Haynes Tax Law

05/08/2026

We have a wonderful client who has fallen on extremely hard times. Lost his business, had to file bankruptcy, and is currently homeless. He has a $20,000 balance owed to the Virginia Department of Taxation. We requested an Offer in Compromise, under which our client would pay the Department everything he owed, but at a monthly rate he can "afford" despite living in his truck. The Department rejected his Offer and 30 days later issued a wage levy to take 25% of his net pay. The Offer in Compromise function has been on a steady decline for several years, but this has reached a new low. If it were not for client confidentiality, I would be calling the local news and the Washington Post.

05/08/2026

The IRS Taxpayer Advocate has taken the position that millions of taxpayers may have protective refund claims available under the Kwong and Abdo decisions. If you incurred IRS penalties and/or interest during the period of the COVID disaster (1/20/2020 to 7/10/2023), please take the appropriate steps by 7/10/2026. Our firm has developed proprietary software to assist in the computation and preparation of such claims. If you think you incurred penalties and interest in amounts significant enough to justify the involvement of legal counsel in preparing those claims, please get in touch with us ASAP.

Millions may qualify for refunds on COVID-era penalties and interest. Learn how to claim yours and why you must act before the July 10, 2026 deadline.

04/20/2026

The recent court decisions, Kwong and Abdo, have generated quite a stir in the tax world. If you incurred IRS penalties and/or interest during the period of the COVID disaster (1/20/2020 to 7/10/2023), you may have a limited time to file a claim to recover them. Many firms are struggling to identify and compute such claims. Our firm developed proprietary software that analyzes IRS account transcript data to identify and help compute potential claims.

For more information on the Kwong and Abdo decisions, please see the wonderful article by Kostelanetz attorney, Frank Agostino linked below.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6410639

04/02/2026

If you have not yet heard about the Kwong and Abdo cases, they are potentially groundbreaking for taxpayers that have incurred penalties and interest between 1/20/2020 and 7/10/2023. The Court of Federal Claims and the Tax Court ruled that the IRS should not have been accruing interest and certain penalties during that period. Many firms are struggling with how to respond, especially since the IRS has said it will not acquiesce in either decision.

Computing possible claims has presented another significant hurdle that has been causing consternation among practitioners. So we wrote our own software to compute them. If you require assistance computing Kwong/Abdo protector refund claims, we may be able to assist.

10/15/2025

Extended tax day 2025 is in the books. If you owe, be careful about who you listen to next!

09/18/2025

If your IRS Offer in Compromise package does not look like this, there’s a solid chance the financial analysis was not rigorous enough to pass IRS scrutiny, or it is insufficiently documented. The IRS accepts a very small percentage of the Offers filed. Give yours the best chance for success.

10/30/2024

The 1/1/25 deadline to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report is rapidly approaching. If you are the owner of 25% or more of a corporation or limited liability company, or exert substantial control over the company's operations or management, then you are likely required to file. There are exemptions for publicly traded companies and large companies (with more than 20 employees and an operating presence in the U.S., in excess of $5 million of revenue). But if you don't qualify for those exceptions, you are required to file. If you started a new business after 1/1/24, you are required to file within 30 days. There is more information at this link, and you can file the report electronically - you just need your personal information, including a unique identifying number from a driver's license, etc.

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08/30/2024

New content about federal tax liens on our blog page.

Contact Russ Haynes at Haynes Tax Law in Fairfax VA If You Owe Taxes and Have Been Notified That a Lien Will Be or Has Been Filed Against You. It Is Time to Take Action and WE Can Help.

08/16/2024

The IRS has opened another voluntary disclosure period for employers that filed questionable Employee Retention Credit claims. The IRS has gotten much more adept at identifying fraudulent claims. If you were taken in by one of the many schemes to file a fraudulent ERC claim, you have a limited opportunity to use the voluntary disclosure period to correct it and avoid monetary penalties and potential criminal prosecution.

08/09/2024

The IRS has published an update on pending Employee Retention Credit ("ERC") claims. We have quite a few clients who are struggling with balances owed that would be paid in whole or in part by the ERC funds they requested from the IRS, some of them more than a year ago. It sounds like claims filed before the moratorium (9/14/23) may start getting processed more quickly, with 50,000 of those claims to be paid in the near future.

IR-2024-203, Aug. 8, 2024 — The Internal Revenue Service announced today additional actions to help small businesses and prevent improper payments in the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) program, including accelerating more payments and continuing compliance work on the complex pandemic-era credit ...