IRS Collection Trends and the 4 Alternatives When Your Clients Owe Back Taxes

Author: Jim Buttonow

Per the IRS Education Provider Standards this course must be COMPLETED by 12/31/2026 to receive credits. NOTE: Go to My Professional Profile in your CCH CPELink account settings to ensure your name, and PTIN number; matches your PTIN card

Statistics show that over 36 million individual taxpayers file a tax return with an unpaid balance due. Unfortunately, some are our clients who fall on hard times and cannot fully pay their tax obligations. Fortunately, there are options when they cannot fully pay their liability.

In this course, join Jim Buttonow as he explores the six IRS alternatives when your client cannot fully pay their liability, the IRS collection alternatives. This course will examine the rules and requirements for installment agreements, extensions to pay, and payment deferrals (namely, currently not collectible status). We also give you the fundamental knowledge to answer your client’s question on whether they can “settle their tax bill’ for less than the amount owed (i.e. the IRS offer in compromise qualification rules). At the end of the course, you will have the basic knowledge to identify what alternative is best and be able to execute that alternative in the most efficient and effective manner for your client.

Publication Date: September 2024

Topics Covered

• Current tax debt trends
• IRS collection enforcement rules
• The IRS collectins alternatives
• The simple alternatives
• The ability to pay alternatives
• How the IRS Offer in Compromise Works
• Best practices and tips
• Staying up to date on IRS collection alternatives

Learning Objectives

• Identify the latest IRS collection enforcement activity
• Identify current trends in taxpayers who owe and cannot pay the IRS- including taxpayers who are facing collection enforcement
• Identify IRS collection enforcement options, including liens, levies, and passport restrictions
• Identify the simple and complex IRS collection alternatives, and the most common alternatives selected by taxpayers
• Identify the terms, conditions, and how to obtain the simple IRS collection alternatives: the extension to pay, the streamlined installment agreement, and the non-streamlined installment agreement
• Identify the terms, conditions, and how to obtain the complex IRS collection alternatives: the ability to pay installment agreement, currently not collectible status, and the offer in compromise
• Identify the types of offer in compromise options and how to determine if a taxpayer qualifies and can pay an offer in compromise settlement
• List tips and best practices in dealing with the IRS to obtain a collection alternative

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None