Unpaid Payroll Taxes: The Quickest Way To Prison

Learning Objectives

• To recall the common statutes guiding the assessment and collection of payroll taxes.
• To recognize when someone is a candidate for the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.
• To analyze a plan to defend a taxpayer against the TFRP.
• To identify the criteria the IRS uses to evaluate collection potential.
• To implement a strategy to resolve tax debts.

Course Description

Unsettled payroll taxes and unfiled payroll tax returns can lead to severe financial consequences and even potential prison sentences, yet many employers remain unaware until it's too late.

This ticking time bomb poses a threat that, if neglected, can leave individuals devastated in its wake. Civil penalties alone can amount to roughly 50% of the outstanding tax and may be personally imposed on the business owner and others. The silver lining is that with timely action by a tax professional, this impending disaster can be averted.

Despite a small business owner's lack of malicious intent, the IRS takes unpaid payroll taxes seriously, wielding significant powers for collection. By the time the IRS catches up with the employer, often years later, irreparable damage has been done. Businesses may close, friendships strained, and marriages dissolved. Tax professionals must grasp the responsibilities and potential civil and criminal repercussions associated with unpaid payroll taxes. A deeper understanding enables them to assist clients in risk mitigation and shield their firms from civil penalties.

The major topics covered in this CE Tax Webinar:

• The common statutes guiding the assessment and collection of payroll taxes
• "Responsible party" and how it relates to the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
• The steps of the TFRP process.
• The various civil penalties for unpaid payroll taxes
• Seven options to resolve tax debts
• How the IRS evaluates and investigates employment tax fraud

This CPE Course, led by Robert Nordlander, an instructor with over 20 years of experience as an IRS special agent specializing in payroll tax crimes, guides CPAs in evaluating their clients' payroll tax issues and advising on the most effective paths to resolve tax debt.

Join this course and learn to defuse the ticking time bomb of unsettled payroll taxes!

Overview

• Unpaid payroll taxes are a time bomb

  15 mins
• The IRS is secretive

  27 mins
• Trust fund recovery penalty

  38 mins
• Responsible party and willfulness

  50 mins
• TFRP Calculation

  63 mins
• IRS collection practices

  80 mins
• Reasonable collection potential (RCP)

  88 mins