Your IRS Problems continue to grow if you have a tax debt. The IRS has a program where they assign back tax cases to private collection agencies. A select segment of taxpayers who owe back taxes will be contacted by a private collection agency.

Collection Process

• Notification of taxpayer – If you are part of this program, you will receive Letter 3998-C (We Assigned Your Overdue Tax Account To A Private Collection Agency). This letter will state that your account has been assigned to a private collection agency. If you do not receive this letter and a collection agency contacts you saying they are working for the IRS, be skeptical.
• Letter from the IRS –You will receive a letter from the IRS stating that you are part of the private collection agency program. This letter will also give you the name of the collection agency that will be contacting you. You will receive their phone number and an ID number. It will provide information regarding the collection process and available options for payment.
• Letter from the collection agency – Within 10 days you should receive a letter from the collection agency itself stating its name, phone number, and ID number. When they contact you make sure they identify themselves with this information.
• Options – The collection agency will be able to tell you how much you owe in back taxes and if you have filed your tax returns. They will give you several options for payment of your back taxes.
• Collection of money – You will still make payments to the U.S. Treasury not to the collection agency. Make checks out to the U.S. Treasury. The collection agency will give you the appropriate address to mail your payment to. No cash or checks will be submitted to the collection agency itself.
• Contact the IRS – If you feel you have been contacted by a private collection agency that is not working for the IRS, check the IRS’s website, www.irs.gov or call the IRS for more information.

Be aware that there is a fee for the collection agency’s services. The amount of the fee will depend on your income.

If you do not want to be part of the private collection agency program, you can ask to have your case sent back to the IRS. This needs to be done in writing.

As with any IRS Problems, they continue to grow while you are trying to resolve them. Contact our office for fast resolution of your tax debt or any other IRS Problem you may be having. Call Darrin T. Mish, Tampa Tax Attorney today tollfree at (888) 438-6474. We represent taxpayers in all 50 states.

IRS & Private Debt Collection Agencies is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

You may remember that in September 2007 I told you that the IRS had contracted with private debt collectors to do the hard work of collecting taxes from the American public. I said, and for that matter many people said, that this would be a tremendous mistake. Now Democratic lawmakers seem to be in agreement with me, it has been a bad idea.In probably the only instance that I will ever agree with Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, I agree that the IRS should not be seeking to renew the private debt collector’s contract for next year. Truth be told, the IRS is much more effective at collecting taxes than the private debt collectors and it’s cheaper to the US taxpayer to have the IRS collect the money than to give 24% of it to private industry. Statistically speaking, the IRS is much more effective at collecting taxes than the private debt collectors have been. On average, an IRS employee collects $14 for $1 spent on salary. For the private debt collectors, they have collected only $4 for every $1 spent on the program. Not a great return on investment. I rarely believe that bigger government is the answer to any problem. In this case, I just can’t seem to understand the concept of farming out the purely governmental function of collecting taxes to private industry. Do we outsource national defense and local police to private industry? It’s a rhetorical question but the answer is no.
Additionally, I have grave concerns regarding privacy and identity theft as historically those who work for debt collectors have not been the most savory of characters themselves. These folks are calling taxpayers and refusing to identify THEMSELVES until the taxpayer verifies their name and Social Security Number. Who in there right mind would provide their Social Security number to a stranger on the telephone who refuses to identify themself? The program makes no sense and should be killed immediately. That way good, hardworking taxpayers can get the IRS help they need without worrying about private debt collectors violating their rights.
If you need IRS help, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (888) 438-6474 or at contactus(at)getirshelp.com

Lawmakers debating killing IRS Private Debt Collector Program is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

IR-2006-132, Aug. 23, 2006 WASHINGTON — As the Internal Revenue Service begins its private debt collection initiative, the tax agency reminds taxpayers there are several simple steps that can provide protection against scam artists.

Scamsters try a variety of tricks to impersonate the IRS in hopes of tricking taxpayers into divulging personal or financial information or even conning people out of cash. Scam artists try to impersonate the IRS in person, by phone, by e-mail and over the Internet.

Currently, the IRS is beginning its private debt collection effort, where a small segment of taxpayers who owe back taxes will be contacted by private sector debt collectors. There are several key elements of this program that will alert taxpayers they are part of this program and help other taxpayers from being scammed by impersonators:

• Taxpayer notification. All taxpayers who will be part of the private debt collection effort will know they are in the program before they are contacted by a private collection agency. If you haven’t previously heard that you’re in the program, be wary of any bill collectors saying they are working on behalf of the IRS.
• IRS letter. All participants selected for the program will get a letter from the IRS, telling them they’ve been selected for the private debt collection program. The name of the company will be included in the letter.
• Collection agency letter. All participants will subsequently receive a second letter, this one from the collection agency, informing the taxpayer they will be contacted soon regarding back taxes.
• Money collected. When paying a collection agency on behalf of the IRS, remember that the check will be made out to the U.S. Treasury – not to an individual or firm. The collection agency will provide the appropriate IRS coupon and mailing address for the payment. The collection agencies will never ask for cash or checks written to individuals.
• Contact the IRS. If in doubt, check IRS.gov or call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for more information.

“Don’t be fooled by scam artists claiming to be from the IRS,” said Kevin M. Brown, IRS Commissioner of the Small Business / Self-Employed Division. “People selected for the private collection program will be notified in advance from the IRS. There are clear processes in place for this program, so don’t fall victim to fraudsters who are constantly looking for new ways to trick people.”

The IRS sees a variety of different scams on different issues. One recent example involves a bogus e-mail claiming to be from the IRS. In this “phishing” scheme, the scam artist’s e-mail claims to be from the IRS, tells recipients that they are due a federal tax refund, and directs them to a Web site that appears to be a genuine IRS site. The bogus sites contain forms or interactive Web pages similar to IRS forms or Web pages but which have been modified to request detailed personal and financial information from the e-mail recipients.

In general, all taxpayers should keep in mind the IRS never asks people for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts. If in doubt about someone claiming to be from the IRS or working on behalf of the IRS, call the agency’s toll-free help line at 800-829-1040.

The IRS has a variety of information about scams available at IRS.gov. More information about the private debt collection initiative is also available at IRS.gov.

Simple Steps Can Prevent Tax Scams as Private Debt Collection Begins is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help