Multiple Appeals Result in Tax Relief
In 2007, Omni received the case of “Greg” and “Cindy,” who could not fulfill a payment agreement with the IRS. When the payment agreement was made, Greg believed that he could fully satisfy the tax liability by refinancing his home. However, due to the downturn of the real estate market, his home value was severely reduced and he no longer had equity in the home. Due to the lack of payment, the file was returned to the Revenue Officer for collection action.
The Revenue Officer immediately issued a wage garnishment on Cidny’s wages, which captured $3,300 a month. At this time, Greg was released from his salaried position and put on a commission basis only. This reduced the couple’s income from $14,000 per month to $8,000 per month, causing them to fall behind on their mortgage payments.
Omni filed an appeal immediately upon finding out about the wage garnishment. When the Appeals Officer got the file, however, he saw specific notes from the Revenue Officer that biased his opinion. He decided not to negotiate with the couple or listen to the facts of the case. The wage garnishment remained.
Omni then submitted an installment agreement to the Revenue Officer. She reviewed the documentation and decided to release $1,100 from the wage garnishment. This amount would still not allow the couple to remain in their home, as they were three months behind on their mortgage. The Revenue Officer said that she would not release any additional funds and that she was rejecting the installment agreement.
An appeal on the rejection was then filed. The appeal was not accepted because the installment agreement had not been formally rejected. The Revenue Officer stated to Appeals that she was not going to formally reject the installment agreement because she had rejected a former installment agreement. During this time, Omni had another appeal filed on a 1058 issued for the 2007 tax liability.
The appeal was assigned to yet another Appeals Officer. It was then determined that the taxpayer would be placed on a monthly $550 installment agreement and the wage garnishment lifted. This allowed the couple to remain in their home. Cindy also got to remain at her job that she had had for 30+ years as a school principal. If the wage garnishment had remained in place, the couple would have lost their home, which would have forced them to move in with family in another city.
Contact us today, and let Omni Financial work hard to help you see tax relief.
