Unpaid Payroll Taxes: A Time Bomb You Can Defuse

Unpaid payroll taxes and missing payroll tax returns can create the severest of financial pains and result in possible prison time, but most employers are not aware of it until it is too late. It’s a time bomb that will detonate if ignored, leaving its victims devastated from the aftermath. The civil penalties alone can be approximately 50% of the tax due alone and can be assessed personally against the business owner and others. The good news is that the time bomb can be defused if the right actions are taken by the tax professional before it is too late.

Although the small business owner doesn’t have malice or evil desires, the IRS doesn’t take lightly unpaid payroll taxes and it has great powers and authority to collect. And when the employer is caught by the IRS years later, the damage has already been done. Businesses can be closed. Friendships can be strained. Marriages sometimes end in divorce.

Tax professionals must understand the responsibilities and potential civil and criminal implications for unpaid payroll taxes. The better they understand, the better they can help their clients mitigate risk, and protect their firms from civil penalties. This course helps the CPA evaluate their client’s payroll tax problems and advise their client on the best path to resolving the tax debt.

Program Content:
The major topics covered in this class include:

• 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 IRS evaluates and investigates employment tax fraud

Who should attend: CPAs with clients who have small businesses; payroll tax return preparers.