{"id":2243,"date":"2022-10-26T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/?p=2243"},"modified":"2026-05-01T02:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:14:11","slug":"how-to-deal-with-the-irs-if-your-small-business-has-tax-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/how-to-deal-with-the-irs-if-your-small-business-has-tax-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deal With the IRS if Your Small Business Has Tax Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- mish-intro-v1 --><p><strong>I&#8217;m Darrin Mish. Tampa tax attorney, 32 years in, more than $100 million in IRS debt resolved.<\/strong> What follows isn&#8217;t theory &#8211; it&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve actually watched work.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>No one likes dealing with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/tax-relief\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"16\">taxes<\/a>, but it&#8217;s an unfortunate reality of owning a business. If your small business has tax debt, taking care of it as soon as possible is important to avoid penalties and interest charges. The good news is that the IRS offers a few different options for businesses that can&#8217;t pay their taxes in full. Here&#8217;s a quick overview of what you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IRS Payment Options for Small Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can&#8217;t pay your taxes in full, don&#8217;t panic &#8211; the IRS offers small businesses a few different payment options. One option is an installment plan, which allows you to make <a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/how-to-negotiate-the-best-installment-agreement-with-the-irs-without-losing-your-mind\/\">monthly payment<\/a>s over a period of time. Before applying for an installment plan, you should speak with an experienced tax debt relief attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another option is called an <a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/irs-offer-in-compromise-how-to-settle-your-tax-debt-for-less-than-you-owe\/\">Offer in Compromise<\/a> (OIC). This is basically a negotiation between you and the IRS where you agree to pay less than the full amount owed. To be eligible for an OIC, you&#8217;ll need to prove that paying the full amount would create financial hardship for you or your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also request that the IRS temporarily postpone collection action if you need more time to come up with the money. This will give you some breathing room, but keep in mind that interest and penalties will still accrue during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seek Legal Guidance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dealing with tax debt can be stressful, but it&#8217;s important to take care of it as soon as possible. The IRS offers several payment options for small businesses, so there&#8217;s sure to be one that will work for you. If you have any questions or need help getting started, please don&#8217;t hesitate to contact our office. We&#8217;re here to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Get in touch with us today at&nbsp;<a href=\"tel:8132297100\" data-type=\"tel\" data-id=\"tel:8132297100\">(813) 229-7100<\/a>&nbsp;to schedule a consultation!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"When do I need a tax attorney instead of a CPA or enrolled agent?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"When your case has criminal exposure, complex litigation posture, or attorney-client privilege as a strategic tool. For straightforward Installment Agreements, a CPA or EA is often the right choice. For audits, Trust Fund Recovery, Tax Court, or anything with potential criminal elements, the attorney premium is justified.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What does a tax attorney consultation cover?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"A typical first consultation is 20 to 30 minutes, free, and covers your specific situation, your IRS letters and deadlines, your finances, available resolution options, expected fee range, and whether the firm is the right fit. There is no obligation to engage.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"How much does a tax attorney cost?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Tax resolution cases typically range from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on complexity. Trust Fund Recovery defense and Tax Court litigation are higher. The fee is usually a small percentage of what is at stake when proper representation works.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Does hiring a tax attorney trigger an audit?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"No. The IRS does not flag taxpayers because they hired representation. Having a Form 2848 Power of Attorney on file usually makes the case run more efficiently.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What is attorney-client privilege in tax cases?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Communications between you and your tax attorney are protected and cannot be compelled in litigation. Communications with a CPA generally have no such protection. The privilege is critical when criminal exposure is possible.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Can a tax attorney negotiate with the IRS for me?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Yes. Once a Form 2848 Power of Attorney is filed, the IRS communicates with your attorney instead of you. The attorney negotiates Installment Agreements, Offers in Compromise, penalty abatements, and represents you in audits and appeals.\"\n      }\n    }\n  ]\n}\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"related-resources\" style=\"margin:2em 0;padding:1.25em 1.5em;border-left:4px solid #2c5282;background:#f7fafc;\">\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top:0;\">Related Resources<\/h2>\n  <ul style=\"margin-bottom:0;\">\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/tax-relief\">Tax Relief Services Overview<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a data-wpil=\"url\" data-wpil-url-old=\"aHR0cHM6Ly9nZXRpcnNoZWxwLmNvbS90YW1wYQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\">Tampa Tax Attorney &#8211; Our Practice<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/about-us\">About Darrin T. Mish<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/tax-law-faqs\">Tax Law FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/contact-us\">Schedule a Free Consultation<\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No one likes dealing with&nbsp;taxes, but it&#8217;s an unfortunate reality of owning a business. If your small business has tax debt, taking care of it as soon as possible is important to avoid penalties and interest charges. The good news is that the IRS offers a few different options for businesses that can&#8217;t pay their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tax-debt","category-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6132,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243\/revisions\/6132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}