at $50,000 how much debt do you have? Of course, $0.00. The value, $50,000 minus the debt, $0, means that you have $50,000 of equity in your ring because you have no debt. Again, equity in an asset is the value minus the debt.

Equity and Tax Relief

When you are trying to get tax relief by filing an OIC the IRS will look at the equity in your assets as their money. It does not matter to them where you got the asset. (There is some consideration for business assets but that will be discussed in another blog). The amount of money that you propose in your Offer in Compromise will include two parts, a portion of the equity you have in your assets and discretionary income. (covered in a later blog.)

In order to solve your tax problems with an OIC you will need to fill out two IRS forms, Form 656, and Form 433-A (OIC). The assets will be entered in Section Three of the IRS Form 433-A (OIC). You don’t need to include the entire amount of equity in each of your assets when you figure the amount of your offer. Let me show you what I mean. Please take a look at Section Three, page two of the IRS Form 433-A (OIC). On line 2(a) notice that the total amount of the asset is to be multiplied by 0.8. This means that you only need to include 80% of the value of that asset. The percentages vary from 70% to 80% just pay attention to the particular line and the amount needed.

You are on your way to resolving your IRS problems by filing an OIC. Assets are one-half of the offer. The other half of the offer is your discretionary income which is income minus expenses. That’s what we will cover in the next blog post – expenses.

Offer in Compromise – Introduction

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 21:41:46 GMT

The road to tax relief can sometimes be traveled by filing an Offer in Compromise, or OIC, with the Internal Revenue Service. An OIC is a proposal to the IRS.

IRS Tax Relief Could Mean That You Pay Less than What You Owe

The road to tax relief can sometimes be traveled by filing an Offer in Compromise, or OIC, with the Internal Revenue Service. An OIC is a proposal to the IRS. You are asking them to allow you to pay less than what you owe. Example: You owe the IRS $125,000 and you file an OIC with an offer to pay $35,000. If they accept it you will only pay $35,000 and your IRS debt will be permanently settled. You have two pay-back options when your offer is accepted. You can pay back the money within five months or twenty four months. The twenty four months will require a larger amount.

Convincing the IRS that you are qualified to pay less than what you owe

Getting the IRS to let you pay less than what you owe, will, of course, be a difficult path to travel. However, the rules that you need to follow are pretty straight forward and, if you follow them correctly you will dramatically increase your odds of being successful. In this, and later posts, you will learn the necessary steps to follow when filing an OIC. You will also learn some “Tricks of the Trade”, that are not listed in the IRS booklets, that will help you lower the amount that you offer. These rules require that you are aware of the current “National Standards” that change every year.

Five basic parts to filing an Offer in Compromise

This first blog post will show you an outline of the five basic parts of an OIC package that meets or exceeds the IRS requirement. In later blogs you will find more information to help you understand each of the five parts.

Those parts are:

Assets
Income and expenses
Becoming current with all tax return filings and estimates
Documentation of every number
Assembly of the package so that anyone can understand what you’ve put together

When you use these five parts and put together an OIC package that is exactly what the IRS wants, you will have a much better chance of being successful and you will be more likely to get the tax relief you want. Most OICs are rejected by the IRS because the paperwork is not filled out correctly. In later posts you will learn how to correctly fill out paperwork.

Tax relief is more likely if you follow these five basic parts. And we will show you how to do that in the following blog posts.

Tax Relief with Soulful Communication

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 21:37:21 GMT

Greetings! Welcome to positive change. Relief from the pressure of having that gigantic IRS elephant on your back is what this blog is all about. I will show you different ways that you can resolve your IRS debt and regain your peace of mind.

To begin, let me tell you a little bit about myself. It brings me tremendous joy when someone is talking to me and says, “I’ve never told anyone this before.” It has happened many times in my life. I love to connect on that kind of a soulful level. When someone says that to me I know that safety is firmly in place and healthful and healing communications have begun.

I’ve found that when people are having difficulties with the IRS it is very helpful if they feel comfortable discussing the “deep dark secret” that they have been harboring, sometimes for many years. I had a client recently who had not filed a tax return in eighteen years. It was very rewarding to see the relief show in his face and hear him talk about how his life is changing in many positive ways – especially when I got the wage garnishments stopped. Another change for him is that, after almost twenty years, he will be able to have a checking account!

I was born in Oakland, CA and have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area all of my life. I restored pianos (rebuilding and refinishing) for twenty-five years before I got involved with tax preparation and helping people get out of trouble with the IRS by helping them achieve tax relief. It has been seventeen fabulous years of seeing people transcend from sleepless nights to a comfortable existence. Speaking of transcending, on September 27, 2014, my sweetheart Julie and I married. We are a prime example of my second-favorite saying, which is my own saying, “Young love is sweeter yet in middle age”. My favorite saying is, “Never regret growing older, ’tis a privilege denied to many”.

A word, if I may, about the name of my business, Financial Harmony Tax Resolution. The Tax Resolution part is easy to figure out. The Financial Harmony part is a combination of my love for music and math. I write music, play guitar and recorder, and sing at church and with the Berkeley Broadway Singers . And math has always been one of my favorite subjects. It seems, also, that the name Financial Harmony is a combination of right and left brain, emotional and logical if you will. I had a college professor once who told me that I have a personality that combines the right and left brain.

The blogs that are to come have, as a foundation, the goal of achieving peace of mind and relieving the stress that is associated with IRS problems. Some of the areas that I will write about are: Offers in Compromise, Installment Agreements, stopping wage garnishments and levies, and many more subjects to help you get relief from your IRS problems.

I am rewarded deeply when I can help someone find relief by getting the gigantic IRS elephant off of their back. If you will, have a soulful conversation with yourself, make the commitment to change your situation, and then proceed on your journey to restore your peace of mind. These blogs are designed to give you the tools necessary to file the papers to bring that fabulous relief to your life!