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Get ahead of the IRS on your payroll tax debt. Tell us what is delinquent and what has been filed, and we will read your account, separate the trust fund exposure, and tell you what resolution looks like from here. No obligation.
Most IRS notices can wait. The letters escalate slowly and there is usually time to respond. Payroll tax debt is different. When a business falls behind on Form 941 deposits, the IRS does not send one notice and wait. It assigns a revenue officer, a field agent who can show up at the business, issue summonses, and begin enforced collection without the usual warning sequence.
The reason is simple. Payroll taxes include money withheld from employees that was never the business's to spend. The IRS treats it as taken from employees and the Treasury at once, and it enforces accordingly.
A single missed deposit rarely stays a single missed deposit. The late-deposit penalty starts at 2 percent, reaches 10 percent after fifteen days, and jumps to 15 percent once the IRS issues a notice and the deposit still is not made. Failure to file Form 941 adds another 5 percent a month, up to 25 percent, with interest running on top. None of these components reduce each other. They stack.
A business that misses three quarters of deposits and filings can face a balance 30 to 40 percent larger than the original tax owed, before the IRS has taken any collection action at all. By the time a revenue officer is assigned, the number on the account may bear little resemblance to what the business thought it owed.
Delinquent 941s draw a field agent with authority to act, not an automated letter you can wait out.
Late-deposit penalties climb to 15 percent; failure-to-file adds 5 percent a month. None of them offset each other.
Attaches to all business assets and becomes public, affecting your ability to borrow, sell, or contract.
The IRS can seize receivables, bank accounts, and in some cases equipment or property.
The trust fund portion can be assessed against owners, officers, and bookkeepers personally.
For owners, officers, and anyone in a responsible-person role, payroll tax debt carries a dimension most tax problems do not. The trust fund recovery penalty is assessed separately from the business liability, on its own timeline. Settling the company's 941 debt through an offer or an installment agreement does not resolve those personal assessments, which follow the individuals.
A complete strategy has to address the entity balance and the personal exposure at the same time. When representation begins before the trust fund investigation concludes, there is room to influence who is assessed. Once the assessments issue, the options narrow to appeals and payment arrangements.
A payment plan for an operating business that can stay current going forward.
Pauses active collection during genuine hardship. Interest still accrues.
Settles for less than owed when full payment would create hardship. More complex when trust fund liability is involved. Learn more.
First-time or reasonable-cause relief on the penalties that make up much of the balance.
Reduced payments, with the remaining balance expiring when the ten-year collection window closes.
One principle applies in almost every payroll tax case: the IRS will not meaningfully engage on the past until the business is current on the present. That means all unfiled returns submitted and all current deposits made on time, demonstrating that the situation that created the delinquency has actually been addressed, not just that the business wants more time to pay.
A business that approaches the IRS with a clean current picture, all returns filed and all deposits made, is in a fundamentally different negotiating position than one still falling further behind while asking for relief. Getting there sometimes takes outside help with the underlying cash flow problem, not just the tax problem, since the two are usually connected.
We pull IRS account transcripts and identify every period with a balance or penalty, separating trust fund from employer share.
We bring all filings and current deposits up to date, the precondition for any resolution.
We deal with the assigned revenue officer directly, so interviews do not create new exposure.
We build a plan that addresses the entity balance and any personal assessments at the same time.
We negotiate the agreement, abatement, or offer and leave you positioned to stay compliant.
Find out where your case stands before the next IRS letter. Whether a revenue officer is assigned or you are just behind, we will tell you quickly what the realistic options are. Confidential, no obligation.
A good fit if you:
If a revenue officer is already assigned, the conversation needs to happen today. Earlier almost always means better terms.
Someone has to read the account, find every period, and separate the trust fund exposure from the employer share.
A revenue officer interview without representation can decide who gets assessed personally.
Settling the 941 debt does not resolve the personal trust fund assessment. A real plan handles both.
A CPA can stand in front of the IRS on your behalf, not just advise from the sidelines.
Payroll tax cases move on the IRS's timeline, not the taxpayer's. By the time most businesses call, the window for the best outcomes has already started closing. Earlier is almost always better.
Resolution work is priced by scope, not a flat rate. The main factors are:
We scope the work to the case in front of us and quote it directly.
Talk to Dimov Tax about what is delinquent, what has been filed, and any personal exposure that may exist.
