If your business has IRS and/or Ohio state tax liens, your tax problems will not just go away on their own. The IRS and state of Ohio will eventually seize your assets or force you to declare bankruptcy – causing mayhem for you, your business, and your family. However, if you find yourself deep in a hole with tax liens, there are different settlement strategies you might be able to implement to release these liens without completely paying them off. These strategies may require you to sell most or all of your business assets, but you’ll ultimately save the time, money, hassle, and embarrassment of going through bankruptcy proceedings or having your assets seized.
Recently, my law firm helped a client sell his business assets which had almost $1 million of IRS and Ohio tax liens on his business’ assets. Our client needed to get these liens released before he could close his business and sell all of its assets to a prospective buyer for under $100,000 which was the appraised valued of the assets. However, the sale proceeds would not completely satisfy the liens and the buyer would not purchase the assets subject to the liens. Using my 30 years of unique experience as an attorney and CPA, my law firm was able to negotiate with the various government agencies to release their liens in exchange for the share of the sales proceeds that they would each receive if the business were to go through bankruptcy. The Ohio Department of Taxation was not willing to release its liens relating to Ohio sales tax and Ohio withholding tax liabilities, but it was willing to sign a forbearance agreement that protected the buyer from lien enforcement. After we closed on the sale of the business assets, all the parties involved in the transaction were pleased with the outcome. The IRS and State of Ohio received what they would have taken in bankruptcy, my client avoided bankruptcy and asset seizure, and the buyer bought the assets clear of any lien issues.
If your business has serious tax lien problems, don’t bury your head in the sand. Waiting to take care of your tax problems will only make matters worse. There is no guarantee that the IRS or State of Ohio will release its liens, but your attorney and CPA can advise you on the best strategy to handle your unique tax lien problems. Contact your attorney and CPA to find creative solutions to resolve your IRS and Ohio tax liens.
Bill Hesch is an attorney, CPA, and PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) who is licensed in Ohio and Kentucky and helps clients get peace of mind with their tax, financial, and estate planning. He focuses his practice in the areas of elder law, corporate law, Medicaid planning, tax law, estate planning, and probate in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. His practice area includes Hamilton County, Butler County, Warren County, and Clermont County in Ohio, and Campbell County, Kenton County, and Boone County in Kentucky.
(Legal Disclaimer: Bill Hesch submits this blog to provide general information about the firm and its services. Information in this blog is not intended as legal advice, and any person receiving information on this page should not act on it without consulting professional legal counsel. While at times Bill Hesch may render an opinion, Bill Hesch does not offer legal advice through this blog. Bill Hesch does not enter into an attorney-client relationship with any online reader via online contact.)