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    Tax Relief Services

    Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Defense

    Defense against personal liability for unpaid employment taxes.

    The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is how a business payroll problem becomes a personal one. When a business fails to pay over withheld payroll taxes, the IRS can assess the withheld portion, the trust fund, personally against every individual it decides was responsible for the failure. The corporate structure does not block it, business closure does not end it, and the IRS routinely assesses multiple people for the same debt.

    But "responsible" is a legal conclusion, not a title, and it is contestable. The IRS must show you had the duty and authority to pay the taxes and that you willfully failed, and both elements have real defenses: bookkeepers who processed what they were told, officers without actual check authority, people who arrived after the debt accrued, and owners who genuinely did not control which creditors got paid during the collapse.

    The case is usually decided at the interview stage, before assessment, when the IRS conducts its responsibility investigation. That is when defenses work best, and it is the worst possible stage to face alone. We represent you through the investigation, contest assessments that are wrong, and resolve the ones that stand.

    Is this your situation?

    • You received Letter 1153 proposing the penalty against you personally
    • A revenue officer wants to interview you about a business's payroll taxes
    • You were an officer, bookkeeper, or signer at a business with payroll debt
    • The penalty was already assessed and collection against you has started

    How We Resolve It

    1. 1

      Establish the record

      Who actually controlled payments, who had authority, and when the debt accrued relative to your role. The facts that decide these cases are specific and documentable.

    2. 2

      Defend the investigation

      The responsibility interview is handled with representation, and your account of authority and control goes on record accurately.

    3. 3

      Contest the proposal

      Letter 1153 carries a 60 day window to protest before assessment. A protest filed with evidence inside that window is your best leverage in the entire process.

    4. 4

      Resolve what stands

      If some assessment survives, we resolve it like any personal tax debt: agreement, offer, or hardship, sized to your actual finances.

    How We Help

    • Responsibility and willfulness contested with evidence, not assertions
    • Representation at the interview where these cases are decided
    • The 60 day protest window used, not missed
    • Multiple-assessment situations coordinated instead of chaotic
    • Free, confidential consultation

    Frequently Asked Questions

    A personal assessment of a business's withheld payroll taxes, the money withheld from employee paychecks, against individuals the IRS determines were responsible for paying it and willfully did not. It equals the trust fund portion of the debt and it follows the person, not the business.

    The IRS can propose it, and whether it sticks depends on authority: did you decide which bills got paid, or execute decisions others made? Processing payments under direction is a genuine defense, and cases like this are won at the investigation stage with the record presented properly.

    It is the formal proposal of the penalty against you, and it opens a 60 day window to protest before assessment. Inside that window you have appeal leverage; after assessment you are a collection case. If that letter is in your hands, the clock that matters most is already running.

    Get Help Now

    Speak with a licensed tax professional about your trust fund recovery penalty defense case. Book a no-obligation tax resolution case evaluation.

    (331) 215-7663Book a No-Obligation Tax Resolution Case Evaluation
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