IOU Uncle Sam

Our clients keep asking us if they can write an IOU to Uncle Sam. Short answer: Yes. But it’ll cost you! The IRS is kinda like the mafia with better interest rates but a whole lot more rules. So let’s review the costs…

Failure-to-File Penalty – If you decide to simply skip filing your taxes by April 15, and you would have owed the IRS, they get pretty ticked. The penalty is 5% of any unpaid taxes PER MONTH up to 25%. This is in addition to interest, and they may make your life miserable in other creative IRS-y ways. Simply put, file on time! If you just can’t get done before April 15, we can file a 6 month extension of time to file for you that negates this penalty.

Failure-to-Pay Penalty – If you owe the IRS and don’t pay before April 15, they will charge you a penalty of 0.5% per month. Don’t confuse this penalty with Interest, which is another 0.5% per month. Our rule of thumb is to pay off the state first (they’re even harder to deal with than the IRS – for reals!), and then setup a payment plan if you cannot pay off the IRS before the end of the year.

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Off-Season Note – We are not planning to keep regular off-season hours this year. This doesn’t mean we aren’t available! It does mean that we won’t necessarily be at the office if you come by unannounced. Please call or email first, and we will be happy to setup an appointment. You can also drop packages through our side door’s mail slot.