I have an IRS question can you help me?

-My dad wants to know who can he speak to to lower his tax debt. He's unemployed and RETIRED, shouldn't he be able to find some agency or something that may lower his debt? If so, what are they called?Unless he can complete the rather complicated forms himself, he will have to pay someone to represent him. The offer in compromise process others have referred to may not be a good option for him because it requires the taxpayer to pay the offered amount. If he can't come up with that, he is not in the game. He may be in a position where IRS would determine that he is unable to pay what he owes and put the account on ice. This is half a loaf; the debt doesn't go away, but IRS does not make active efforts to collect it until the person's situation improves, if it ever does.

.The only options are a) offer in compromise which has the IRS compare ALL of his assets to his debt and what the IRS can reasonably expect to collect in the next 5-10 years or b) a financial analysis of his income and his expenses to determine how much money is available.



If your father has more than social security coming in--say a pension or IRA--he won't be eligible for currently not collectible status.



As for what your father deserves, well, he should have been spending less during the years he built up his IRS debt. Had he paid the debt like most of us did, he wouldn't owe now. Some people work until they are 70, how old is your dad?
If he owes a lot in back taxes and wants to file an Offer in Compromise he should find a local enrolled agent with experience in that area. Stay away from the companies that advertise on TV - they're long on promises (and high cost), but short on delivery.



Note that filing an Offer in Compromise doesn't mean it gets accepted - most are not.



Read http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/arti鈥?/a> first.
He should be able to find the ombudsman at his local IRS office. This is the person to talk with concerning his particular problem, and they can either steer him to a proper agent to negotiate a lower settlement, or to try to resolve the original issue.
This is the ONLY place he can get any help. Just being retired doesn't mean that he doesn't have the means to pay the taxes that he owes. Check out the IRS web site:



http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,i鈥?/a>
the money he would spend with one of these companies would be better spent bringing the tax debt down

he can make an Offer in Compromise himself
Pretty much all of the "settle your taxes for less" firms that advertise heavily on TV, radio and the web are scams.
He should have paid his debt when it was due. He needs to contact an Enrolled Agent.