TAX NEWS - 2010

IRS offers individual and business tax assistance for Gulf Oil Spill victims

Taxpayers -- both individuals and businesses -- impacted by the Gulf Oil Spill / Deepwater Horizon explosion can seek special tax assistance, including on the upcoming IRS' Gulf Coast Assistance Day this July 17. Those individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are invited to attend these special public clinics hosted by seven cities in four Gulf states.

For example, taxpayers may be able to claim a casualty-loss deduction.

Taxpayers and tax preparers alike can work directly with IRS employees to resolve tax issues, especially those related to, or impacted by, the oil spill. The Gulf Coast Assistance Day will be held in:

- Alabama: Mobile;
- Florida: Panama City and Pensacola;
- Louisiana: New Orleans, Houma and Baton Rouge; and in
- Mississippi: Gulfport.

Please check www.IRS.gov for specific locations and times that will soon be announced.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman avers that they are doing everything possible under existing laws to assist the Gulf Oil Spill victims, saying:

This is a very difficult time for many people affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As residents of the region cope with the evolving situation, I want to assure them that the IRS will be doing everything it can to provide tax help to those who need it. We encourage anyone who has an issue with the IRS to contact us and explain their hardship, and we will work with them to find a solution. We'll do everything we can under current law to help taxpayers.

Additionally, the IRS encourages Gulf-area taxpayers who struggling with payment or collection issues to contact the agency and explain their predicament. The IRS offers some ways to assist these taxpayers dealing with oil spill issues or other economic hardships, including:

- Assistance of the Taxpayer Advocate Service;
- Postponement of collection actions in certain hardship cases;
- Added flexibility for missed payments on installment agreements;
- Flexibility for offer-in-compromise taxpayers who have been compliant with their agreement;
- IRS employees may consider a taxpayer's current and potential income when negotiating an offer in compromise; and
- Accelerating levy releases for taxpayers facing Gulf-related economic hardship.