What Happens Next Depends On Your IRS Account
Before you panic, pay blindly, or ignore another notice, let our tax resolution team review your situation and explain your available options.
With a team of tax attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents carrying 250+ years of combined IRS casework, MD Sullivan Tax Group helps individuals and businesses with back taxes, unfiled returns, IRS notices, liens, levies, wage garnishments, and collection matters.
| Call (762) 800-1040 | Get Your IRS Case Reviewed |
Owe back taxes to the IRS? You Don’t Have to Handle It Alone
You may be dealing with unpaid federal income taxes, several years of tax debt, unfiled returns, IRS penalties and interest, collection notices, wage levies, bank levies, federal tax liens, a Final Notice of Intent to Levy, or an IRS Revenue Officer.
If you are unsure what to do if you owe back taxes, start with a case review. We look at the facts before recommending a path.
| Speak With an IRS Tax Resolution Specialist |
We Help When You Owe Back Taxes to the IRS
Knowing what to do if you owe back taxes starts with knowing exactly what the IRS has on file for you.
Here’s what our team actually does once you call:
Back Tax Assessment
We pull your IRS transcripts and go through the balances, notices, and filing history line by line.
IRS Representation
Our attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents speak to the IRS directly, so you stop taking those calls.
Back Tax Return Filing
If you have unfiled or late returns from 2019, 2021, or earlier, we reconstruct the records and get them filed.
Tax Debt Settlement
We check whether your numbers support an Offer in Compromise or another approved settlement.
IRS Payment Plans
When paying it all at once isn’t realistic, we work out back taxes payment options built around your actual income.
Penalty Relief
Late-filing and late-payment penalties can sometimes be reduced or removed. We check every case for it.
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Why Work With a Former IRS Agent?
- Michael D. Sullivan served 10 years with the IRS and worked as a Revenue Officer, Offer in Compromise Tax Specialist, and Large Dollar Case Specialist.
- Our team has 250+ years of combined IRS work experience and has resolved thousands of IRS problems nationwide.
- Our team includes tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, former IRS Revenue Officers, Revenue Agents, Appeals Agents, and tax specialists.
| Get Help From Former IRS Agents |
Our IRS Back Tax Resolution Process
- Tell Us About Your IRS Tax Debt
Share your notices, tax balances, filing status, and collection action. - Review Your IRS Account
We pull your transcripts and confirm exactly what the IRS has on record. We review the information needed to understand your tax liability and collection status. - Identify Your Resolution Options
We assess which IRS strategies may fit your finances, filing history, and tax debt. - Work Toward Resolution
We handle the paperwork and the IRS conversations from there.
| Let’s Look At Your Case |
Tax Resolution Options When You Owe Back Taxes to the IRS
Not every option fits every case, and we won’t pretend otherwise. Here’s the breakdown of back tax payment options to address tax debt.
- Payment Plans: For balances too large to pay off in one shot.
- Offer in Compromise: For taxpayers whose documented finances show they genuinely can’t pay the full amount.
- Currently Not Collectible / Collection Delay: For real financial hardship situations.
- Penalty Relief: For taxpayers who qualify for reduced or removed penalties.
- Filing Delinquent Tax Returns: Usually required before anything else can move forward.
- IRS Collection Appeals: For pushing back on a levy, lien, or other collection action.
You Opened The IRS Letter. Now What?You don’t need to figure everything out from one notice. Tell us what you’re facing, and we’ll help you understand the problem and your possible next steps. Let’s Help You Deal With Your IRS Debt |
We Help People Who Owe Back Taxes to the IRS
MD Sullivan Tax Group works with taxpayers facing personal and business IRS debt, including cases involving multiple years of balances, liens, levies, garnishments, notices, and Revenue Officer matters.
- Individuals: Personal income tax debt and collection notices.
- Self-Employed Taxpayers: Unpaid income and estimated tax bills.
- Business Owners: Payroll tax and business liability cases.
- Taxpayers With Multiple Years of Debt: Stacked balances, penalties, and interest.
- Taxpayers With IRS Collection Actions: Levies, liens, and garnishments already in motion.
Don’t Wait Until the IRS Takes Collection Action
Every month a balance sits unresolved, penalties and interest add to it. The IRS turns to liens, levies, and garnishment once a taxpayer stays quiet too long. The longer you owe back taxes to the IRS without acting, the fewer options tend to be left on the table.
If you are asking how far back the IRS can collect, the general rule is 10 years from the assessment date. Certain events can suspend or extend that period, so your actual collection deadline depends on your account history.
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FAQs
The balance grows every day. Interest runs at 7% a year, compounded daily (the rate for the fourth quarter of 2026), plus a late-payment penalty. The IRS sends escalating notices, then a Final Notice of Intent to Levy. After that it can file a tax lien and take wages, bank funds, and refunds.
Generally 10 years from the date the tax was assessed. This deadline is called the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). Some events pause the clock, such as a pending Offer in Compromise, bankruptcy, or a Collection Due Process hearing. For years you never filed, the clock has not started yet.
There are five main paths: pay in full (or within 180 days on a short-term plan), set up an installment agreement, request hardship (Currently Not Collectible) status, apply for an Offer in Compromise, or ask for penalty relief. The right one depends on your income, expenses, assets and total balance.
Yes, if you owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest and all your returns are filed. In 2026 the online setup fee is $29 with automatic bank payments or $69 without. If you owe more, you apply by phone or mail and usually must share detailed financial information.
Yes, always. The penalty for not filing is 5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%. The penalty for not paying is only 0.5% per month. Filing on time, even with no payment, cuts your penalty cost dramatically and keeps every relief option open.
It is the IRS's last warning before it starts taking your property, sent as an LT11 or Letter 1058. You have 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing. If you let that window close, wage and bank levies can begin without further notice.
Yes, mostly through automation. IRS data shows lien filings and levy notices both rose in fiscal year 2025, driven by the Automated Collection System. With fewer staff, notices move faster and with less room to negotiate, so responding at the first notice matters more than ever.
