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I owe backtaxes, and I am fixin' to finally have my pickup truck paid off after 5 years. Since I will soon "own" the truck, can IRS seize my truck (a year 2000 model)?
I am considering going out and trading it in, and financing another truck, so prevent this.
But I was really looking forward to having NO truck note for once in my life, so I can start paying off more of the backtaxes.
If there is ANYONE who has any suggestions or answers, please let me know. Thanks.
p.s. it would be awfully stupid for the IRS to seize it, cuz then I wouldnt have a vehicle to drive to work to make a salary to pay taxes. I am a Registered Nurse.
Last edited by NOTAM; 04-11-2008 at 10:20 PM..
Reason: add
I owe backtaxes, and I am fixin' to finally have my pickup truck paid off after 5 years. Since I will soon "own" the truck, can IRS seize my truck (a year 2000 model)?
I am considering going out and trading it in, and financing another truck, so prevent this.
But I was really looking forward to having NO truck note for once in my life, so I can start paying off more of the backtaxes.
If there is ANYONE who has any suggestions or answers, please let me know. Thanks.
p.s. it would be awfully stupid for the IRS to seize it, cuz then I wouldnt have a vehicle to drive to work to make a salary to pay taxes. I am a Registered Nurse.
The IRS doesn't have to be intelligent with your particular case. All they have to do is show that they are ruthless in seizing your assets (illegally without a trial and seizing assets you might use to mount a defense) so they may make folks like you an example. Fear motivates people to pay up, and acting recklessly and illogically increases the fear factor among humble taxpayers. Imagine how motivated you'd feel to hand your wallet over to a mentally unstable mugger rather than a rational mugger.
ok so what you are saying is that i should trade it in before it becomes an asset? just so i can have a vehicle to drive to work? and if i dont, i could be without one?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ViewFromThePeak
The IRS doesn't have to be intelligent with your particular case. All they have to do is show that they are ruthless in seizing your assets (illegally without a trial and seizing assets you might use to mount a defense) so they may make folks like you an example. Fear motivates people to pay up, and acting recklessly and illogically increases the fear factor among humble taxpayers. Imagine how motivated you'd feel to hand your wallet over to a mentally unstable mugger rather than a rational mugger.
ok so what you are saying is that i should trade it in before it becomes an asset? just so i can have a vehicle to drive to work? and if i dont, i could be without one?
It's a dog gone shame, but that's a real possibility. To make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs. Likewise, for the IRS to bully people into paying, they have to act irrationally and without just cause. Libertarians like me are on your side from a sympathetic point of view .
Try to talk to the IRS if you can, or if you're really in deep doo doo, maybe talk to a tax attorney (?).
Just don't ignore it, unless you want to end up like Irwin Schiff (a real American patriot but behind bars for practicing civil disobedience)
if i could afford a tax attorney, i could afford to pay alot more to the IRS. i heard tax attorneys are very expensive. and those companies that advertise on tv to help you settle with the IRS, i hear they cost at least a thousand for their services alone!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ViewFromThePeak
It's a dog gone shame, but that's a real possibility. To make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs. Likewise, for the IRS to bully people into paying, they have to act irrationally and without just cause.
Try to talk to the IRS if you can, or if you're really in deep doo doo, maybe talk to a tax attorney (?)
if i could afford a tax attorney, i could afford to pay alot more to the IRS. i heard tax attorneys are very expensive. and those companies that advertise on tv to help you settle with the IRS, i hear they cost at least a thousand for their services alone!
I'm not suggesting anything in particular, but if you no longer legally owned the truck but still drove it...
While we could sit here and remark on your woes, my sincere advice is to forget the new truck at this moment and spend a few hundred on an experienced attorney that knows how to deal with the IRS. Under no circumstances am I being critical of your troubles, quite the opposite. You really do need someone to give you a best-case and worst-case scenario.
Can the IRS take your assets and leave you penniless? My understanding is they can do pretty much anything they like, if you curl up in a ball and let them. Almost any government agency can do as whimsy dictates. The wisdom in taking the truck and making you walk to work or lose the job completely? None, but it is done. The same thing as when domestic relations attaches a truckdriver's wages for back child support and takes away his CDL (and thusly his earning power) until they're paid up in full. Huh?
Remember, you're dealing with the government here and that isn't meant to give you sweet thoughts of being able to work this out easily. Seriously, find someone with knowledge asap.
ok so what you are saying is that i should trade it in before it becomes an asset? just so i can have a vehicle to drive to work? and if i dont, i could be without one?
Well... if you don't pay your back taxes, or successfully file an Offer In Compromise to which the IRS agrees in writing, or successfully submit an installment payment plan to which the IRS agrees in writing -- the IRS can theoretically seize any property of which you own any portion. In other words, the portion you own is an "asset". Driving a beater is better "insurance" that that particular property will be unattractive or useless in the IRS's eyes.
Consider this: if you owe the IRS less than about $10,000 in actual taxes (before the penalties and monthly interest charges are added), they are not likely to come after your possessions, unless you have a trail of owning expensive real estate, vehicles, boats, vacation houses, etc. They are likely to put a lien on any recorded property you own (such as real estate), so that if you sell that property, the first entity that gets paid is the IRS, the second is your mortgage holder, and the last to be paid will be you. If you don't own recorded property, the lien is placed on your name. Either way, the lien lasts 10 years. If during that period of time you file your 1040 accurately every year and pay every year whatever taxes you owe, you will have established a history of "good faith" with the IRS and they are likely to not renew the lien after the end of the 10 years.
It's really a terrific idea to pay them what you owe them, as an IRS lien on your credit report suggests a person whom lenders do not want to lend to. A TAX ATTORNEY, that is a lawyer who specializes in helping people just like you, is your very best bet. I wish you well.
Last edited by allforcats; 04-11-2008 at 11:21 PM..
I'm not suggesting anything in particular, but if you no longer legally owned the truck but still drove it...
Don't even try it! They specifically review everything, especially assets transferred out of your name into anothers back to the time you were first being investigated. If you gave or sold the vehicle away after you were notified of a pending problem and didn't buy a similar vehicle then you'd probably be accused of attempting to hide assets.
Don't even try it! They specifically review everything, especially assets transferred out of your name into anothers back to the time you were first being investigated. If you gave or sold the vehicle away after you were notified of a pending problem and didn't buy a similar vehicle then you'd probably be accused of attempting to hide assets.
I've never heard of someone's assets being seized just because a friend or relative borrows it to get to work. At least, assuming that it wasn't used in some sort of drug deal or likewise.
It's a whole lot easier than you think to hide assets. Offshore gold deposits like the Perth Mint bypass the Patriot Act and don't require an SS# (totally on the up and up too) and the US government nor the IRS is not allowed to touch it.
The media would have a field day with some poor lady whose vehicle was taken away because her sister borrowed it to get to her job.
All that being said, I agree that a tax attorney is the least costly way in terms of sanity and money. If you went strictly on principal to try to fight back at the IRS, it's not impossible but it will cause a lot more trouble than it's worth.
Last edited by ViewFromThePeak; 04-11-2008 at 11:25 PM..
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