I just got back from my meeting with the IRS downtown.
I survived, and it wasn’t too harrowing of an experience.
The good news
The good news is that while a lien will be placed against my business (I knew this was coming), I should avoid one against me personally since the business plans to pay the amount owed.
The best news is that the payment plan will likely be around $600 a month. It’s a little higher than I was hoping, but I think I can swing it, I just have to super careful when it comes to cashflow and no extraneous business expenses.
The bad news
The bad news is that the final number is about $6000 higher than I was anticipating. I’ll have the exact number in a few weeks, but it looks like around $28,000 vs. the $22,000 I was expecting.
Overall
All in all, it wasn’t too bad meeting my IRS agent in person. It was a very businesslike meeting, but it didn’t feel like an inquisition by any means. I had to fill out a few forms, but nothing I didn’t feel comfortable with. Speaking of forms, don’t pay full price at Legal Zoom, use a LegalZoom Promo Code to save money when buying legal documents.
I’ll probably start making my first payments mid to late May. I received a number of comments/suggestions that I needed a lawyer to handle all of this. To be honest, so far I’m glad I haven’t got one. I’m not trying to hide anything. I don’t have a million bucks stashed somewhere (that would be nice!). I’m trying to pay it back through the business. A laywer at the meeting today would have been incredibly awkward. Maybe I’m naive, but so far the IRS has been the easiest creditor for me to work with.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
no, not naive… I’ve heard this from several other people too.
as long as you are honest with them, they are easy to deal with… if you do try to deceive them and they find out…. watch your corn hole.
The Washington state Department of revenue is a different story though… they’re a bunch of arktards.
Wow, you must feel fantastic! There is no better feeling than dealing with something you’ve been dreading. Having that final number is going to feel so good!
I bet there are tons of companies out there who’ve gone through this and gone on to be really successful. If you get overwhelmed remember you’re not alone and you WILL get through this! It seems like you’re kicking butt so far. Every post seems to be another step forward.
I have to admit that you have a wonderful site. Very clean, very simple, and easy to follow. Sorry I don’t have anything to say related to your post about the IRS but I wish you luck.
I swear you are my clone… I’m 23, just graduated with a real estate degree (woot!), started businesses, and have gone through some tough financial situations. I traded the safe job for the “light at the end of the tunnel” and finally I am right at the tipping point. It’s very clear you will bounce back.
Seriously my nerdiness is loving this site and that is the best use of a right column I have seen. I’ve finally convinced a business partner to adopt a ‘web 2.0′ site and just uploaded it yesterday after a couple months of explaining. Think you can give me some feedback on it? http://www.Home-Buddies.com
I think it is good that you met with the IRS and didn’t need an attorney.
I do want to send you a little caution – that may never be needed, but I will feel better sharing.
I’m sure your business accounts are viewable online. If not, make sure you get this ASAP. Then, until the IRS is paid in full, you should log in every day and check your accounts. Not that you should be Paranoid, but I perfer to move on the side of caution.
I have seen many people, not paying attention. Then they find out after a large deposit, that their accounts are frozen. Where, had they been watching, they could have cashed the payments another way – and paid their bills. Frozen accounts cause a world of hurt.
Look into your history for a moment. Wasn’t it last year that you were running around trying to establish a DMP, taking up a lot of other people’s time? Then after getting one established, you didn’t keep up the payments, because you felt the interest was too high. What does this say about your chances to pay this latest matter back over time? You know history repeats itself. The vehicle of payment doesn’t matter that much; you’re still driving and going down the same bumpy road.
Dedicated is certainly correct; they will have first dibs on the old bank account. In about a year, you will see why an attorney was advised in the first place.
I had a much better experience dealing with the IRS directly than with a CPA who had been recommended to me by another CPA. She totally dropped the ball . Most of the IRS agents I dealt with were quite helpful . ( I owe, personally, about 95,000, but making payments).
An interesting note… when one calls the IRS and gets put on hold, one gets to hear music from the Nutcracker. Coincidence? I think not.