Radio Interview (August 23, 2024)

Host 00:00
We now do say good morning, to Steven Klitzner the law office of Steven Klitzner PA. He’s the tax attorney. Good morning to you, Steven.

Steve Klitzner 00:07
Good morning, Michael.

Host 00:08
Hi there, So thank you so much for being here and let’s right off the bat, let people know the phone number locally to call to get to you 305-682-1118 and also Floridataxsolvers.com online helping with your tax issues and Steven You were telling me the tax issues will be compounding now as a brand new Rash of collection letters have been sent out by the IRS just recently.

Steve Klitzner 00:33
Yeah, absolutely. What happened is about eight months ago The IRS started sending out certified letters intent to levy and these letters Don’t actually allow the IRS to levy but Less than a week ago. We started getting LT 11 letter 11’s final notice of intent to levy and they’re Flooding in the door all of my clients have been under the radar.

Steve Klitzner 01:02
The IRS has been leaving them alone they’ve now got a final notice of intent to levy and Within 30 days as long as we request an appeals hearing nothing can happen but when that 30 days goes you are Open to IRS levies of your bank account your wages, etc.

Host 01:22
And once that happens, you really don’t have any ability to stop it, right?

Steve Klitzner 01:27
It’s very tough. You’re playing defense. You’re saying instead of saying I’ve requested a hearing Let’s get the case resolved now. You’re in the please don’t hurt me mode What do I need to do so you don’t do anything bad to me?

Steve Klitzner 01:42
That’s not where you want to be. You don’t want to be playing defense like that

Host 01:46
No, indeed again, Steven Klitzner the law office of Steven Klitzner the tax attorney FloridaTaxsolvers.com your local tax solution 305-682-1118 and when we talk about tax solutions there’s a number of ways to go about it.

Host 02:02
It’s not necessarily the case that you’re going to get off scot -free, but there are many rights that you have as a taxpayer that the IRS will not tell you about.

Steve Klitzner 02:11
Well, that’s true. They don’t, they, even though in the letter it tells you about a hearing, they don’t slam it over your head that this is really, really important.

Steve Klitzner 02:21
You have to, you have to, I know what you’re responding to. As a general rule, certified letters come with rights. Now, it’s funny because a few days ago, friends of ours called and said, we got certified letters from the IRS.

Steve Klitzner 02:37
What do we do? And I said, of course, go to the post office and pick them up. And they were freaking out. However, and I knew they didn’t have an IRS issue. I was concerned, maybe it was an audit, but it was the IRS sending them a certified letter telling them they need a signature. on their last tax return. They were very relieved.

Host 02:58
Now, that would be a good feeling to find out that’s all it was. Now, what if you choose not to pick up that certified letter, not to sign for it? What happens then?

Steve Klitzner 03:07
Yeah, it still counts against you. As long as they send it, whether you pick it up, whether you open it up, even if you’ve moved and haven’t given them a forwarding address, it counts against you. The clock is ticking.

Steve Klitzner 03:21
You have to be very careful. If you have an IRS issue, you want the IRS to know where you are, because if they don’t and they send it to your last address, now your rights are gone. Now they’re going to start levying. Believe me, then they’ll find you.

Host 03:37
Yeah, so again, Steven Klitzner, tax attorney 305 -682 -1118 at floridatacksolvers .com. How about bankruptcy? Is that a way that people try to evade the IRS?

Steve Klitzner 03:49
Bankruptcy actually is a tool that can be used for personal income taxes that have been due more than three years ago and that have been filed for at least two years. You could discharge the taxes in bankruptcy, at least theoretically. That’s when I’ll get a bankruptcy lawyer involved if my client is open to it to take a look at it and see if the taxes are dischargeable.

Steve Klitzner 04:17
So to give you an example, if we’re in 2024 and someone has a return from 2020 that they filed on time, then that’s more than three years ago it was due. It was due in 2021 and it’s been filed for more than two years. They at least can take a look at discharging it in bankruptcy.

Host 04:39
Very well. Again, Steven Klitzner, tax attorney 305 -682 -1118. Steven, we’ve been talking for many months here on the air now. It seems that any question I pose to you, you have an immediate answer, but it’s not as if you’ve been doing it. this just a few days

Steve Klitzner 04:55
yeah this is all I do and now you make me feel sad this is it this is my practice all I do is take care of IRS problems I don’t do the planning stuff I don’t do that I don’t open up corporations I don’t do that we’re in Florida the IRS in Florida keeps me very very busy with people who are getting audited or owe the IRS money and would be a large percentage of people that haven’t filed returns

Host 05:26
yeah yeah so it would typically be Florida field agents if that’s the proper term for an IRS revenue agent they’d be typically based in Florida if they’re going after Florida taxpayers is that true

Steve Klitzner 05:38
yes and well the Florida the revenue agents are actually the auditors the revenue officers are the collectors now they even even since covered you know those letters I told you about had stopped right at the time of COVID.

Steve Klitzner 05:54
But revenue officers have been getting cases during all this time. When a revenue officer gets a case, now you have to be careful. You have to cooperate. You have to give them what they’re requesting, and then you can work a deal.

Steve Klitzner 06:08
And the deals, the idea of working a deal with the IRS is, I have to come up with something my client can live with that the IRS will accept. I’ve got to find that common ground. And it’s easy to make a deal, but if my client’s going to default in a month or two, we’re wasting everyone’s time.

Steve Klitzner 06:30
So I have to take a look at their finances, and I have to see what is best for them. Some people do an installment agreement. They pay over time. Other people don’t have the ability to pay all the taxes.

Steve Klitzner 06:43
Those are the folks we can do an offer and compromise for and settle for less. But everything is based on that individual’s financial situation.

Host 06:53
Yeah. So you also deal with a lot of businesses as well.

Host 06:56
Payroll taxes, those tend to be a big issue and a big expense for any business. What is a trust fund recovery penalty?

Steve Klitzner 07:05
Well, what happens is when you owe payroll taxes, you are not paying the IRS the taxes that you withhold from your employee, Social Security, Medicare and withholding.

Steve Klitzner 07:19
And then the corporation, the business matches the Social Security and Medicare. So the payroll taxes in a case like that, let’s say they’re $100 ,000. Well, the IRS takes a look at and says, hold on here.

Steve Klitzner 07:32
You’ve withheld money from your employees for Social Security, Medicare and withholding taxes. You kept it in trust to give us, you stole our money. Most of the time, of course, they don’t have it. So that’s the trust fund.

Steve Klitzner 07:45
That’s the civil penalty. The amount that you were supposed to turn over to the IRS that you paid to your employee. employee, that is something one or more people at the office can be personally responsible for. So at $100 ,000, we’re looking at about $60 ,000 to $65 ,000 of that is the individual’s responsibility.

Host 08:10
The individual as in the officers of the corporation?

Steve Klitzner 08:14
Yeah, the responsible parties that the IRS determines didn’t pay them the money.

Steve Klitzner 08:18
Now, as I said, most of the time the money’s not there. That’s why they’re not paying the IRS, but that, of course, is not an excuse. The IRS looks toward individuals, and that type of tax is never, never dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Steve Klitzner 08:35
We’ve got to make a deal on that. And from a practical standpoint, some people can afford to pay $1 ,000 a month, $100 a month. Nothing a month. And if that’s the case, that’s the deal. We try to get them.

Host 08:47
Yeah, Steven Klitzner tax attorney, FloridaTaxsolvers.com your local tax attorney is 305-682-1118 for many years representing Well taxpayers throughout South Florida and the Florida Keys. So that’s what about the fresh start initiative?

Host 09:05
We hear about that a lot. Some people might think I’ll get off stock free or scot -free by going to fresh fresh start initiative Is that truly still a solution?

Steve Klitzner 09:15
Well, the first start really it sounds good.

Steve Klitzner 09:18
So you hear these national companies advertised about it It’s new program limited time only but the reality is the first start program was something that They were adding to for several years, but the last time they added to it was 2012 But it’s still in effect and what it did was it didn’t allow you to just call the IRS And say hey, I want a fresh start go bother somebody else, but it allowed us more Opportunity to settle cases for less money and it also gave us some other tools We can use to keep the IRS off our back.

Steve Klitzner 09:56
So that’s a permanent program It’s been around a long time and now it’s something when I teach at seminars We don’t really even teach it as the fresh start program because it’s part of the internal revenue manual It’s part of what we’ve done for a decade.

Host 10:11
Mmm. Okay, so let’s circle back You said the collection letters are being out again They’re being sent out in mass as of just a few days ago Let’s just review as far as the importance of timing and really getting ahead of this when you get that first letter It really is time to protect your rights and take action and call you

Steve Klitzner 10:32
Yeah, you’ll get a series of letters starting with hey, this is a nice little bill can you please pay it all the way up to that final notice of intent to levy and And that’s something that the IRS is basically saying in this last letter,

Steve Klitzner 10:50
we haven’t heard from you, you haven’t made us a deal, you haven’t proposed anything to us, so here’s our idea. We’re going to start taking your stuff. If you don’t think this is a good idea, within 30 days, ask us to send the case to an appeals officer at the independent office of appeals, try to work it out with them.

Steve Klitzner 11:12
If you think it’s a good idea, just ignore us, we’ll start taking. But if you don’t like the idea, you can propose an alternative to an appeals officer. Appeals officers have been there a while, they have a job to settle the cases, they’re former revenue officers that have been elevated, they’re good people to deal with as a general rule, and that’s how we would get a case like that settled. as long as we exercise those rights.

Host 11:38
Yes, but again, having the taxpayer call the IRS directly is never really advised.

Steve Klitzner 11:43
No, boy. Yeah, I can tell you stories. I had a guy, a client of mine, he’s been under the radar, he got a letter.

Steve Klitzner 11:52
Instead of calling me and having me take care of it, which we would take care of it, of course, even if he didn’t call, he called the IRS. He basically said, here I am. Now, when you call the IRS, they say, where do you bank?

Steve Klitzner 12:05
Where do you work? Now, you can’t say you don’t know. If I call the IRS to get information, I say, I don’t have that information. I just want what I need. I’m not giving you anything. I don’t have that in front of me.

Steve Klitzner 12:20
So I don’t give them that. And as a general rule, if I don’t have to call the IRS, I don’t. I can get all of the records online that show me everything I need to know. I don’t wanna wake up someone over there who suddenly is giving me deadlines, telling me we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do that if you don’t do this in 30 days. So there’s a lot of folks that everything is done by us online to get what we need.

Host 12:48
Yeah, floridatacksolvers .com. Steven Klitzner, tax attorney 305 -682 -1118. So then when you’re hired, the taxpayer doesn’t have to talk to the IRS, but does the IRS punish the taxpayer if they seek an attorney to represent them?

Steve Klitzner 13:06
Now as a general rule, they’re actually, believe it or not, happy to see us because now they have someone who is going to meet deadlines, give them what they’re entitled to, and work with them to resolving the case.

Steve Klitzner 13:20
They get very frustrated, the IRS does, especially revenue officers locally, when they have a taxpayer who’s not cooperating. They have no choice but to levy to get their attention. And when they have one of these national companies, these eight- 800 companies where you don’t know who’s helping you on the case They ignore the IRS all the time when they see them on the case They roll their eyes The revenue officers go through the motions when they don’t hear from anybody when they’re ignored in order to get the attention of the taxpayer They just start to levy so the taxpayer knows your your representative is not doing anything And we get a lot of calls from people just like that.

Steve Klitzner 14:05
They say I hired this company from California or Colorado they haven’t done anything. They don’t call me They’ve ignored everything and I say well, that’s that’s kind of with some of them. That’s their model They get the money from you and then they don’t do anything until you fire them That’s what a business model that is.

Host 14:27
Yeah, well, certainly not one that we would advise. Steven Klitzner, a tax attorney, floridatacksolvers .com. Now, Steven, we’ve talked in the past about your qualifications. You served on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council.

Host 14:40
You’ve been advising and protecting clients for a long time. You even were admitted to, well, almost admitted to the United States Supreme Court. We heard about that.

Steve Klitzner 14:48
I was actually admitted. I’ve just never actually practiced that.

Host 14:51
Okay, well, close. Very close. Nonetheless, this all sounds maybe expensive to the late person who says I can’t pay my taxes to begin with, and how do you respond to that?

Steve Klitzner 15:03
Well, I charge a flat fee. This is the fee that covers everything from start to finish on the case.

Steve Klitzner 15:09
Consultation, of course, is always free. If I, nothing I can do to help the people, I just tell them what they need to do. But if I can help them, which in the majority of the cases, they really do need help.

Steve Klitzner 15:21
There are cases they don’t, with smaller matters. But then I say, here’s the fee. This covers everything until the end of the case. Whether I get it done in a year, and save you a bunch of money, or 10 years, and the statute of limitations runs, here’s the fee.

Steve Klitzner 15:35
And I work with my clients on paying me. I don’t like to wait too long, but we will work with them, because I do understand that they may have some financial problems. But the other thing I wanted to mention to you is that, and this is the third time it happened.

Steve Klitzner 15:51
Last month, I got a call from a revenue officer at the IRS, who’s training new revenue officers, new collectors. And he asked me to come down there. As I said, it’s the third time it’s happened over the last couple of years with new people.

Steve Klitzner 16:04
And I spoke for an hour and a half, letting them know what happens on my side of the table, and what I’m trying to do, and how I’m trying to work to resolve cases. And it’s really met well from the IRS, and every so often.

Steve Klitzner 16:25
often I’ll talk to a revenue officer, a new one, and they’ll say, oh yeah, I remember when you came down and gave us your insight, and I had one guy say, well, if you say it, it must be true. I said, okay.

Steve Klitzner 16:37
I had another revenue officer. I said, are you new? And she said, I’m not going to tell you. I said, why not? She said, then you’ll take advantage of me. And I said, no, no, I won’t do that. I know that you’re new.

Host 16:50
Yeah, well, it certainly is a testament to you, your qualifications, and the amount of respect that the IRS has for you, given the fact that they consult you as well in the training process and beyond.

Host 17:02
So again, Steven Klitzner, PA tax attorney, it is 305 -682 -1118 for the direct number to get a direct consultation with Steven Klitzner and his team, FloridaTaxSolvers .com. So again, the collection letters are going out in mass, and you have mentioned a few times about new IRS agents.

Host 17:20
We had heard in the past about the tens of thousands of new agents that may appear on the landscape and it sounds like they are getting more aggressive.

Steve Klitzner 17:31
They really are. They need to start collecting.

Steve Klitzner 17:33
The problem from their standpoint is you’ve got to wish, you’ve got to be careful what you wish for. They’re sending out all these letters. Now they’re going to get a bunch of requests for hearings and they’re going to have to figure out a way that they’re going to be able to resolve those.

Steve Klitzner 17:48
But that’s not our problem. We’ll exercise our rights. And they know it. When a revenue officer is on a case, he sends me a final notice of intent to levy, he’ll actually say to me, go ahead and file your request for a collection due process hearing.

Steve Klitzner 18:01
We know that’s what you’re going to do to protect your client. And then I take it out of their hands and go to someone who wants to resolve the case.

Host 18:11
Well, those are important words, protect your client.

Host 18:14
And that’s exactly what you do and exactly what Steven will do for you if you call 305 -682 -1118. Law Office of Steven Klitzner, Floridataxsolvers.com. So again, a very fruitful and informative conversation today.

Host 18:30
Steven, is there anything else that we missed talking about at this point?

Steve Klitzner 18:33
I think that’s it. I’m all geared up to start my day when I talk to you. I get psyched up. I’m excited to get going.

Host 18:41
Well, we’ll have to do this on a Monday then and you’ll have juice for the rest of the week.

Host 18:45
Yeah, indeed. Well, very good, Steven. Thank you so much for your time here today. It’s been most informative and we’ll talk again soon.

Steve Klitzner 18:50
Thanks, Michael. Take care.

Host 18:52
You too. Steven Klitzner, a tax attorney, Floridataxsolvers.com, 305 -682 -1118, representing taxpayers in South Florida and the Florida Keys, again, 305-682 -1118, area code 826 is the time.