IRS

Many of my clients owe the IRS, and have owed for years. Yet, the IRS has only ever sent occasional Notices of Balance Due, taking no normal collections actions. These clients haven’t received threatening IRS Collections Notices, been contacted by a live IRS Revenue Officer, had bank accounts levied or wages garnished, had an IRS tax lien filed against real property, or had hold put on their passport. What’s going on? Why isn’t the IRS collecting from taxpayers who often owe hundreds of thousands of dollars? Read more »
August 28, 2026

No, the IRS won’t lower the amount owed, not even if you make a lump sum payment. Neither will California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB), or any of California’s other tax agencies, the CDTFA (sales tax) and the EDD (unemployment tax). Tax agencies aren’t flea markets: they don’t haggle on price. And, unlike other creditors like credit cards, tax agencies  do not see themselves as collections agencies (where getting paid what they can, even if it’s not all that’s owed) is the main goal. Instead, they see themselves as law enforcement agencies, where the main goal is get paid what is legally owed, even if they get nothing at all as a result. Why? Read more »
April 7, 2026

A buddy recently received a scam voicemail from a company promises to get rid of all his tax debt. Here are the red flags that IDed this voicemail as a scam and how to avoid them. Read more »
February 28, 2025