When talking about the IRS Fresh Start Program, we refer to an initiative launched in 2011 in the United States. Also known as the Fresh Start Initiative, it was aimed at supporting people who had accumulated debts with the IRS.
Why the Fresh Start initiative
In the United States, the pressure from the IRS on those who do not pay their taxes within the established time limits is very high. This pressure can lead to complex situations involving penalties, wage garnishments, property seizures, etc.
Non-payment of taxes is transferred to the judicial sphere and can often result in final sentences in court.
The Fresh Start program, promoted by the government, appears as a model of the Federal Government’s reaction to this pressure. In this way, it seeks to analyze those cases in which the application of financial fines or coercive hyper-compliance systems could be considered excessive or inadequate.
This way, through the program, taxpayers can make other payment conditions for tax obligations with greater flexibility. That can lead to not taking on fines or acquiring blemishes on the judicial record, as they can gradually make payments.
How Fresh Start works
The operation of this program is really simple to understand. It is based on providing alternatives to those people in a complex economic situation who, at the same time, have a debt with the IRS.
An example could be a person who has a debt with the tax institution but, at the same time, does not have enough income to assume it and for their living expenses. They may not even have these resources for a long period, if ever.
In this sense, the IRS will not be able to collect more than what a Fresh Start person can afford to pay. This way, a clear parameter can be established in agreement with the tax institution by paying an amount the user can assume.
Logically, the analysis of the applicant’s financial situation is vital.
How to access the program
You must first meet the eligibility requirements to be eligible for the program. These requirements have evolved. They are more flexible today than when they launched the campaign.
The Federal Government’s specialized agencies can request appointments for the initiative. Through these appointments, what is done is a first financial analysis interview.
Based on the financial analysis interview of the data provided, the user is offered the program that may be best suited to their interests.
Access to this program is not for life. That is to say, the moment a person modifies his conditions to assume his tax debt more comfortably, the program would no longer make sense.
In short, this initiative seeks to make the impact of a tax debt claimed by the IRS as flexible as possible.
We must remember that, after the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered changes in their finances. That has resulted in many cases in complex situations that make the economic outlook very different from one year to the next.
These sudden changes in income and financial situation (e.g., becoming unemployed) are at the origin of many tax debts that cannot assume. Remember that the assumed fiscal years correspond to the income and expenses of the previous fiscal year.
Therefore, if you find yourself in one of these complicated situations, the ideal is that you carry out a good study of your possibilities of access to the Fresh Start initiative that will allow you to adjust the payment of your taxes. Of course, you should also try to avoid complex and unpleasant situations such as garnishments and legal proceedings.