TaxCure Blog

If your business has unpaid payroll taxes, the IRS will investigate to find responsible parties to assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) against. The agency can assess this penalty against business owners, managers, and even employees – and once it’s assessed, your options become much more limited. 

If you pay an independent contractor, you generally just cut them a check or send another type of payment, and then, at the end of the year, you give them a 1099 form noting their total payments for the year. Similarly, if you pay dividends to a shareholder, you just send them a payment and let them worry about the taxes.

Yes, you can reverse an IRS bank levy – but it’s hard. Typically, once the levy has hit your account and the funds are frozen, the IRS will only reverse the levy in cases of error, severe financial hardship, or if they believe doing so will help them collect the tax more effectively. The best option is to respond to the IRS proactively before they send a levy notice to your bank – but if it’s too late for that, reach out to a tax pro to talk about reversing the levy. 

The New York Department of Taxation and Finance has reached out to you about an audit, a tax assessment, a collection action, or another very specific New York state tax problem. Your first instinct is probably to call your CPA – after all, they help with your taxes. But before reaching out, be aware that they might not have the experience you need. 

Taxes are incredibly confusing for the average person, which is why the IRS allows taxpayers to seek outside assistance for help with filing taxes, paying taxes, and addressing tax issues. But not all tax advice is created equal—and following bad advice could land you in serious trouble with the IRS.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has numerous strategies for collecting unpaid taxes. One of the steps they may take is to assign an IRS revenue officer to your case. This typically occurs when other methods of collecting owed tax debt are ineffective. If you receive a notice stating a revenue officer is assigned to your case, take this seriously. 

The IRS has a lot of power, and its decisions can have a significant impact on your financial life, especially if you have unpaid taxes, unfiled tax returns, or are undergoing an audit. Luckily, IRS determinations are rarely absolute and final, which means there’s usually a way to challenge the decision. 

Worried that catching up on your back taxes will put you on the IRS’s radar and make you more likely to face an audit? Well, that’s a common fear, but fortunately, it’s unfounded. The IRS does not audit late-filed returns at higher rates than returns filed on time. 

The IRS has just announced a new Simple Payment Plan. The agency says that 90% of individuals who owe back taxes qualify for this new installment agreement, which gives you up to 10 years to repay up to $50,000 in tax, penalties, and interest. The simple option is designed to make it easier for taxpayers to set up payment plans and avoid unwanted collection actions. 

In April 2025, the IRS sent out Notice LT36 to over half a million federal employees with unpaid taxes. The notice urged recipients to get back into compliance and reminded them of their legal obligations to the United States government. Although this particular IRS notice is new, the effort to get federal workers into tax compliance has been happening for decades.