What’s happening
When a business pays its workers, it takes money out of each paycheck for income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. That money is supposed to go to the IRS. The IRS treats it as money the business is holding in trust for the workers and the government.
When a business falls behind, it’s usually not because anyone meant to cheat. Money gets tight, payroll has to go out, and the tax payments slip. But the IRS takes unpaid payroll taxes more seriously than almost any other tax debt. They also tend to move faster to collect them.
What the IRS can do, and what it can’t
Besides going after the business, the IRS can charge a penalty to the people who were in charge of paying the taxes. It’s called the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. It equals the money that was taken out of workers’ paychecks and never paid. And it’s personal. The IRS can collect it from your own paycheck, bank account, and property.
But the IRS has to prove two things. First, that you were in charge of which bills got paid. Second, that you knew the taxes weren’t being paid, or should have known, and let other bills get paid instead. Those are real questions. They aren’t automatic. And you have the right to fight the penalty before it’s charged to you.
How we fight it
We protect you in the interview. The IRS usually interviews people to decide who was in charge. What’s said there can decide the case. We get you ready, or handle it for you.
We fight over who’s responsible, and for how much. A job title alone doesn’t make you responsible. We look at who really decided which bills got paid, and when. We also check that payments already made were credited the right way.
We protect your right to appeal. If the IRS proposes the penalty, you have a short window to appeal. We make sure it doesn’t pass.
We work on the business side too. That might mean catching up, a payment plan for the business, or closing it in a way that doesn’t make things worse for you.