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Plus how your tax anxiety is lying to you, and why itâs time to catch up on your back taxes.  â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â
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Happy Tuesday! October 15 is getting uncomfortably close, but panicking is still the least effective tax strategy.Â
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This week, weâre tackling what happens when you canât pay your tax bill, why you should quit having nightmares about the IRS, and why October 15 is a good deadline to take charge of the tax returns youâve been putting off. Plus, weâll take a look at how a 1990s rapper learned that even if the hits stop, the bills keep coming.
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This weekâs lineup:
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đ If your tax bill is bigger than your bank account, youâve got options.
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đ± Back taxes are real. Your worst-case scenario probably isnât.
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đ Missed a few filing deadlines? Borrow this one.
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đ” MC Hammerâs biggest financial hit never made it to the radio.
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Tax Strategies
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đ Canât pay your taxes by October 15? Hereâs what actually happens.
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The Quick & Bristly: October 15 is your deadline to file, not a second chance to pay. If your tax bill is bigger than your bank balance, file anyway. Then look at payment plans, an Offer in Compromise, or other IRS options.
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Your tax return is finally done. But before you can even pop the cork, you realize that you owe the IRS more than you can pay by October 15. You have options, but first we need to talk about a deadline you already missed.
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Bad news: your tax payment was due in April
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An extension gives you six more months to finish and file your return. It doesnât buy you six interest-free months to figure out how youâre paying the bill.Â
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If you still owe taxes from April, interest has been accruing on the unpaid balance. And as if that wasnât enough, the IRS can also charge a failure-to-pay penalty. With the IRS, procrastination comes with a price.
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Canât pay? File anyway. Seriously.
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If you filed an extension, October 15 is still your filing deadline, and you do not want to be late.Â
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Thatâs because missing the filing deadline adds another unsavory character to the story: the failure-to-file penalty. And the moral of this story? Waiting to file your taxes â even if you donât have the funds to pay your tax bill â isnât going to solve the problem. So file the return, even if you canât pay everything you owe. Which brings us to the obvious questionâŠ
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I still donât have the money. Now what?
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You know you owe. You know youâre already late. And several thousand dollars arenât just going to materialize in your checking account. So, what exactly are you supposed to do next?Â
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If youâre expecting the answer to be âjust pay up,â youâre in for a surprise. The IRS is surprisingly flexible.
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âĄïž Find out what âflexibleâ really means
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PRESENTED BY TAXQUOTES
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Can’t pay what you owe? You have options.
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The IRS is more flexible than it feels like right now, but figuring out which path actually applies to you isn’t always obvious. TaxQuotes helps you sort through what’s possible based on your income and situation, and can help stop wage garnishments, liens, and levies along the way. The process is handled from start to finish, so nothing gets overlooked.
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Tax Strategies
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đ± Back taxes are real. Your worst-case scenario probably isnât.
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The Quick & Bristly: If you owe back taxes, you donât need to panic â but you shouldnât ignore the problem, either. Open the notices, know the process, and take action before collections escalate.
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You owe the IRS money, and suddenly, every envelope in the mailbox looks ominous. Before you start saying your goodbyes to your paycheck, bank account, and maybe even the couch, donât let your anxiety fool you. The IRS collection process doesnât happen overnight.
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First, check your mailbox
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Once the IRS assesses what you owe, it sends a notice explaining your balance and requesting payment. That balance includes your unpaid taxes plus penalties and interest, which keep growing until you pay.
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If you get that notice, open it. Check the amount and the deadline, and plan to pay what you can. If something looks wrong, take action: call the number on the notice, visit an IRS office, or file an appeal. Â
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What you shouldnât do is stash the notice in a drawer. You may forget about it, but rest assured, the IRS will not.
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Your stuff isnât going anywhere yet
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This is usually where the anxious mind jumps ahead a few chapters. You get the notice, you donât pay it, and suddenly the IRS is taking your paycheck or the device youâre reading this on. But the IRS collection process has several steps before it gets anywhere near that point.
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A tax lien is a legal claim against your property. If the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, it becomes public record and can make it harder to get credit.Â
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A levy goes further. Thatâs when the IRS actually takes money or property to satisfy your debt. But even that doesnât happen without warning. The IRS generally must send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and give you at least 30 days to request a hearing before moving forward.Â
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Hereâs what your anxiety left out
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The IRS has some pretty heavy tools in its arsenal. But thereâs a long road between âI owe back taxesâ and âthe IRS is coming to collect.âÂ
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And you have more control over what happens along that road than you think.
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âĄïž Hereâs how to take the wheel
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Owe more than you can pay right now?
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If the number on your tax bill doesn’t match what’s in your account, a personal loan can help close the gap. PersonalLoans.com connects you with lenders offering $1,000 to $35,000, so you can cover what you owe now and pay it down over time.
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Thursday, we go to work.
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The TaxStache Business Edition is built for owners and operators. Quick hits on entity structure, quarterly deadlines, deduction strategy and the IRS rule changes that actually affect your bottom line.
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Would you like to receive our Thursday Business Edition?
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Celeb Tax Cases
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đ” MC Hammerâs tax troubles prove the IRS can touch this
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Image by Andres M.
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The Quick & Bristly: MC Hammer learned the hard way that you have to keep making money to live like a millionaire. After pumping out hits, he faced bankruptcy and tax problems that followed him for nearly 20 years â keeping him in the headlines long after the music stopped.
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MC Hammer built an entire career around telling people they couldnât touch this. Apparently, the IRS didnât get the memo.
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From Hammer Time to hard times
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Stanley Kirk Burrell â better known as MC Hammer â became one of the biggest stars of the early 90s. He made millions â and became almost as famous for how quickly he blew it on everything from a massive entourage to a mansion worthy of its own episode of âCribs.â Itâs unknown how much was spent on parachute pants.
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By 1996, Hammer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with millions of dollars in debt. The case was later converted to Chapter 7. But in 2002, Hammer and his wife were denied a bankruptcy discharge after failing to satisfy the conditions of a settlement agreement. While that case was playing out, another financial problem was brewing: unpaid federal income taxes.
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Tax troubles were too legit to quit
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Years later, Hammerâs old tax bills took center stage for an encore. The federal government sued Hammer and his wife for unpaid taxes from 1996 and 1997. The government won, and he appealed. He lost that, too.Â
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Nearly two decades after MC Hammerâs bankruptcy began, his tax debt was still his most loyal follower. And what happened next is still unclear, as there are no reliable reports confirming whether he ultimately paid the judgment.Â
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MC Hammerâs tax debt is an extreme example, but the lesson is pretty simple. Donât assume that bankruptcy wipes out what you owe the IRS. If bankruptcy and tax debt are on the table, donât try to freestyle it; talk to a tax or bankruptcy professional. An old tax bill is a comeback that nobodyâs ready for.
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The quick (and slightly prickly) stories we didnât have time to get to:
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Follow us for even more great tips, tricks, and deadline reminders. Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
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