Part of my financial freedom journey left me owing back taxes.
Oh, joy. My 2012 was on a payment plan a few years back and then early in 2017 I started this process again. Here’s some valuable information I’ve gleamed from the IRS while reconciling my finances.
IRS Phone Numbers
IRS Line 800-829-1040 is the general number listed on my form
Collections 800-829-3903, M-F 8am-8pm
Forms 800-829-3676, press #3 for live operator and then they’ll transfer you
This little gem gleamedme less than a 3 minutes wait time on a Friday afternoon so I avoided the super long wait times like the other numbers. What a miracle!
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Steps for Making Payments on Back Taxes
- File Taxes Owing IRS
- Get IRS Letter on What You Owe
- Setup Installment Agreement
- Make Payments
- Celebrate Being Free!
Scary – IRS Spam Calls
Email Phishing@IRS.gov to report false IRS calls.
Comments from Lauren: I’ve gotten 2 calls claiming because I owe taxes there’s an officer coming to arrest me if I don’t pay right now. What?! Scary and I hung up and called my local police department who told me ut wasa scam. I confirmed with IRS who also said IRS is unable to take payments over the phone and will never call to threaten you. If there was a warrant, they would just show up! When I mentioned my experience to a friend, she had received a call like that before, too. Sheesh! Crazy world.
Helpful Links for IRS Payment Plan
IRS Customer Service Phone Number: 800-829-3903
This is the mailing address for IRS I was given
If you call them, confirm which address because it’s different for each state
Internal Revenue Service
ACS Correspondence
PO Box 145566
Cincinnati, OH 45250-5566
IRS Online – “Get Transcript”
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript
Online service to request a list of all the income sources the IRS has on record for you each year
IRS Installment Agreement Request – Form 9465
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f9465.pdf
This is the link to request making payments on taxes
IRS Installment Auto Payment – Form 433-D
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f433d.pdf
This is the link to the form to setup Autopay “direct debit”
IRS Request for Copy of Tax Return – Form 4506
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf
This is the link to the form to get your tax return
IRS Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement – Form 843
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f843.pdf
This is the form to request penalties be removed
Good Things I Learned from IRS
- You pick the installment agreement price. I owed $3600 and I suggested $100 a month and they accepted it
- You can pick your payment due date on your installment agreement
- If you make less than $10,000 you don’t need to file taxes that year
- Ask For What You Need!! I told her I felt overwhelmed getting this together in 10 days so she extended it to 30 days.
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“Trust that everything is working out for the best …
When you start thinking this way, life becomes magical ”
– Your Wish is Your Command
This is the worst nightmare scenario I had been fearing. Receiving IRS notice of intent to seize my property! When I read the letter I felt fine, there was no panic, no overwhelm, no barrage of condemning self talk like every other time. A few months ago this letter could easily have shattered my limping spirit. Instead I was ready for it because I felt good and then I read the letter while giving thanks, “I am capable of handling my taxes once and for all! OMG I am truly coming out this anxiety ridden stage in my life – Hallelujah!”
I am so grateful I let those negative self beliefs go. With this renewed positive confidence I handled this tax levy situation by trusting everything is working out for my best. So it did – I was inspired to ask the right questions and attract the kindest representative to support me! Everything is on track with my back taxes now – what an even better feeling I have now!
Back taxes: This subject had caused me a lot of shame and anxiety over the years from a past business debt that snowballed. I fell off the payment plan during my move to Hawaii. I restarted the process in early 2017, new year it’s time to handle it. The first time I called I had an hour wait time, good conversation unfortunately they never sent me the paperwork as promised. So 6 weeks later and another 2 hour hold, this time I made some headway. I filled out form 843 to see about removing the penality. Now to play the waiting game again. In May I got a notice saying they received it. Oh yeah. Then another saying forwarded to another department. I received another letter in July said they were reviewing my file and would have an answer within 90 days.
Suddenly a week later appears this “Intent to Seize Your Property” notice. What?! Was this my return correspondence denying request or just a scare tactic to get payment?(My lovely representative admitted the IRS does have that overzealous nature with those notices!)This time calling I felt different and certain of a favorable outcome. I wasn’t anxious and I had a positive attitude when calling and I only had a 45 minute wait when I called the IRS number on Monday morning. That’s pretty darn cool. Everything’s working out well already.
This was my third call (or perhaps fourth) to the IRS this year regarding the matter and I’ve always had super kind customer service representatives. After my call I remarked to a friend how I am so grateful this is usually my experience with phone calls (since I know I how to deliberately create this I attract the right representative!). Ms. Thompson helped my fully and went above and beyond giving me some great information.
As I got reenrolled in the IRS payment plan, I learned shockingly I am missing two years of records. How frustrating because I paid someone to do my taxes both those years. Rather than revert to overwhelm or anxiety over the issue, I remained calm and I learned about requesting an Income Transcript. A double win!
The IRS “Get Transcript” is a list of all the income sources the IRS has on record for you each year and payments. How helpful! Now I can double confirm everything before I file my taxes! 🙂 I’m not sure when it posts though 2016 is already there and it’s July 2017. If you filed a tax filing extension October is the deadline so you can confirm what IRS has on file for that year before filing. How nice to be on the same page! It’s free to request a mailed copy, you can download online or we went over it on the phone so I had the info right now too.I’m sohappy to discover this nugget!
Hearing I needed to solve two years of missing taxes was concerning. I admitted to Ms. Thompson I was starting to feel overwhelmed doing this in the 10 day window. I asked for support and it worked and she gave me 30 days. Overall this whole tax situation feels really good to handle and I have confidence in receiving the money to pay it off very soon. In order to receive all the big money coming gotta have everything be on track. The more I see and take care of this stuff the better I feel! I recently heard the idea the Universe is your biggest investor so it wants to make sure you can handle it well!
