Let’s suppose you owe lots of money to the IRS for back due income taxes. And let’s
suppose that you have filed all of your tax returns. Let’s suppose also that you were in dire
financial straits when you accumulated this debt, but things are looking up now: you can make
substantial payments, and the IRS knows this, but because the debt is so high, the interest is
eating you alive.
We may be able to help at Steidl and Steinberg. Consider filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that will pay back the IRS their income
taxes either in part or in full, but at 0% interest.
There are too many possible situations to put into this article, so let me share with
you one example. A man and his wife accumulated almost $150,000 worth of
income tax debt, including penalties and interest, over several years. His wife was not gainfully
working during much of that time, so their ability to pay this old debt was not good. But his wife
is now working, and their combined incomes are substantial. Because of their current good
fortune, the IRS is not willing to settle their debt for a fraction on the dollar, so they will not be
able to settle this $150,000 tax liability for, say, $40,000. And the payments that the IRS is
proposing will mean that the two of them may be paying the IRS for most of their lives.
Here is what I proposed: they would do a Chapter 13 Reorganization. As part of this, they
will pay off their vehicles, bring their mortgage payment, now delinquent by three months, up
to date. The unsecured debt, mostly medical bills, totalling about $15,000, will be paid in full.
And so will the IRS. But the IRS debt will be paid at 0% interest, which means that it will be paid
in full over the next five years, instead of over the next ten or twenty. This will save the clients
tens of thousands of dollars.
Is this the solution for you? I don’t know; I haven’t spoken to you yet. Give us a call at Steidl and Steinberg and
we’ll see. You have nothing to lose but your debt.
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