Radio Interview (August 31, 2026)

Listen to this interview – MP3

[00:00:00] Host:
We’re going to say good morning to Stephen Klitzner, law office of Steve Klitzner, tax attorney. And you can find that at FloridaTaxSolvers.com. Good morning to you, Stephen.

[00:00:14] Steven:
Good morning, Michael.

[00:00:15] Host:
Hey, you redid your website. Now I’ve got to navigate all through here. There’s all kinds of new information.

[00:00:21] Steven:
Oh, good. Yeah, I have a guy that does it. I sit back with him.

[00:00:26] Host:
Oh, I’m glad he’s doing his job. You know what? Nowadays, it’s so competitive online. You got to always keep changing and making it better.

[00:00:33] Steven:
Yeah, indeed.

[00:00:35] Host:
Well, a nice picture there and a lot of information that is helpful to those looking to solve their tax problems. Let’s start off with an anecdote. You said there was $120,000 that was confiscated inappropriately or inaccurately. I’m not sure if I got the whole gist of that. So bring us up to speed.

[00:00:58] Steven:
Yeah, well, you know, people come to me all the time and they say the IRS made a mistake. You got to fix this. And I look into it all the time. And more times than not, the IRS didn’t make a mistake. But when they do, it’s a doozy. You know, a lady comes to me and this lady, she’s in her early 60s, she’s a kindergarten teacher, she’s worked hard, and I mean it’s the client every lawyer wants. She’s worked hard all her life, she’s put away money, she files her tax returns, she does everything right. And what she did was, shortly after she filed her 2024 tax return, she amended the return to make a legitimate correction. And because she had owed a little money, now she didn’t. Well, she comes to me and says, and this is about a year after she filed the amended return, the IRS just took $120,000 out of my investment account. They’re wrong. I said, all right, let me look at it. And what happened was I figured it out: somebody at the IRS, when she sent the amended return, took her, subtracted her tax from her taxable income. And what was left over is what they said the tax was. So they subtracted the number from another number. They ignored what was on the return and came up with $120,000. It was more of an odd number. And they said, this is your tax. It goes warp speed into collection, which it usually doesn’t. Next thing you know, they’ve got the money. She didn’t know anything. They owed her money, and we had it. We couldn’t get it released on time. She came to me too late. Had she come to me when she got the very, very first letter, we would have been able to resolve it. Well, they’re finally refunding her the money this week, plus interest. But somebody over there, this wasn’t AI. AI doesn’t make this kind of mistake. Just subtracted the wrong number from the wrong number and sent her a bill.

[00:03:20] Host:
Oh, my gosh. Stephen Klitzner, tax attorney, FloridaTaxSolvers.com on Good Morning Keys. So when you said that it wasn’t gotten to on time, let’s say, so there’s specific time deadlines to file for correction, et cetera. Is that how that works?

[00:03:40] Steven:
No, no, she did everything right. But there were a couple letters she got that she didn’t understand. And what they were saying was, we now figure you owe the money, and we’re going to start levying to collect it. Well, the reality, as I said, is they owed her money at the time, a little bit of money, and someone made a mistake. Now, they’re using AI over there, and I’ve seen some AI mistakes, but this was definitely a manual error.

[00:04:01] Host:
Oh, my gosh. Okay. So, Stephen Klitzner, tax attorney, case in point where his expertise is needed to represent the rights of taxpayers before the IRS. Top lawyer with over 25 years of experience helping clients deal with IRS problems from unfiled returns to active collection actions. Give us the phone number again here in the Florida Keys. You’ve been representing numerous businesses and individuals in the Florida Keys. What’s the direct phone number again to get to?

[00:04:31] Steven:
It’s 305-682-1118.

[00:04:34] Host:
And you know, what happens is I always say, well, you know, if you come to me early enough, I can stop bad things. Here’s a time it didn’t happen, and this just happened. Someone came to me with a final notice of intent to levy. As long as I request a hearing within 30 days, they cannot levy. I had a few days left. I sent in my request for hearing. I sent it certified. I requested a hearing. A week goes by, they take his paycheck. They levy his paycheck. And, of course, my client looks at me and goes, well, I thought you were on top of this. Well, I am. So I looked at the transcript. They did receive my request for hearing. It is pending. They cannot levy. And maybe this was AI, but they went ahead and levied anyway. I was able to get it released right away, thank goodness, because it didn’t make me look good. I did my job. But there was a chance. There was another time the IRS dropped the ball, and luckily I was able to get it released before they took any of his money.

[00:05:38] Host:
Well, that brings up another important detail. You understand the process that the IRS is supposed to abide by. You also have relationships with IRS agents, collection agents, investigators, and all of that here in South Florida. So you do have the ability to get quick action if it’s needed. I mean, this client going without a paycheck would be kind of a problem.

[00:05:58] Steven:
Oh, without question. And if it’s on my watch, it better not happen as long as we’ve done everything and we’ve protected them. We’ve got their rights. But, you know, I was talking to the area director for collection in all of the east of the country, you know, the entire east coast. And he told me, you know, they’ve got a map with all the hot spots in the country. And they’ve got, you know, Dallas, New York is red, Los Angeles, the entire state of Florida. I mean, we’ve got more issues, more problems, more IRS stuff than anywhere else in the country, of course. There’s no shock there. But, you know, it’s, they’re coming down hard here. And even though they’ve lost a lot of collection people and auditors in Florida, it’s still a spot that they’re looking at for enforcement.

[00:06:40] Host:
Wow. Steve Klitzner, Law Office of Steve Klitzner, tax attorney, FloridaTaxSolvers.com. To get your interests heard, your case heard potentially, 305-682-1118. And it also kind of points to the fact that the IRS has a lot of tools at their disposal, and they can just kind of pull the trigger and almost do what they want unless they’re challenged, it seems.

[00:07:00] Steven:
Well, that’s it. They’ll get away with a lot. But once somebody points it out and you can get somebody real to listen to it, you can make the corrections. There are things that are not gray. There are things that are black and white that they mess up on and they’ve got to correct it. Of course, now with them having, you know, since it’s been about a year and a half, they’ve had a 25% total workforce reduction. They’re down about 77,000 from 102,000. It’s harder and harder to get somebody that not only will listen, but has the authority to correct the mistake.

[00:07:33] Host:
Yeah, indeed. Well, Steve Klitzner, tax attorney, is the one who understands the process. And as you said, if it goes unchallenged, it might just continue ongoing and the taxpayer can appear to be almost helpless. That is why it is so important to have professional representation from a top lawyer with over 25 years of experience. It also kind of points to the fact that everybody’s case is different. There’s so many different dynamics that happen. It might be a difference in the timing and where they are in the process, what they have or have not done. Brings up an important point that all your cases are handled by attorneys with a legal strategy overseen by yourself as well. So you lend your expertise to each client that comes to you?

[00:08:12] Steven:
I speak to every client. I work on every case. I do have assistance, of course, but the bottom line responsibility is always mine to take care of the problem.

[00:08:24] Host:
Yeah, indeed. Well, and as I mentioned off the air, we’re coming up on, if you’re on extension, you still have a few weeks to get that done, but time is running out. And then we’re going to be looking at yet another tax year coming up with filings coming up after the first of the year as well. Is there ever any time during the year that the IRS kind of slows down and goes on vacation, takes a break, whatever?

[00:08:47] Steven:
Well, they do in December. Their policy in December, especially with corporations, is not to issue levies. And all of the employees also have to use their vacation by December or they lose it. So December is a time that many of them go away, many of them are on vacation. Sometimes they leave you with a nice levy to deal with and then go away and let somebody else handle it. But that’s usually the time things slow down. And taxpayers too, it’s a time they don’t really want to think about what very often is the worst thing in their life during the holidays. They like to pick it up again in January. And so it is a little bit slower that time of year.

[00:09:26] Host:
Yeah, but in the same sense you don’t have opportunity to kind of work on a resolution, so it’s also kind of hanging over your head as a taxpayer because you can’t get anybody to really address it if they’re not there. But that also brings up another good point. Going at this alone, if you’re in need of tax resolution, if you’re getting letters from the IRS, whatever it might be, again, going it alone is a very lonely and stressful process. Whereas if you have the expertise of Stephen Klitzner and his team in your corner, you have the tools and you have a lot more parity with the IRS to have your rights be represented.

[00:10:00] Steven:
Yeah, no, without question. You have to. If you need help, like in any other aspect of your life, get help. The IRS does not, is just not set up to be user friendly, and they never tell you all of your rights. No.

[00:10:16] Host:
Have they continued with layoffs? I mean, we had heard that about 80,000 IRS agents and employees, et cetera, were going to be essentially phased out. Is that still in process? Did that happen or has that been reversed?

[00:10:28] Steven:
No, I think they’re hanging pretty tough in the $77,000, $75,000 area. They are losing more than they’re gaining. They are doing some hiring, but not as fast as people who are just deciding it’s time to retire. And I speak to a lot of revenue officers who do collections and appeals officers and revenue agents who do exam, and they just count down the days. And a couple of them, this is very common believe it or not, get, they, as soon as they’re out of the IRS, they buy an RV. They get into it with their spouse, just drive across the country. They don’t want to hear anything from anyone. They are done.

[00:11:06] Host:
Yeah. Stephen Klitzner, FloridaTaxSolvers.com, 305-682-1118. And something we haven’t talked about in a little while, I was just looking at payroll taxes. Again, it is a pretty scary process and prospect to make, that the owner of the business can be personally liable for payroll taxes, even if it isn’t their fault that these were unpaid. You had a case here somewhat recently whereby over $220,000 in unpaid payroll taxes. It was really the responsibility of a bookkeeper to take care of that. It was not done. And all of a sudden, it is squarely in the lap of the business owner.

[00:11:40] Steven:
Right, yeah. About 60 to 65 percent of the payroll taxes can be the owner’s responsibility. That’s the money withheld from employees. And that money, the IRS will look directly to the employer. And we have had several cases where the bookkeeper kind of absconded with the money or didn’t pay it or did whatever. And the IRS says, oh boy, we feel bad about that. But you know what? It’s your responsibility. You should have made sure you paid it. We’re coming after you for that money. And, you know, that could really, now the business owes a lot of money, and a large portion of that the individual owes. Even if they go out of business, the individual is on the hook for that money.

[00:12:18] Host:
Yeah. Well, and the IRS apparently basically considers, as you said, the responsibility of the business owner. They should have intervened, should have had oversight, and maybe they didn’t. And all of a sudden, things are kind of spiraling out of control. 305-682-1118 is the phone number for the law office of Stephen Klitzner, tax attorney on Good Morning Keys. And so many years of experience representing the taxpayers in South Florida and in the Florida Keys, over 25 years of experience. Is there any particular case that kind of stands out above the rest as far as could have been more than catastrophic and had a resolution that was satisfactory or maybe highly unusual, et cetera? When you look back at 25 years of your career helping taxpayers, is there anything that kind of floats to the surface?

[00:13:07] Steven:
Well, you know, when I think about it from a dollar standpoint, a few years ago, I had a gentleman that the IRS, just, he had moved out of the country, still had an investment account. The IRS took five million dollars out of his investment account because he didn’t file tax returns. The IRS filed tax returns for him based on the information they had, based on their information. He owed five million dollars. Once he contacted me, which is after they took the money, we filed correct returns where he did not owe any money. They were just, the IRS is, you know, to back them up on this, he didn’t file, so they went with what they had. But then we filed the correct returns. He didn’t owe anything, and we got back five million dollars.

[00:13:51] Host:
Oh my gosh.

[00:13:53] Steven:
So I mean, but that, you know, and technically he didn’t know he had a filing responsibility. But there was a lot of money moving around. Had he filed his returns correctly, it never would have happened. But you know, people don’t always, for whatever reason, they don’t know or they don’t do it right. And that’s when we have to come in and correct it. That one, I think, stands out as the most money that we ever got back for somebody. And just because people got into a tax problem doesn’t mean that they were of ill intent or you’re not going to be judging them as, you know, being a criminal or whatever. People get into bad situations, sometimes unknowingly, whatever, and they just need help. But that help is available with the Law Office of Stephen Klitzner, Tax Attorney, and FloridaTaxSolvers.com, 305-682-1118.

[00:14:47] Host:
Focused exclusively on IRS problems, helping individuals and businesses across Florida as a result, tax debt with a clear, practical approach. And I think that our listeners have gotten the distinct impression that Stephen Klitzner is very approachable and certainly will hear your concerns and get them addressed and give you peace of mind. So, Stephen, I hope you’re going to be able to visit Florida Keys again very soon on a vacation as opposed to visiting clients. But I understand that you enjoyed it recently.

[00:15:15] Steven:
Yeah, we were down at Hawks Cay. Luckily, my kids and my grandchildren, everyone could go at the same time. So we all drove down there and it was just, you know what? I love conch. So I ate a lot of conch. And we had a great time. And it’s funny, down there, every restaurant serves the chowder a little different, the food a little different, but it all tastes great.

[00:15:41] Host:
It does. It does. Well, I’m glad you got to relax just a little bit as opposed to fighting the IRS. But hopefully you were well-rested and recharged and ready to get back at it. I’m sure you were.

[00:15:54] Steven:
Yeah. Indeed.

[00:15:56] Host:
Well, Stephen, anything else to mention in closing before we let you get back to yet another busy week?

[00:16:02] Steven:
Yeah, I think that’s it. Other than, as you mentioned, September 15th, if you’re on extension for your corporation, get the return filed. And then October 15th, if you’re on extension for your personal taxes, get them filed. Otherwise, you start getting a penalty. The penalty is 4.5% a month for failing to file the return on time. It maxes out at 22.5%.

[00:16:28] Host:
Yeah, and September versus October, which one is the S-Corp, which one is the C-Corp?

[00:16:32] Steven:
Well, September is the corporation for all the corps. And then you’ve got the personal is October.

[00:16:39] Host:
Okay, got it. Yes, sir. Okay. Well, thank you very much, sir. You have a wonderful day. We will talk soon. And thanks so much for being here.

[00:16:48] Steven:
My pleasure. Thanks, Michael. Great talking to you, sir.

[00:16:51] Host:
Stephen Klitzner, Tax Attorney, Law Office of Stephen Klitzner, Tax Attorneys, 305-682-1118, FloridaTaxSolvers.com online. This is Keys Talk 96.9 1025, the talk of the keys. We return with more of Good Morning Keys in just a moment.