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What do you do when there is an invalid charged-off debt?

What do you do when there is an invalid charged-off debt?

It’s nothing new to hear or see a dispute between the tax payers and the IRS. Of course, there are quite a few reasons behind the disputes, but most commonly these disputes involve examination and/or collection issues and also the different interpretations of tax law. The IRS reporting a charged-off account on the credit report also proves to be a great hassle for more reasons than one. Now, if you happen to be one of those whose credit report shows charged-off tax accounts and that too having been reported by the IRS, then it’s definitely worth disputing. In fact, if you sit on it without taking heed, then this’ll definitely have a negative impact on your credit rating and that can be far worse than not having accrued debt, yet souring your credit.

What’s a charge-off debt actually?

Before you get into surmises about what exactly charged-off debt is all about, it’s important for you to understand the concept behind a charged-off debt in the first place. A charge-off debt actually happens to be that debt which has been determined uncollectible by the original creditor and that’s usually done after the debtor is seriously delinquent. Now, it’s only after 6 months that charge-offs are known to occur. Moreover, creditors still have the right to collect on the charge-offs because the debt still remains valid. Charge-offs are also known to appear on your credit report at least for 7 years since the debt appears.

Hence, it’s obvious that you’d like to validate your debts before coming to any conclusion about whether or not you should dispute the charge-offs. Debt validation is necessary like you do when going for the programs aimed to solve your financial problems. In this case too, debt validation programs serve the purpose of telling you for sure whether or not you can dispute the charged-off account with the IRS.

How’ll you dispute a charged-off debt with the IRS?

As a taxpayer who’s looking to dispute a charged-off debt, it’s rather important that you evaluate all possible options before taking any conclusive steps. Have a look at the steps discussed below and you should know how you can dispute a charged-off debt with the IRS.

  1. Write out a formal protest: The very first thing you should do is write out a formal protest and request a review with the IRS Appeals Office. If an issue arises, then the IRS is bound to issue a Notice of Proposed Adjustment (NOPA), Form 5701 which details the position of the IRS regarding particular financial matters. You might as well reply to this by citing tax laws and other substantial evidences to support your position.

  1. Review alternative dispute methods: You should also try and review alternative dispute methods that might be available. Generally there are 4 alternate dispute resolution tools available at the IRS Appeals Office – early referral to appeals, fast track settlement, post appeals mediation and delegation orders. You can request the tax office for early referral to the Appeals Office.

  1. Look for the best method: It’s always advisable that you peruse for the best method when it comes to your particular case of disputing charged-off accounts. Advisably since it’s a dispute, hence you might as well take the assistance of a tax professional. The ultimate option of course remains litigation in a tax court or federal district court.

Keep in mind the above instances and steps when looking to dispute your charged-off debts with the IRS for unless you’re sure about what you’re doing, things can get even messier ultimately. Take heed now and conclude things smoothly.

Bank of Canada flags debt concerns and dissuades consumers from taking on more debt

According to a recent study initiated by Sun Life, 65% of 1299 people surveyed in Canada, weren’t happy with the way they were handling their personal finances in the year 2012. Among them, 25% wished to do something about it and rest had adopted a strongly pessimistic approach towards their debts. With the gaining momentum of the firms that helped people negotiate their multiple liabilities and the prospects of gaining a fresh financial life through bankruptcy, the Canadians have become too lackadaisical about their soaring debt obligations. Ignoring such problems will gradually affect your mental and personal health and you might even lose your peace of mind. If you’re already scared by the shocking statistics on the soaring Canadian debt, you should read on the concerns of this article in order to know the ways in which you can tackle your debt load head on.

 

Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Warnings from the Bank of Canada is finally being paid heed to

Yes, according to reports, Canadians are finally paying enough heed to the warnings issued by the Bank of Canada to lower their personal debt ceiling. The number of Canadians with monthly loan payments that were delinquent for 3 months dropped to 2%, a record low level in the last quarter of 2012. The median credit balance dropped by 3.47% compared to the same time during the last quarter. If you’re getting dunning notices from your creditors who are warning you about the rising credit card debt defaults, here are some steps that you can take.

  • Figure out the debt load and the net worth: The first thing that you need to figure out is how deep the debt hole is. You can create a monthly budget through which you can see where your money is going and what kind of adjustments you can make. See the amount that you’re presently paying on your debt and the payments with which you can get out of debt sooner.

  • Set a financial goal: Although it might be intimidating to figure out the total debt load, you should then set up a financial goal step by step. You can either set up the debt snowball or the debt avalanche method in order to tackle the amount with the high interest rate. Whichever method you choose, you can easily come up with a better repayment plan that can facilitate debt repayment.

  • Stop taking on more debt: The Canadians love the habit of taking on more and more debt when they’re already drowning in a sea of debt. If you don’t want to go through the hassles of bragging with the debt negotiation companies about settling their debt obligations. You should lock in your credit cards at home so that you can easily be able to use cash instead of credit when you’re out for shopping.

  • Negotiate with your creditors: You should negotiate with your creditors when you’re in doubt about getting out of debt through the DIY steps. The creditors often help you with the exact steps through which you can repay your debt obligations. They can even put you on a hardship plan through which you can repay without having to fall back on other debt obligations.

Therefore, keeping in mind the strength of Canada’s economy, you can easily be able to determine the amount of consumer spending that is required for business investment. Choose to take the above mentioned steps so that you can easily get back on the right financial track.

Tips to Settle Your Tax Debt on Your Own

Tips to Settle Your Tax Debt on Your Own

Want to settle your tax debt on your own? Here are few tips for you.

Wipe our Debt

Wipe our Debt (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)

Very first tip is to keep very clear communication; always keep IRS well informed about your current situation. Give them a clear picture of things that you have in hand. This could help them in getting things in place for you.

Next is, get a professional to hold the IRS, once that you have informed about your situation, you need to start collecting resources. There are legal ways to settle on your tax debt; however it is not easy to get the IRS to categorize you as uncollectable. This is reason why it’s essential that you give time in investing in an appropriate tax specialist, who will be able to file all the necessary forms. Probability of your success will improve greatly by hiring a specialist, so if you are thinking of pursuing this by yourself, it’s definitely not a good idea.  If you are wandering for where to find this specialist, here is tip number 3 for you.

Use the Internet to find a specialist for you, looking for a good tax professional who will help you settle your tax debt is easier if you search them online. Here you will have a bigger pool of experts to choose from, and the competition between them means you can save lot in the fee amount. Also the online tax professionals are cheaper than that of offline specialists. One more reason for not hiring offline specialists is the excessive fee amount that they charge; usually it is effort to cover up the high costs they incur in running their own businesses.

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