Legal Aid Helps With Federal Tax Issues

By Tonya Sams

If you are having tax issues, you don’t have to navigate it alone—Legal Aid is here to help! Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) is a free legal service that helps to resolve taxpayer disputes with the IRS regarding federal income tax matters.

Legal Aid attorneys can help taxpayers avoid going to court because of unresolved tax issues in a number of ways, including negotiating with the IRS to accept less to settle a debt than the full amount owed, and lowering or eliminating taxable income from debts that were forgiven from banks and credit card companies.

Legal Aid attorneys can also help prevent the IRS from taking property, wages, and social security benefits, help with identity theft and tax preparer fraud, help obtain income tax records, protect against spousal abuses in connection with tax returns, advise taxpayers on their rights and obligations regarding the health care marketplace, and more.

Legal Aid was able to help Joel (name changed to protect privacy) with his tax issues. Joel received a letter from the IRS saying he owed a significant amount. Joel lives with his long-time girlfriend and her three young grandchildren and claimed all of them as dependents on his taxes, but the IRS letter informed him that this was against the rules because he was not related to them and did not have custody.

Joel was referred to Legal Aid. With Legal Aid’s help, Joel was able to demonstrate his eligibility for the child tax credits, avoid trial, and negotiate a settlement with the IRS.

If you need help resolving a tax issue, call Legal Aid at 888-817-3777 or seek help 24/7 at lasclev.org.

Free resources are available to help Northeast Ohio residents with tax preparation. Contact 2-1-1 or find resources at lasclev.org/taxhelp.