If you owe back taxes, the IRS shutdown meant a little relief from the stress of your collections case. Now things are getting back to normal. "Normal" is still pretty slow going, but one can expect with power shifting in Congress in 2018 and a $1 trillion deficit in the 2019 government budget forecast, that eventually the IRS is going to have to bridge the gap. You can expect much more enforcement in the coming months and years.
On an upbeat note, the 2018 tax law and it's 20% tax cut for businesses is now positively affecting all self-employed entities: sole props, LLC, partnerships, S corps and C corps. You should consult with our attorneys and accountants to see how you can best exploit the 20% cut for your operations (it's a tricky law with lots of caveats). A conversation about your entity status is important. You might consider choosing a new entity, like C corps, for example, who only pay 21% tax rate going forward (down from 35%).
If you haven't filed taxes in 6 years plus, after consulting with WATAX staff, you might focus on filling the compliance window of 2013 to 2018 to close the door to IRS scrutiny. Some of you might file fewer if your tolerance for risk is higher, but be prepared to pay what you owe. Others might do more than the "compliance window" (2012 and older) to increase your taxes owed and to do an Offer in Compromise on all back taxes owed to get square with IRS and to increase social security credits.
For those that expect tax refunds, doing 2015 to 2018 should net you actual cash in hand. However after April 15, the 2015 refund will sunset. Better act quickly, by having your WATAX staff person research your IRS record to verify your compliance and get your W2 and 1099 Transcripts!
