Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Attorney for Business Owners
When a business tax problem gets personal, you need attorneys who understand how to challenge liability.
Your company owes payroll taxes. Now the IRS is looking at you—personally.
Because part of payroll tax is held in trust for the government, an unpaid balance can lead the IRS to pursue individuals, not just the business. This doesn’t mean you’re liable. The IRS still has to establish that.
Our trust fund recovery attorneys represent Utah business owners and potentially responsible individuals at this stage, while there’s still room to challenge the IRS’s conclusions.
When Payroll Tax Debt Becomes Personal Liability
A company’s payroll taxes don’t pay themselves. Someone decides when they go out the door. When they go unpaid, the IRS gets involved.
The IRS doesn’t just ask what the company owes. It asks who had the duty and authority to collect, account for, or pay over the trust-fund taxes. Through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP), the IRS can assess the unpaid trust-fund portion of payroll taxes against individuals it finds responsible.
Whether unpaid payroll taxes become your personal liability depends on the facts of your case. For the TFRP to stick, the IRS has to establish two things about each person it names: responsibility and willfulness.
Can a Tax Attorney Fight a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty?
Yes, a lawyer can challenge the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty when the facts or the law support it. A revenue officer builds a case from bank records, payroll files, and other people's statements, and the resulting picture isn’t always accurate.
A trust fund recovery attorney looks at:
Whether you actually had the authority and control the IRS says you did
Whether the facts support a willfulness finding
Whether the right tax periods and amounts are involved
Whether your appeal rights are still open
The IRS may go through business records and interview several people, so a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty attorney becomes the point of contact for the revenue officer, prepares you before any interview, and meets deadlines.
If the IRS proposes an assessment, a TFRP attorney handles the appeal when it makes sense.
How The Law Offices of Jordan F. Wilcox Handle TFRP Cases
Our trust fund recovery attorneys work through every case in three steps.
We Get the Complete Picture
We review your payroll tax history, IRS letters, and business records, and we pin down your role in the company’s finances. If you’ve already received IRS Letter 1153, bring it with you. The appeal deadline is printed on that document.
We Manage IRS Contact
We handle communication with the revenue officer, organize responses, manage deadlines, and prepare and represent you during the TFRP investigation.
We Evaluate and Protect Your Appeal Rights
In the event the IRS proposes an assessment, we review the basis for it and, when appropriate, appeal. If personal liability stands, we plan how to handle the resulting IRS tax debt.
Read more about us and browse case results.
Talk with a Utah Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Attorney
Before an assessment becomes personal tax debt, you have the chance to challenge it. A confidential consultation with our TFRP attorneys will show you what the IRS is alleging, what happens next, and what your options are.
See our pricing or contact the office to get scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) allows the IRS to hold an individual personally liable for the unpaid trust-fund portion of payroll taxes. Because income tax is withheld from employees and the employees’ share of Social Security and Medicare are held in trust for the government, unpaid payroll taxes can expose certain individuals to personal liability.
In a TFRP case, the IRS looks at what an individual could actually decide when it comes to finance, not only at roles or titles. Owners, officers, and managers can qualify, and so can employees or others who controlled the money.
Signing checks or keeping the books can matter, but neither one alone makes you a responsible person. More than one person can be named, though the IRS collects the withheld taxes only once.
Willful means an individual knew, or should have known, the payroll taxes were going unpaid and either deliberately disregarded that or was plainly indifferent to it.
A revenue officer uses IRS Form 4180 to conduct and record your TFRP interview, covering your role, authority, and payment decisions. The revenue officer uses it as the record of the interview. Your answers can shape the responsibility finding, so many people want a TFRP attorney involved before the interview.
Letter 1153 is a notice of a proposed TFRP assessment, usually sent with Form 2751. It isn’t a final assessment. It gives you the chance to agree or appeal. The normal appeal period is 60 days from the date on the letter, or 75 days if it’s addressed outside the U.S. Follow the deadline printed on your letter.
If the TFRP is assessed, it becomes your personal federal tax debt, and the IRS can eventually pursue collection against you, including liens and levies such as a bank levy or wage garnishment. The best time to challenge a TFRP is before assessment, but if it’s already been assessed, an attorney can review the remaining options.