Payroll Tax Debt (941) Help in Cleveland, OH

Why payroll tax debt is different

Employers withhold federal income tax and the employees’ share of Social Security and Medicare from wages. These are called trust fund taxes because the employer holds them for the government. When they are not deposited, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty personally against anyone who was responsible for collecting or paying them and who willfully did not, equal to the unpaid trust fund amount.

The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty process

The IRS investigates who was responsible, often through an interview recorded on Form 4180.
A proposed assessment is sent on Letter 1153, which explains the right to appeal within the deadline stated in the letter (generally 60 days).
"Willful" does not require bad intent: knowingly paying other bills while payroll taxes were due can be enough.

Getting the business current

Make current payroll tax deposits on time. The IRS generally will not agree to a plan for old balances while new ones are building up.
File every missing Form 941 and 940.
Then resolve the old balance through an installment agreement, penalty relief where there is a basis, or another option.
Fix the cause: payroll process, cash flow or bookkeeping.

Documents to gather

All IRS notices for the business and any Letter 1153
Payroll reports and filed Forms 941/940
Bank statements and a current profit-and-loss statement
Records showing who signed checks and decided which bills were paid

Please don’t send Social Security numbers, bank details or tax documents through the website chat or forms. We’ll arrange a secure way to share them.

How fees work

We quote a flat fee after the free consultation, once we know what the work involves, and agree the scope with you before any work starts. Amounts owed to the agency, and any agency fees, are paid to the agency, not to us. No one can promise a particular result: the agency decides, and our job is to present your case accurately and on time.