If you have ever received final notice of intent to levy from the Internal Revenue Service (also called Letter 1058) you may have notices that you have the right to a hearing. Generally, there are two options regarding your request for a hearing. If you make the request for a hearing within 30 days from the final notice of intent to levy, you can be afforded a collection due process hearing. If you do not make the request within 30 days from the final notice of intent to levy, you lose your rights to a collection due process hearing, but may request an equivalent hearing. The article below has been drafted by a Denver tax attorney to discuss what an equivalent hearing is and how this hearing can be beneficial to taxpayers that are attempting to resolve tax debts or other tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service.
As an example, say you receive a final notice of intent to levy from the IRS on June 15th. The 30 day time period to request a collection due process hearing would expire on July 15th. Thus, lets assume you did not request a collection due process hearing by July 15th, but still need to resolve your IRS issues. Your option is to contact the IRS agent you are working with, automated collections, request an equivalent hearing or do nothing. You can request an equivalent hearing by completing Form 12153 and submitting the form to the IRS service center whereby you received the notice that allowed you to request the hearing. Form 12153 will request your contact information, the periods at issues, the type of hearing you are requesting, why you are requesting the hearing and what collection alternative you feel could be used to resolve the IRS debt. Requesting an equivalent hearing does not act as an automatic hold on IRS collection action like a collection due process hearing does. Further, you are not always afforded judicial review rights after requesting an equivalent hearing. However, the good news is, the collection statute continues to run once you have filed for an equivalent hearing, which it does not with a collection due process hearing, and although the IRS can enforce collection prior to the hearing, as a tax attorney, rarely have I seen the IRS enforce collection leading up to an equivalent hearing.
After filing the equivalent hearing requesting (Form 12153) you will receive a notice from the IRS appeals office that the request has been received. Thereafter, generally 3-6 months in the future, a hearing date will be called with an IRS appeals officer. Generally, the IRS appeals officer will request information and such information will be used in analyzing your collection alternative such as an installment agreement or offer in compromise. For example, if you were an individual, you would likely submit Form 433A, the necessary attachments and your proposal to resolve the issues/debt.
During the hearing you will discuss the collection action taken by the IRS and your proposed resolution. You may need to provide more documents or information depending upon the circumstances. Eventually, the appeals officer will make a determination and issue the determination in writing to you. Hopefully, the determination is the agreement or position you proposed!
You can discuss your tax matters with a Denver tax attorney by contacting The McGuire Law Firm. The McGuire Law Firm can assist you in resolving IRS debts, audits and disputes as well as other tax questions and issues. An experienced tax attorney can be very beneficial when dealing with the IRS. Thus, if you have any question about your matter or issue before the IRS, it is recommended you speak with a tax attorney or tax professional. Most will offer a free consultation, so what do you have to lose!
Schedule a free consultation with a Denver tax attorney at The McGuire Law Firm! 720-833-7705.