What Would You Do if You Owed the IRS More Than $6 Million?

We often assume that famous movie stars have all the money in the world and wonder why and how they get into deep IRS debt. The recently revealed case of Robert DiNiro’s $6 million plus IRS debt sheds light on how this can happen.

In his case, Mr. DiNiro has multiple residences and the IRS was sending communications to an old address. By the time the debt came to his attention, multiple fines and fees had brought his outstanding bill to $6.4 million.

Most public figures don’t usually deal with their debts as gracefully and swiftly as did Mr. DiNiro who wrote a check for the entire balance and had it hand delivered to the nearest IRS office. Some public figures get misled by greedy or just plain bad managers and corrupt tax preparers. Some public figures knowingly try to avoid paying taxes. Those are the ones who often end up in court, even jail.

It is much easier to miss out on IRS notices than you may think. Moving is one of the biggest causes of missed notices. When you move it is important that you file a Form 8822, Change of Address with the IRS. Responding promptly to all IRS correspondence is key. Because the longer you go without tending to your IRS bills, fees and penalties add up and that adds up to you owing more. Additionally, if you fail to respond within the given time frame, usually 30 – 90 days, you can miss out on certain advantages.

Should you receive a notice of an outstanding tax bill, contact a tax attorney right away.  You want to do everything you can in order to not to be in debt to the IRS. Unless you can easily write a check in the millions, which most of those in tax trouble cannot stay alert to any correspondence from the IRS and take action immediately.