Offer in Compromise Help in Sugar Land, TX
Offer in Compromise help is one of the tax resolution services at Nguyen Accounting Group in Sugar Land, TX. An Offer in Compromise asks the IRS to settle a tax debt for less than the full amount. The IRS generally will not accept one if you can pay in full through a payment plan or the equity in your assets.
15 minutes to get to know you and see if working together makes sense.
What we do
An offer is one option when you cannot pay the IRS in full, and it is rarely the first one to try. A taxpayer who can pay the full balance through an installment agreement generally will not qualify.
Thuy Nguyen, who leads the firm, is a CPA and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, and she works in English and Vietnamese.
This page sets out the IRS's own rules, with links to the IRS pages they come from. Read it before you pay anyone to file an offer, us included, so you know whether an offer is likely to fit.
What offer in compromise help includes
Offer in Compromise
Checking an offer against an installment agreement, filing any missing returns, completing Form 433-A (OIC) or Form 433-B (OIC), working out the offer amount, and filing Form 656 or Form 656-L.
Installment agreements
A monthly payment plan for the full balance. If you can pay in full this way, the IRS generally will not accept an offer.
Back tax returns
Filing years that were never filed. The IRS requires every required return to be filed before it will consider an offer.
IRS letter response
Reading the letter that says you owe, and answering it.
How it works
Start with a 15-minute intro call. Have the IRS bill or letter that shows the balance within reach, and your most recent return.
After that, the same steps apply whoever you work with: check eligibility, file anything that is missing, complete the financial statement and work out an offer amount. Then send the application with any fee and first payment the offer type requires, answer the IRS while it reviews the offer, and keep filing and paying on time afterward.
Who Offer in Compromise help is for
- Individuals who owe the IRS more than their income and assets can cover
- Self-employed people and business owners with a tax debt the business cannot pay in full
- People weighing an offer against an installment agreement
- Taxpayers with unfiled years that need filing before an offer can be considered
- Anyone who has been quoted a fee to file an offer and wants to read the rules first
- Vietnamese-speaking taxpayers who would rather go through it in Vietnamese
What an Offer in Compromise is
The IRS says an Offer in Compromise may allow you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe if you cannot pay in full or doing so would cause financial hardship (IRS: Offer in compromise).
It is not a discount anyone can ask for. The IRS says it generally will not accept an offer if you can pay your tax debt in full through a payment plan or equity in assets, and it tells you to explore other payment options before applying (IRS: Offer in compromise). An IRS installment agreement is the usual alternative.
The IRS may accept an offer for one of three reasons. Doubt as to liability means a genuine dispute about whether the tax is owed or how much. Doubt as to collectibility means your assets and income are less than the full amount of the tax liability. Effective tax administration means the tax is legally owed and could be collected in full, but requiring full payment would create an economic hardship or would be unfair because of exceptional circumstances (IRS Tax Topic 204).
Who qualifies to apply
The IRS lists the conditions. You must file all required tax returns, make your required estimated tax payments and not be in an open bankruptcy. If you are an employer, you must also make the required federal tax deposits for the current quarter and the last two (IRS: Offer in compromise). Tax Topic 204 adds that you must have received a bill for at least one tax debt included in the offer (IRS Tax Topic 204).
Meeting those conditions only gets the offer looked at. The IRS has an Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier Tool that checks eligibility and prepares a preliminary offer. The IRS says using the tool does not guarantee that an offer will be accepted (IRS Tax Topic 204).
How the IRS reviews an offer
The IRS considers your income, expenses and asset equity (IRS: Offer in compromise). In most cases it will not accept an offer unless the amount offered is equal to or greater than what it calls the reasonable collection potential. That figure includes the value that can be realized from your assets, such as real property, automobiles and bank accounts, plus your anticipated future income less certain amounts allowed for basic living expenses (IRS Tax Topic 204).
For living expenses the IRS uses its own standards. National Standards cover food, clothing and other items. Local Standards cover housing and utilities and transportation, and they are limited to what you actually spend each month or the standard amount, whichever is less (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
If the IRS works out a higher amount than you offered and you have no special circumstances, it gives you an opportunity to increase the offer. If you do not, the offer is rejected (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
Once the IRS confirms you are eligible and processes the application, it suspends most collection activities and extends your collection period. It may also file a notice of federal tax lien (IRS: Offer in compromise). The IRS says one will not normally be filed until a final decision has been made on the offer (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
The forms, the fee and the first payment
An offer based on doubt as to collectibility or effective tax administration goes on Form 656, with Form 433-A (OIC) for wage earners and self-employed individuals, Form 433-B (OIC) for businesses, or both. The forms and step-by-step instructions are in the Form 656-B booklet. An offer based on doubt as to liability uses Form 656-L instead (IRS Tax Topic 204). Individuals can also submit the application in their IRS Individual Account (IRS: Offer in compromise).
An offer on Form 656 requires a $205 application fee and a first payment, unless you meet the low-income qualifications. Only individuals qualify for the low-income consideration (IRS: Offer in compromise).
A doubt-as-to-liability offer is different. Form 656-L says no deposit or application fee is required, and it tells you not to include a payment. A payment the IRS receives with the form is not returned. It is applied to the tax liability (IRS Form 656-L).
On Form 656 there are two ways to pay. With a lump sum offer you pay 20% of the offer amount when you apply and, if the offer is accepted, the remaining balance in five or fewer payments. With a periodic payment offer you make the initial payment when you apply and keep making payments while the IRS considers the offer. Individuals who meet the low-income qualifications do not pay the application fee, the initial payment or the periodic payments while the IRS reviews the offer (IRS: Offer in compromise). The payments you do make are generally nonrefundable. The IRS applies them to your tax liability even if the offer is rejected or returned (IRS Tax Topic 204).
When an offer is a poor fit
Going by the IRS's own rules, an offer is the wrong tool in several situations.
You can pay in full over time. The IRS generally will not accept an offer if a payment plan or the equity in your assets would pay the debt in full (IRS: Offer in compromise).
Returns are missing. The IRS can return an offer, instead of rejecting it, when required tax returns have not been filed, and there is no right to appeal a returned offer (IRS Tax Topic 204).
Keeping up afterward is in doubt. For offers based on doubt as to collectibility or effective tax administration, the terms require you to file all tax returns and pay all taxes on time for 5 years from the date of acceptance. If you do not, the IRS may find the offer in default and collect the amounts originally owed, less payments made, plus interest and penalties (IRS Tax Topic 204).
A refund is part of your plan. If the IRS accepts the offer, it keeps any refund, including interest, that might be due for tax returns filed through the date of acceptance (IRS Tax Topic 204). The IRS says this condition does not apply if the offer is based on doubt as to liability only (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
Privacy matters to you. If the IRS accepts the offer, some of your offer information will be publicly available in its public inspection file (IRS: Offer in compromise).
Where a CPA fits at each step
You can file an offer yourself. The IRS booklet has the forms and the instructions, and individuals can apply in their IRS Individual Account (IRS: Offer in compromise).
A CPA is useful where judgment comes in. Before you apply, that means checking that every required return is filed and comparing an offer with an installment agreement. On the financial statement, it means setting out income, expenses and assets the way Form 433-A (OIC) or Form 433-B (OIC) asks for them. On the offer amount, it means working toward the figure the IRS will measure you against, which is your assets plus anticipated future income less allowed living expenses (IRS Tax Topic 204). During the review, it means answering when the IRS asks for more. The IRS says it may return an offer without appeal rights if it does not receive the information it requests (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
If the IRS rejects an offer, an appeal must be made within 30 days from the date of the rejection letter (IRS Tax Topic 204).
The office is in Sugar Land, and Houston is one of the areas the practice serves, along with Katy, Pearland, Missouri City and The Woodlands.
Offer in Compromise Help in Sugar Land and across Fort Bend County and the Houston area
Our office is at 12440 Emily Ct, Suite 303, Sugar Land, TX 77478, in Sugar Land, Texas.
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Who can help with an Offer in Compromise in Sugar Land, TX?
Nguyen Accounting Group, Inc is a tax and accounting practice at 12440 Emily Ct, Suite 303, Sugar Land, Texas 77478, led by Thuy Nguyen, JD, CPA, a Certified Tax Coach and Certified Tax Resolution Specialist. Its tax resolution services include Offers in Compromise, installment agreements, back tax returns and IRS letter response. The office works in English and Vietnamese. Call 832.500.4299, Monday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm and Friday 9am to noon, or book a 15-minute intro call.
Offer in Compromise Help FAQs
Who qualifies for an Offer in Compromise?
The IRS says you must file all required tax returns, make your required estimated tax payments and not be in an open bankruptcy. Employers must also make the required federal tax deposits for the current quarter and the last two (IRS: Offer in compromise). You must also have received a bill for at least one tax debt included in the offer (IRS Tax Topic 204).
How much does the IRS charge to apply?
For an offer on Form 656, the IRS requires a $205 application fee and a first payment, unless you meet its low-income qualifications (IRS: Offer in compromise). An offer based on doubt as to liability goes on Form 656-L instead. That form says no deposit or application fee is required, and it tells you not to send a payment with it (IRS Form 656-L).
Do I get my money back if the IRS rejects the offer?
No. If an offer is rejected, the IRS says the application fee is not returned and any payments are applied to your balance due. If you apply and are not eligible, the IRS returns the application and the application fee, and applies your payment to your tax debt (IRS: Offer in compromise).
How long does the IRS take to decide?
The IRS states one deadline for itself. An application is automatically approved if the IRS does not accept or reject it within two years of receiving it, and time spent in an appeal does not count toward the two years (IRS: Offer in compromise).
Can you file the offer for me?
Yes. Offers in Compromise are one of the firm's tax resolution services. Form 2848 is the form that authorizes a representative to act for you with the IRS (IRS: About Form 2848). Form 8821 is not enough for that. The IRS says Form 8821 lets a third party inspect or receive your information but does not authorize them to speak on your behalf (IRS: Offer in compromise FAQs).
How much do you charge?
The firm has not published a fee for tax resolution work, so ask what the work would cost on the intro call. The IRS's own application fee for an offer on Form 656 is $205, and individuals who meet its low-income qualifications do not pay it (IRS: Offer in compromise).
Can we talk in Vietnamese?
Yes. Thuy Nguyen is bilingual in English and Vietnamese.
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Start with a 15-minute intro call
15 minutes to get to know you and see if working together makes sense.
- 1Pick a time.
- 2We talk for 15 minutes.
- 3We decide together whether to move forward.