What to do when you can’t pay your payroll taxes?

Cash flow is in the toilet, and you are past due on prior quarters’ payroll tax liabilities. You can barely cover the next payroll check run. What to do? My number one rule for having a better life is “Don’t go broke while owing the IRS for payroll taxes”. The reason is simple. They will make your life even more miserable by assessing the Trust Fund portion of the taxes on you personally. You will not be able to discharge this penalty in bankruptcy which means that the IRS will be after you for the next 10 years.

Must Do Steps

Step Number One is you need a new business plan, and you need it fast. Moreover, it must be a real plan that shows a clear path to cash flow and profitability. If you can’t produce this plan, it’s time to shut the business down. Either go back to being a sole proprietor without employees or move on to something better.  Digging the hole deeper is a bad bet.

Step Number Two is to reduce the liability for the Trust Funds portion of the payroll tax liabilities. Assuming the business is being taxed as a corporation, transfer whatever cash is available to the owner and let them make a voluntary payment to the IRS for the payroll taxes. The owner needs to pay the IRS by check along with a letter that designates that the payment is to be applied to the “Trust Funds Only” for each outstanding liability period under Rev. Proc. 2002-26. Eliminating the trust fund portion of the tax debt eliminates the possibility of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty being assessed on the owner individually.

Staying in Business

Here are a couple of ideas if the business is going to continue:

1. 1. The business should immediately set up a payment plan to cover the balance of the payroll taxes owed. Do not wait for the IRS to contact you. Things will not get better with a Revenue Officer assigned to your case.
   2. Make future payroll tax deposits on the same day that you pay the employees. Your payment plan will automatically be in default if you do not make all tax deposits timely. It is critical that you don’t let this get away from you.

The great thing about the American Economic System is that you are allowed to fail and go on to other things. However, a payroll tax liability that is perhaps in the hundreds of thousands is going to make that recovery ever so much harder.