Our New York Payroll Tax Attorney Will Work to Protect Your Business
Businesses are responsible for collecting certain payroll taxes, also called employment taxes, from workers and remitting them to the IRS. These include Medicare, social security, and federal income taxes. In the cases of Medicare and social security, businesses are also required to pay a matching amount that equals what their employees pay. Currently, the total tax withholding rates for these payroll taxes and shares paid by employees and employers are:
- 12.4% for social security, with employees paying 6.2% and employers paying 6.2%.
- 2.9% for Medicare, with employees and employers each paying 1.45%.
Most employers are required to file with the IRS an Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, which is commonly referred to as a “941 tax return.” Some small businesses may file returns annually instead of quarterly, but only if they were instructed to do so by the IRS. These businesses use Form 944, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return. Both forms are used for reporting federal taxes, social security and Medicare taxes withheld from workers, as well as paying employer matches of social security and Medicare. In addition to filing either Form 941 or Form 944, businesses must also file an Employer’s Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return within strictly specified time deadlines.
When businesses fail to meet their payroll tax filing and payment obligations, the IRS is authorized to collect the taxes due, plus additional substantial penalties and interest.
Penalties for Non-Payment Include Stiff Fines and Even Prosecution
The IRS employs revenue officers who concentrate their time on collecting employment tax liabilities from businesses, and sometimes directly from company owners, officers, directors, and other responsible individuals. Sometimes, the agency may also recommend criminal prosecution for tax fraud or tax evasion for unfiled and unpaid payroll taxes. This may happen in cases where the IRS believes that business owners and/or other responsible individuals acted intentionally in not filing payroll tax returns or paying the associated payroll tax liabilities owed.
Payroll Tax Lawyer in NY Defends Against Forcible IRS Collection Actions
Our New York
tax law firm is experienced in defending businesses and individuals against forcible collection actions related to unpaid payroll taxes. We also have extensive experience in assisting clients with establishing affordable tax payment plans to get them back on track with the IRS and avoid being assessed with the expensive trust fund recovery penalty or TFRP.
In many cases, the IRS will try to impose a trust fund recovery penalty when payroll taxes are not paid in a timely way. What is the TFRP? The IRS considers payroll taxes to be trust fund taxes because businesses hold their employees’ money “in trust” until they make federal deposits. If business owners fail to file or pay these taxes, they may be subject to the
trust fund recovery penalty, which can be a very large amount of money depending on the tax liability. The
TFRP can be assessed against one or more people responsible for collecting and paying payroll taxes for companies.
If you have received a letter from the IRS that the trust fund recovery penalty is going to be assessed against you, do not wait to get legal help. You have a 60-day window in which to
appeal the penalty.
Don’t wait until your payroll tax situation deteriorates. As soon as you know there is a problem, contact New York payroll tax attorney Timothy S. Hart for help. Call our Albany office at (518) 213-3445 or New York location at (917) 382-5142 to schedule a free consultation.
Remedies When You Are Behind on Payroll Taxes
Since payroll taxes are trust taxes, the IRS takes non-filing and non-payment very seriously. If you owe back payroll taxes, you should act very quickly to try and resolve the problem. The longer you wait, the more difficult your situation and that of your business will become. The first step is to get caught up on filing your tax returns with both the IRS and the state. If you cannot pay back payroll taxes at the time of filing, Attorney Timothy S. Hart is an experienced lawyer who understands federal and New York State tax withholding laws and can provide educated
payroll tax delinquency guidance.
You may be able to pay your back taxes in installments or negotiate an offer-in-compromise, which is an agreement that allows you to pay less than the full amount you owe in delinquent taxes. You should know, however, that the IRS makes unpaid payroll tax investigations very difficult. While installment agreements and offers-in-compromise are more likely to be accepted for payment of personal back taxes, when it comes to businesses’ tax debt, the agency is not as forgiving. Whether you owe money to the IRS or New York State, or both, our New York payroll tax lawyer will pursue the best outcome for your circumstances. Call our Albany office at (518) 213-3445 or New York location at (917) 382-5142 to schedule a free consultation.
NY Payroll Tax Attorney Helps Businesses Get Relief
Business taxes can be very confusing, especially when tax laws change so frequently. When business owners are unsure about the filing and payment requirements involved at both the federal and state levels, problems can happen, including errors in correctly filing and paying taxes. Our New York payroll tax lawyer is dedicated to clarifying payroll tax responsibilities for employers. Contact Timothy S. Hart directly when you have payroll tax questions and concerns. In the following section, he addresses some of the common questions he gets from business owners.
The same general payroll tax payments and tax return filing requirements apply to all active employers with employees. These withholding, payment and filing requirements apply whether you operate a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or sole proprietorship. If you have one employee or 100, you must file payroll taxes.
As tax-exempt organizations, non-profits are typically exempt from federal taxes, sales tax, and property taxes. However, if your non-profit has paid employees on staff, you must withhold employee income taxes, social security and Medicare taxes and pay your portion of the latter two, just as for-profit businesses are required to do. If you have further questions about non-profits and tax responsibilities, reach out to Timothy S. Hart at our Albany office at (518) 213-3445 or New York location at (917) 382-5142.
Any errors or inconsistencies in filing or paying payroll taxes may cause your business to be audited. Failing to file payroll taxes, inconsistently filing, or paying late, deducting the wrong amount from employee paychecks, and even making math errors in returns may flag a payroll tax audit. Sometimes, according to the IRS, a business return may be
selected for audit if the taxes of a business partner with whom you had transactions are being audited. And in some cases, business returns are randomly selected for audit based on a statistical IRS formula. If you have received an audit notice from the IRS, reach out to a payroll tax lawyer who will represent your interests during the audit process.
Audits may be conducted by mail or in person. You might be asked about specific things the auditor wants to have addressed, or the IRS may do an in-depth examination of your business, which could include reviewing how you classify employees, interviewing employees, and looking at several years of payroll records and tax filings to discover whether you were compliant. The audit will conclude with no change to tax liability, meaning all the issues were addressed to the auditor’s satisfaction, or with a change you agree to or a disputed change. If you dispute the change, you may be able to file an appeal. Attorney Timothy S. Hart will advocate for you throughout audit proceedings and negotiate with the IRS on behalf of your business.
Reputable NYC Payroll Tax Attorney
NY payroll tax attorney Timothy S. Hart has spent years finding innovative solutions to help businesses resolve intricate tax problems. In addition to his legal background, he is also an accomplished certified public accountant, which gives him comprehensive tax knowledge that companies can count on to maintain compliance with tax authorities. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Tax Court and is a member of the New York Bar Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. You can trust Timothy S. Hart with your most challenging payroll tax issues.
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Helping Businesses Stay Compliant with Tax Authorities
Proper payroll tax planning before problems arise can help your business avoid scrutiny from the IRS or state tax authorities. When you have concerns about whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee, have questions about withholding rates, or need to have any other issues addressed, reach out to our New York payroll tax attorney and CPA. Timothy S. Hart helps businesses of all sizes maintain payroll tax compliance with the IRS and New York State.
The IRS may take strong action against you if you are behind in filing employment taxes. Our New York payroll tax lawyer will fight to protect you and your business from personal and financial harm.
Turn to an Effective New York Payroll Tax Attorney
Do not delay in seeking legal help if your business owes back payroll taxes to the IRS or New York State. The penalties on unpaid payroll taxes can add up very quickly, and tax authorities may pursue business owners, company officers and other responsible personnel in addition to the business itself. Tax authorities may impose liens and garnishments and seize business assets and property in order to get payment for back taxes, interest and penalties. Your company could be put out of business without prompt action. Our responsive attorney will assess your situation and seek a viable solution that keeps your business running.
Timothy S. Hart Helps Businesses Nationwide with Payroll Tax Issues
NY payroll tax attorney Timothy S. Hart is licensed to resolve federal tax issues in all 50 states. He can also help you with your New York State business tax problem. Call our Albany office at (518) 213-3445 or New York location at (917) 382-5142 or use our online contact form to arrange a free consultation with an experienced tax lawyer. If you owe unpaid payroll taxes or are having problems with
ERC penalties, protect the future of your business by getting the help of our New York payroll tax lawyer today.
Timothy S Hart, the founding partner of the tax law firm of Timothy S. Hart Law Group, P.C. is both a New York Tax Lawyer & Certified Public Accountant. His area of expertise includes innovative solutions to solve your Internal Revenue Service and New York State tax problems, including tax settlements through the Federal and New York State offer in compromise programs, filing unfiled tax returns, voluntary disclosures, tax audits, and criminal investigations. [ 
