Interesting Appeals Result

holding the hammer of justice the courthouse

Overview:
During the heyday of stock trading in the latter 1990’s and early 2000’s, many taxpayers were investing crazy. Their game plans were taking advantage of both short-term and long-term capital gains. However, in 2000, the dot-com bubble burst, and many dot-com startups went out of business after burning through their venture capital and failing to become profitable.

One such taxpayer, husband and wife, contacted us in sorting out their tax mess. While they were profiting and building their dream home at the same time (costing about $800,000 back then – today’s value would be triple the amount), their bubble exploded.

Appeals Strategy:
Prior to 2001, the IRS there was no such thing as first-time abatements (FTA) in providing relief from delinquency penalties for otherwise compliant taxpayers. This also includes interest charges and interest on top of the penalties.

Outcome:
The Appeals Officer listened to the facts and merits of the Taxpayer’s situation. Under their circumstances during an economic downturn but satisfying their tax liability in full, the IRS afforded the interest assessment to be relieved. That was a whopping $64,000+. As I shared this “victory” with some of my colleagues, they could not believe this occurred.

Take Away:
Never say die. If you disagree with an IRS assessment, taking your case to the next level (Appeals), might surprise you. Often, you get a better shake in the end – most of the time.

Next Story – stay tuned! – How we successfully negotiated for and got abatements for $90,000 and $340,000 of frivolous tax penalty assessments.

Interesting Appeals Result

Social Media

Location