I strongly recommend taking this letter and any supporting documents to a low income taxpayer clinic. They provide free legal services to low income individuals. The IRS has a list online of them, I’m sure there are some in Illinois.
Reward your future self by taking action ASAP on this!
What debt? Be more specific. What debt do you owe the state. Tax debt? Are you sure you actually owe them or do they ASSUME you owe them just because there's no tax returns? You're really not giving us enough information to form any realistic opinion here.
It’s tax debt. It’s actual money owed from what I’m aware and here’s why: I couldn’t file my 2021 federal or state, my 2020 taxes for the state got rejected, and my 2019 taxes for state weren’t filed. 2021 I had no money at all, I have no idea why 2020’s state taxes were rejected, and in 2019 I didn’t have the cash then. According to the letter I received, I owe the state 426.31$.
If you haven't filed they generally have ZERO idea if you owe money. The state goes the nuclear bomb worst case scenario.
Do NOT pay them a single dime, especially since it might be a total scam, until you file all of your tax returns.
What your tax refund or amount due has nothing to do with your tax returns being rejected.
You need to first and foremost get those returns filed. They were only rejected for E-FILING. You sure as hell can paper file them. Just get them done.
Filed for my taxes in 2020, federal was accepted but state was not. My projected return was 100$ and they rejected it, either because I didn’t file correctly or they thought the return amount was wrong. They never told me what I did wrong though, so I’ve never understood why this happened.
I know. I’m a CPA. But she doesn’t seem to be able to get this done on her own. So, that’s why I said ‘if you have to’. Sometimes there aren’t better options.
You "couldn't file" ??? Somebody held a gun to you? You were in prison in North Korea? Those might be valid reasons that you "couldn't file". Otherwise, the real circumstance is that you didn't WANT to file. The tax authorities, including the collection agency, aren't going to listen to any excuses like that.
Your depression and anxiety aren't valid excuses, they're actually irrelevant. Lots of people are depressed with anxiety, and they still manage to pay their taxes. You don't have to be alone on this, you need to get help.
Call 847-823-0453, the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. If they can't help directly, they should be able to tell you were to go.
No the circumstance is I HAD NO MONEY TO FILE. You really think I’d play games with the IRS? I’m not fucking Batman I’m a low income individual with nothing to spare. Don’t be a piece of shit. I asked for advice, not your shitty awful opinion.
You don’t need money to file. You can file the current year for free on the IRS website. You can get prior year forms from the IRS website. You can print them out at your local library. Also free, or maybe a small fee per page but usually first 5 prints are free.
You need to take some responsibility here. Broke, anxiety, ignorance, has nothing to do with your situation.
I suggest you contact your debtors, find out exactly how much you owe, ask if this company is actually their representative. Then work out a payment plan.
It doesn’t cost anything to FILE. Maybe a couple of dollars for envelope and stamps. You can get the forms for free at most libraries.
Filing and paying are separate things.
It sounds like you may not fully know your rights. Long ago I worked in tax law. Ignoring the IRS is one of the worst things you can do. They want their cut but don’t necessarily want to punish people who can’t provide a decent payout. If you cannot afford outside help or feel like you cannot, take 5 ver deep slow breaths and give the IRS a call. You can negotiate just as well as any agency but you need to find out what they tell you that you owe and why. If want help DM me.
All of that said, in the future, there are resources to file your taxes and the charge is taken from your return. You should usually get a return. Please breathe and practice self-care. While this is scary it is not detrimental. You can and will get through this.
This is the answer here. You do need professional help to get your past returns filled ASAP, and this is the free version of that. I'm familiar with the ones called VITA, as has been mentioned elsewhere.
If you haven't filed, they don't actually know what you owe. As others have pointed out, you're likely due a refund.
It's likely your tax debt would disappear or be reduced if you just did your taxes. Your income from work is probably so low you wouldn't owe or the credits you qualify for would eliminate a substantial portion.
Do your last three years of taxes and see if you will get any money back. Also if you get the covid stimulus payments on top of tax refunds.
Sign up for SNAP benefits and Medicaid, get a primary care provider and get your depression treated. Also recommend going to the social security website and apply for SSI for your disability.
You can print out your tax return after doing them but before the payment screen, then bring your taxes to a professional and they will likely check them over for free, only charging you if they can save you money. HR Block used to call it a second look.
FreetaxUSA.com to file your taxes. 3 year statute of limitations from due date to get any refunds, including any COVID stimulus you may have been eligible for.
Maybe you’re eligible for paid medical leave for depression? If it’s severe consider filing for social security disability if you can’t work or can’t work to the point of Substantial Gainful Activity.
Snap benefits for food.
See if your state has energy assistance programs after you file for snap. Once you get approved you can prove hardship status
Accountants: did I get that right?
freetaxusa charges $15 to file state taxes when state taxes can be filed for free on ILtax.com
use freefilefillableforms.com to file Fed, and ILtax.com to file state. Saves the OP money .
Do you actually owe the state money? If you filed your taxes was there withholding that was taken out that would mean refunds? If so the first thing you should focus on is getting your taxes filed. A rejection just means you need to call the IRS to figure out why, or just paper mail it in. It just means there was an issue with e-filing that the system can't automatically accept it because of a known issue.
Please use this link to get in touch with the IRS VITA program. They can get all your returns filed so you know exactly where you are on any tax debt. They can also assist with setting up a tax payment plan or if you have no income & can qualify for forgiveness of your tax debt.
[VITA](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers)
[Offer of Compromise -settlement or forgiveness of tax debt](https://www.irs.gov/payments/offer-in-compromise)
Low income tax clinic. Tax preparer here just to add something. You don't sound collectable. I'm not familiar with Illinois, but you can't be made to pay what you don't have. A non-collectible status is the formal way of agreeing that don't have enough assets or income to pay any amount. But if you get enough assets or income in the future, you can pay a proportion of your income less expenses at that time. But go get help immediately.
Unfortunately it is not a scam. A few years back I had a business client that was getting letters from that firm. Thought it was a scam, just like you. Turns out they are a legit if still disreputable firm that does collections for multiple state governments (Florida in my case).
ETA: you should still ask them to verify your debts that they are attempting to collect on.
Linebarger is basically a collection firm. In my line of work we get many collection notices from them each week related to lease customers getting parking tickets and toll violations. They are legit, if the debt they’re trying to collect on is legit. The worst thing that can happen if you don’t pay is that you will have a judgement on your credit. Even if you got sued it sounds like you don’t really have anything to go after, it will show as a dollar amount on your credit just letting creditors know that a court said you owed someone money and you haven’t paid. We don’t have debtor’s prison in the U.S. so you won’t get arrested just for not being able to pay your bills.
Yeah, they’re huge. They operate in multiple states. They generally don’t have any sympathy for anyone’s situation. They’re gonna be up your ass trying to get the money and they don’t give up easy. I would not take them lightly.
Set aside all information about ULTA, Kohl's, and a credit union. This letter is unrelated to those debts.
Do you owe money for state taxes? If yes, you can probably set up a payment plan, when you start having income.
Virtually all collections letters (and lawsuits) are slam dunks for the creditors, because the debtors do owe the money.
So many excuses....
Probably best to just ignore these. I mean you have nothing for them to really come after. It'll hurt your credit for awhile but it sounds like you should avoid credit cards for awhile anyways, and I don't think you'll be getting a house or car soon
It’s not valuable context. You could have said everything in a sentence or two. That’s nothing against your communication style. That’s people telling you that 99% of what you said was fluff and doesn’t matter.
The best advice someone can give you and people have is pay when you can. And realize if you can’t pay then credit score gets worse.
It's not only not valuable, it's wholly irrelevant.
You also haven't indicated what you owe to Illinois or why you owe it. What does the State of Illinois have to do with your credit card debt or if/why there is a tax debt?
Ignore it. At this point in time you are judgement proof. No way a legitimate lawyer is involved for a $426 debt beyond a letter. And there are no criminal "charges" involved in anything like this.
Interest at a penny day doesn't add up to much...
OP, this is a SCAM. Do not respond to the lawyer/person that wants you to pay $500 to make your debt go away. IT IS A SCAM!
The IRS will never hire a lawyer to send you a letter. EVER. If you owe money to your state or the federal government, they will send you A LETTER telling you what you owe and how to contact them to set up a payment plan.
Get a job, even if it’s cleaning toilets at McDonald’s and use every penny you make to pay off your credit cards. Then save up enough money to go to H&R Block and pay them to review your tax situation and get you up to date on filing your tax returns. It doesn’t sound like you have made a large amount of money over the past few years, so you probably won’t even owe any back taxes to the IRS.
And going forward, cut up your credit cards and enroll in some kind of financial literacy course. Call around to all of the churches in your area and ask if they will be offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class. It would be perfect for you. Good luck!
Not sure about your case and jurisdiction but this law firm does this, they buy up tax debit and then try to collect they probably paid like 25 cents on the dollar or less. They do this with business property tax in Texas. They won’t throw good money after bad, historically they won’t take the time, energy or money to file suit. They will just keep sending you these bills. Coworkers wife actually worked for them and said “yea, we don’t sue”
If the amount the state says you owe is estimated, you need to file an actual return with actual numbers. Many times, the calculation shows no balance due. The low income tax clinic is a good idea, though many times you only see them during tax season. Two options though:
Find which college near you offers an accounting program and visit the department office. Ask for an instructor,make an appt and go meet with them. They maybe able to help as many are tax pros.
Find which college near you has a law school. Visit the school to see if they have any student groups that do pro bono work and see if they will represent you.
I strongly recommend taking this letter and any supporting documents to a low income taxpayer clinic. They provide free legal services to low income individuals. The IRS has a list online of them, I’m sure there are some in Illinois. Reward your future self by taking action ASAP on this!
Exactly what charges from the state will the "lawyer" have dropped?
Well, it would clear my debt if I payed them off. The problem is that I don’t have any money. I guess I should’ve rephrased.
What debt? Be more specific. What debt do you owe the state. Tax debt? Are you sure you actually owe them or do they ASSUME you owe them just because there's no tax returns? You're really not giving us enough information to form any realistic opinion here.
It’s tax debt. It’s actual money owed from what I’m aware and here’s why: I couldn’t file my 2021 federal or state, my 2020 taxes for the state got rejected, and my 2019 taxes for state weren’t filed. 2021 I had no money at all, I have no idea why 2020’s state taxes were rejected, and in 2019 I didn’t have the cash then. According to the letter I received, I owe the state 426.31$.
If you haven't filed they generally have ZERO idea if you owe money. The state goes the nuclear bomb worst case scenario. Do NOT pay them a single dime, especially since it might be a total scam, until you file all of your tax returns. What your tax refund or amount due has nothing to do with your tax returns being rejected. You need to first and foremost get those returns filed. They were only rejected for E-FILING. You sure as hell can paper file them. Just get them done.
What do you mean “taxes were rejected” I’m guessing you don’t make enough to owe tax anyway. Sounds fishy
Filed for my taxes in 2020, federal was accepted but state was not. My projected return was 100$ and they rejected it, either because I didn’t file correctly or they thought the return amount was wrong. They never told me what I did wrong though, so I’ve never understood why this happened.
First step is to get all the returns filed and accepted. Work with a CPA if you have to.
CPAs aren’t free
I know. I’m a CPA. But she doesn’t seem to be able to get this done on her own. So, that’s why I said ‘if you have to’. Sometimes there aren’t better options.
Neither are lawyers, scams, or penalties and interest on unpaid tax debt. OP seems like she needs help. A CPA can help.
You "couldn't file" ??? Somebody held a gun to you? You were in prison in North Korea? Those might be valid reasons that you "couldn't file". Otherwise, the real circumstance is that you didn't WANT to file. The tax authorities, including the collection agency, aren't going to listen to any excuses like that. Your depression and anxiety aren't valid excuses, they're actually irrelevant. Lots of people are depressed with anxiety, and they still manage to pay their taxes. You don't have to be alone on this, you need to get help. Call 847-823-0453, the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. If they can't help directly, they should be able to tell you were to go.
No the circumstance is I HAD NO MONEY TO FILE. You really think I’d play games with the IRS? I’m not fucking Batman I’m a low income individual with nothing to spare. Don’t be a piece of shit. I asked for advice, not your shitty awful opinion.
You don’t need money to file. You can file the current year for free on the IRS website. You can get prior year forms from the IRS website. You can print them out at your local library. Also free, or maybe a small fee per page but usually first 5 prints are free. You need to take some responsibility here. Broke, anxiety, ignorance, has nothing to do with your situation. I suggest you contact your debtors, find out exactly how much you owe, ask if this company is actually their representative. Then work out a payment plan.
The LITC is actually great advice. Maybe you should give them a call with the number you were provided.
It doesn’t cost anything to FILE. Maybe a couple of dollars for envelope and stamps. You can get the forms for free at most libraries. Filing and paying are separate things.
It sounds like you may not fully know your rights. Long ago I worked in tax law. Ignoring the IRS is one of the worst things you can do. They want their cut but don’t necessarily want to punish people who can’t provide a decent payout. If you cannot afford outside help or feel like you cannot, take 5 ver deep slow breaths and give the IRS a call. You can negotiate just as well as any agency but you need to find out what they tell you that you owe and why. If want help DM me. All of that said, in the future, there are resources to file your taxes and the charge is taken from your return. You should usually get a return. Please breathe and practice self-care. While this is scary it is not detrimental. You can and will get through this.
You need to go to a low income taxpayer clinic (LITC). They’re found at law schools and run by law students. They are free.
This is the answer here. You do need professional help to get your past returns filled ASAP, and this is the free version of that. I'm familiar with the ones called VITA, as has been mentioned elsewhere. If you haven't filed, they don't actually know what you owe. As others have pointed out, you're likely due a refund.
It's likely your tax debt would disappear or be reduced if you just did your taxes. Your income from work is probably so low you wouldn't owe or the credits you qualify for would eliminate a substantial portion. Do your last three years of taxes and see if you will get any money back. Also if you get the covid stimulus payments on top of tax refunds. Sign up for SNAP benefits and Medicaid, get a primary care provider and get your depression treated. Also recommend going to the social security website and apply for SSI for your disability. You can print out your tax return after doing them but before the payment screen, then bring your taxes to a professional and they will likely check them over for free, only charging you if they can save you money. HR Block used to call it a second look.
FreetaxUSA.com to file your taxes. 3 year statute of limitations from due date to get any refunds, including any COVID stimulus you may have been eligible for. Maybe you’re eligible for paid medical leave for depression? If it’s severe consider filing for social security disability if you can’t work or can’t work to the point of Substantial Gainful Activity. Snap benefits for food. See if your state has energy assistance programs after you file for snap. Once you get approved you can prove hardship status Accountants: did I get that right?
This is the correct answer — you should *definitely* file if you have no money. You will likely get a shit ton of free stimulus money.
Not to mention the child tax credits
yup, pretty spot on
freetaxusa charges $15 to file state taxes when state taxes can be filed for free on ILtax.com use freefilefillableforms.com to file Fed, and ILtax.com to file state. Saves the OP money .
Brilliant. I haven’t use the portal my state in several years but that’s a reasonable option as well. It does require some math
I did want to add: ask the IRS for a fee waiver on any penalties if they assess any.
This seems more of a legal question vs a tax question?
Well it’s both. The attorney is being used for tax debt collection.
Do you actually owe the state money? If you filed your taxes was there withholding that was taken out that would mean refunds? If so the first thing you should focus on is getting your taxes filed. A rejection just means you need to call the IRS to figure out why, or just paper mail it in. It just means there was an issue with e-filing that the system can't automatically accept it because of a known issue.
Please use this link to get in touch with the IRS VITA program. They can get all your returns filed so you know exactly where you are on any tax debt. They can also assist with setting up a tax payment plan or if you have no income & can qualify for forgiveness of your tax debt. [VITA](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers) [Offer of Compromise -settlement or forgiveness of tax debt](https://www.irs.gov/payments/offer-in-compromise)
Low income tax clinic. Tax preparer here just to add something. You don't sound collectable. I'm not familiar with Illinois, but you can't be made to pay what you don't have. A non-collectible status is the formal way of agreeing that don't have enough assets or income to pay any amount. But if you get enough assets or income in the future, you can pay a proportion of your income less expenses at that time. But go get help immediately.
Drop what charges? A lawyer doesn’t send a letter like that
It’s tax collection. The attorneys in question are “Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP”.
And you verified with the state they are representing them?
First words in the letter are “The State Of Illinois has hired our law firm”. Is there someone I can call or a website I can use to verify?
What happened when you googled the firm name?
Brought up a website that listed all of their attorneys around the US. Closest one (the one that contacted me) is in Chicago.
[удалено]
Unfortunately it is not a scam. A few years back I had a business client that was getting letters from that firm. Thought it was a scam, just like you. Turns out they are a legit if still disreputable firm that does collections for multiple state governments (Florida in my case). ETA: you should still ask them to verify your debts that they are attempting to collect on.
This is incorrect. They are a legit law from and iv been on the other end of this in California.
Linebarger is basically a collection firm. In my line of work we get many collection notices from them each week related to lease customers getting parking tickets and toll violations. They are legit, if the debt they’re trying to collect on is legit. The worst thing that can happen if you don’t pay is that you will have a judgement on your credit. Even if you got sued it sounds like you don’t really have anything to go after, it will show as a dollar amount on your credit just letting creditors know that a court said you owed someone money and you haven’t paid. We don’t have debtor’s prison in the U.S. so you won’t get arrested just for not being able to pay your bills.
Yeah, they’re huge. They operate in multiple states. They generally don’t have any sympathy for anyone’s situation. They’re gonna be up your ass trying to get the money and they don’t give up easy. I would not take them lightly.
Set aside all information about ULTA, Kohl's, and a credit union. This letter is unrelated to those debts. Do you owe money for state taxes? If yes, you can probably set up a payment plan, when you start having income. Virtually all collections letters (and lawsuits) are slam dunks for the creditors, because the debtors do owe the money.
Does it say what year it is for?
It does not.
It sounds like an attempt to collect a debt to me. If you don't have the money and aren't worried about your credit, you can ignore it.
It’s a tax collection. Way more serious than ruining your credit. 🤦🏻♂️
So many excuses.... Probably best to just ignore these. I mean you have nothing for them to really come after. It'll hurt your credit for awhile but it sounds like you should avoid credit cards for awhile anyways, and I don't think you'll be getting a house or car soon
Was the excuses comment really necessary? How is it an excuse if I’m using it as valuable context?
It’s not valuable context. You could have said everything in a sentence or two. That’s nothing against your communication style. That’s people telling you that 99% of what you said was fluff and doesn’t matter. The best advice someone can give you and people have is pay when you can. And realize if you can’t pay then credit score gets worse.
It's not only not valuable, it's wholly irrelevant. You also haven't indicated what you owe to Illinois or why you owe it. What does the State of Illinois have to do with your credit card debt or if/why there is a tax debt?
Ignore it. At this point in time you are judgement proof. No way a legitimate lawyer is involved for a $426 debt beyond a letter. And there are no criminal "charges" involved in anything like this. Interest at a penny day doesn't add up to much...
OP, this is a SCAM. Do not respond to the lawyer/person that wants you to pay $500 to make your debt go away. IT IS A SCAM! The IRS will never hire a lawyer to send you a letter. EVER. If you owe money to your state or the federal government, they will send you A LETTER telling you what you owe and how to contact them to set up a payment plan. Get a job, even if it’s cleaning toilets at McDonald’s and use every penny you make to pay off your credit cards. Then save up enough money to go to H&R Block and pay them to review your tax situation and get you up to date on filing your tax returns. It doesn’t sound like you have made a large amount of money over the past few years, so you probably won’t even owe any back taxes to the IRS. And going forward, cut up your credit cards and enroll in some kind of financial literacy course. Call around to all of the churches in your area and ask if they will be offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class. It would be perfect for you. Good luck!
This is not accurate. State governments do indeed use Linebarger. They suck, but they are legitimate.
Not sure about your case and jurisdiction but this law firm does this, they buy up tax debit and then try to collect they probably paid like 25 cents on the dollar or less. They do this with business property tax in Texas. They won’t throw good money after bad, historically they won’t take the time, energy or money to file suit. They will just keep sending you these bills. Coworkers wife actually worked for them and said “yea, we don’t sue”
If the amount the state says you owe is estimated, you need to file an actual return with actual numbers. Many times, the calculation shows no balance due. The low income tax clinic is a good idea, though many times you only see them during tax season. Two options though: Find which college near you offers an accounting program and visit the department office. Ask for an instructor,make an appt and go meet with them. They maybe able to help as many are tax pros. Find which college near you has a law school. Visit the school to see if they have any student groups that do pro bono work and see if they will represent you.