Back taxes and bk

[GaPeach]

I owe about $8800 in back taxes to the IRS. The first bill they sent was in July that was before I was thinking about bk so I sent in the form for installment payments. I have heard nothing from the IRS about the installements, I've gotten a couple of more bills and I don't know what to do. We plan on retaining a lawyer in Oct. Should I contact the IRS and tell them that I plan on filing, try to reset up the installments or just wait it out until I see the lawyer. I really don't want the IRS breathing down my neck.

Thanks for the help

[ThreadsSnapping]

It takes a while sometimes to get answer back about an installment plan. If you haven't heard anything after about 6-8 weeks after you sent in the form I would try and contact them and just see what is going on. They can be suprisingly easy to work with if you propose a reasonable plan to pay off the taxes and have a plan to keep it from happening again.

TS

[2ndChanceTx]

I would just make the payments until you see the lawyer. I had about 18K in back taxes when I filed in 2005 and was on a payment plan. It all rolled in and was the first thing that got paid. If you miss IRS payments, they will eventually contact your employer to do garnishments, which can be embarassing....

[Flamingo]

Couple things...first it takes several weeks for the IRS to get back to you as to an installment plan and if they accept what you may have proposed. Since it appears you sent that in either sometime this month or in July, you may not hear anything until the end of September. Secondly, you can put back taxes (state and federal) into a Chapter 13 plan. We included 2001 state and federal taxes in our 2002 filing. Telling the IRS you are going to file BK will do nothing since you do not have a filing/case number. They will continue to come after you until you either pay in full or work out an installment plan as to payment. You may want to start thinking about setting up some consultations with several BK attorneys now so you will know what to do. Best of luck to you.

[HHM]

Your liability is so low, that the IRS will accept any payment your propose; you likely qualify for a Guaranteed Installment Agreement. Since you sent in the form, it is simply taking time to process. All the notices you are receiving are computer generated, no human has actually looked at your account. Thus, there really is no need to call them.