If your business has employees you are required to payroll taxes. Depending upon the size of your payroll you may be required to make tax deposits with the IRS as soon as the day after you pay your employees. If you fail to pay your payroll taxes on time then the IRS imposes interest and penalties. If you let things go too long the penalties and interest can be larger than the amount of the payroll taxes.

There are several ways that payroll tax problems arise. Sometimes a business is short on cash. If you don’t pay your suppliers or your landlord you will be out of business very quickly. On the other hand the IRS moves slowly. It can be months and months before the IRS gets serious. Some business owners hope that by the time the IRS calls or visits them, they will have enough money to solve their payroll tax problems. Unfortunately that usually doesn’t happen. Instead the payroll tax problem grows quarter after quarter, and interest and penalties keep accruing. By the time the IRS shows up things have gotten so bad that the IRS is threatening to shut down the business. In some circumstances the failure to pay payroll taxes can be a felony subject to punishment by imprisonment, or fine.

Another way that payroll tax problems arise is when incompetent or dishonest employees fail to pay the payroll tax debts, and hide their mistakes from the business owners. Although your business can not avoid payroll taxes entirely even if you have incompetent or dishonest employees, our tax litigation attorneys may be able to negotiate a settlement with the IRS to reduce the penalties and interest. Our tax lawyers may also be able to prevent the IRS from holding your personally responsible for these payroll tax debts. Most California businesses that have IRS payroll tax problems also have California State payroll tax problems. The rules governing California payroll tax problems are similar to IRS rules, but there are also many important differences.

Even though the IRS has many weapons you have rights, including the right to consult a tax lawyer, or tax attorney to help you obtain tax relief. As tax lawyers with IRS tax litigation experience we can help you resolve your payroll tax problems.