What Do You Do When You Owe Taxes But Don’t Have the Funds?

For many people tax season brings the joy of a nice big refund to go out and splurge on something they’ve had your eye on for a long time. On the flip side of the equation are those people who surprisingly, or not, end up owing the IRS money. Not only do these people miss out on the extra cash influx, but they also have to come up with the funds to pay off the extra tax bill.
For some people, depending how high the bill is, they could have to pay even more than just the shortage amount. That’s because many times when people underpay they end up owing penalties for the underpayment. For those who owe a lot of money, those penalties could end up being huge. In fact, the penalties can even be much higher than the shortage.
That’s why it’s always best to try to avoid owing any money to the IRS, especially if you don’t have the funds to pay it off when the tax bill comes due. So what happens to people who can’t pay their tax bill? You do have a few options.
In some cases, it might be a good idea to take out a loan or a line of credit in order to pay off the bill. Of course, you will then be responsible to pay off the loan, so use caution. Another option is to apply for an extension with the IRS. This could buy you a little time to come up with the needed funds. If you need even more time then try applying for a hardship extension, which could give you up to six months to pay it off. You could also ask the IRS for permission to set up a payment plan to pay off the debt in installments.
Whichever path you decide to take, make sure you do something. Don’t ignore the problem or it will only get worse. The penalties will likely increase the longer you wait and the IRS could eventually take other measures or even press charges. So the bottom line is: do something.
The State of the Private Equity Industry—Is It All Down Hill From Here?
In the past private equity has been a solid way of investing taking in trillions of capital, but with the ever changing world we live in, what is the state of the industry? Private equity investments typically consist of money being placed in a company by venture capital firms, private equity firms or angel…
How the Wealthy Save on Taxes
Whether you make minimum wage or you’re in the richest 1 percent of earners, every taxpayer likes to keep as much of his or her hard-earned income as possible. There are hundreds of ways to save on taxes and many of these strategies are universal to all taxpayers no matter which tax bracket they…
How the Internet Became Commercial
What’s Behind the Commercial movement of the Internet? Believe it or not the Internet was not originally created to share your life on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram or to watch movies, play games or follow your favorite pastime. When it was first invented, the military and research universities were the primary…
Critical Decisions When Launching a Startup
There are countless aspects to launching a startup company. To do it successfully a founder has to make many critical decisions and be right on most of them. Many entrepreneurs have a great idea or product with great plans to make it successful. However, they don’t make the right business decisions, which leads to their…