The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) is the state’s version of the IRS.  It collects the state income tax.  When a taxpayer fails to pay a substantial amount of the income taxes it owes, the DOR has a variety of enforcement tools.  One of these tools is to order the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) to suspend the taxpayer’s driver’s license until the tax is paid or a payment arrangement is agreed upon.  A license...

The post card that my client received stated “Amount that could be do immediately: $8,241.00*.” If you received a similar postcard that looks like it came from the IRS with the alarming words “Intent to seize your property or rights to property” you probably are a bit alarmed.  Well, don’t be. Despite auditprotection.com’s attempts, it is not from the Internal Revenue Service.  Instead, it is from...

I have met with several people that have tried debt settlement or are considering debt settlement as an alternative to bankruptcy.  I have also settled credit card debts for clients.  Debt settlement refers to the process of paying substantially less than is owed. For example, a person who owes $30,000 to three different credit cards signs up with a debt settlement company that promises to settle the debt for $10,000.00.  The person agrees...

If your home was in the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010, and you believe that your mortgage servicer’s actions cost you money, you have the right to have the process reviewed by a neutral third party.  If they find an error, you may be eligible for compensation.  The site indicates that the home only had to be in the foreclsoure process in 2009 or 2010. Therefore, if the foreclosure was not actually conducted until later, or has not...

Many people that I work with have received unemployment insurance at some point in 2012.   Since unemployment insurance is often a fraction of what their paycheck was, they often elect not to have taxes withheld from their weekly benefit. As a result, these taxes that are not withheld during the year, are due at tax time in April of the following year. For people that have substantial deductions and/or credits, like home mortgage interest or...