Trust Fund Penalty - Do you really owe it? Erroneous liability

Are you actually liable for the Trust Fund Penalty Assessment?  Is the IRS billing you for a liability which you shouldn’t be paying? Has a Tax Lien been filed against you for a tax bill you shouldn’t owe?

The Taxpayer Advocate Service has posted case results in which a widow’s social security payments were being levied for employment taxes owed by her deceased husband’s business, which had closed.  The Trust Fund Penalty assessment had erroneously been made against the widow.

The business was a Corporation and the deceased husband’s accountant had told the widow to pay the outstanding payroll taxes. She had sold her home and paid as much as she could. She kept paying until she had sold her assets, didn’t have anything else to sell, and no money to pay with. Then the IRS levied her Social Security Payments, causing undue hardship.

The accountant was wrong! The surviving spouse was not a Responsible Person. She was not liable! The levy was released. It is not known whether the Taxpayer Advocate Service, inter-alia, filed claims for refund and sought abatement of the erroneous assessment (which is beyond merely obtaining a stay based on Currently Not Collectible). Such would have been recommended by me.

If you have a tax problem, I can be reached at 1-866-482-9767. The consultation is free.