Tax Lawyer In Plymouth, MI

Austin & Larson Tax Resolution represents individuals and business owners from the City of Plymouth and Plymouth Township in front of the IRS and the Michigan Department of Treasury. The city (population 9,370 in the 2020 census) and the township that surrounds it (27,938) are separate local governments in Wayne County. The same federal and Michigan tax rules apply in both, so this page covers you whichever one you live in.

We don’t have an office in Plymouth. The closest of our 4 offices is in Brighton, at 812 W. Grand River Ave., and your free consultation can happen there or by phone. Once you hire us, we receive copies of your IRS correspondence and handle contact with the IRS and Michigan Treasury from that point on.

Our team includes Bridgette Austin, Esq., EA, a Michigan tax attorney and IRS Enrolled Agent. She spent 2 years as a student clinician at the Michigan State University College of Law Tax Clinic, which represents low-income taxpayers before the IRS and the State of Michigan, and stayed 1 more year as a fellow. Dustin Larson, EA, holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ferris State University, became a licensed CPA and is also an IRS Enrolled Agent.

Plymouth residents can owe income tax at up to 3 levels: federal, state, and city tax for anyone who works in Detroit or another Michigan city with an income tax. Each level has its own forms and collection rules.

Federal Tax Debt: The IRS

An unpaid IRS balance moves through a series of letters before the IRS can take wages or bank funds (see the letter guide below). Once you sign IRS Form 2848, we represent you before the IRS. The first step is pulling your IRS account transcripts, which list each assessment, penalty and payment on file. The right fix depends on your income, expenses and assets: an installment agreement, currently not collectible status, an offer in compromise, penalty abatement, or a mix of these. Federal law generally bars the IRS from levying while an installment agreement request or an offer in compromise is pending, so when you apply matters.

Michigan Tax Debt: The Department of Treasury

State balances go to the Michigan Department of Treasury, which uses its own power of attorney, Form 151, to appoint a representative. Treasury collects separately from the IRS, files its own state tax liens and runs its own offer in compromise program. If you owe both agencies, the 2 cases need to be planned together, because a payment plan sized for the IRS alone can leave no room in your budget for Treasury.

Detroit City Income Tax: If You Work in Detroit

The City of Plymouth and Plymouth Township don’t levy a city income tax and aren’t on Treasury’s list of the 24 Michigan cities that do. Detroit is. Plymouth residents who work there owe Detroit’s nonresident rate of 1.2% on pay for work performed in the city, half the 2.4% rate Detroit residents pay. Michigan Treasury administers Detroit’s income tax, so Detroit returns and balances go through the same state agency as your Michigan return.

IRS collection notices usually arrive in this order, and the deadline that matters most comes near the end. Find the notice number printed on your letter in the list.

• CP14: the first bill for a balance due. Interest keeps adding to the balance until it is paid, and in most cases so does a late-payment penalty.
• CP501 and CP503: reminders that the balance is still unpaid.
• CP504: notice of intent to levy. From this point the IRS can take your Michigan income tax refund and apply it to what you owe.
• LT11, Letter 1058 or CP90: the final notice of intent to levy. You have 30 days from the date on the letter to request a Collection Due Process hearing on Form 12153. A timely request generally keeps the IRS from levying while the hearing is pending and preserves your right to take the case to the U.S. Tax Court. Once that window closes, the IRS can levy wages and bank accounts.

CP2000 is a different type of letter. It proposes changes to your return because income that employers, banks or brokers reported to the IRS doesn’t match what you filed. The amounts on it are proposed, and you can agree with them or dispute them before anything is assessed. See our audit representation page.

Bring the letter to your free consultation, and call before the response date printed on it. If wages or a bank account have already been levied, read about levy and wage garnishment help.

Does Plymouth have a city income tax?

No. Neither the City of Plymouth nor Plymouth Township levies one. You still owe federal and Michigan income tax, plus city tax on pay for work done in Detroit or another Michigan city with an income tax.

I live in Plymouth and work in Detroit part of the time. What do I file?

The Detroit nonresident return is Form 5119, the City of Detroit Nonresident Income Tax Return, filed with Form 5121, the City of Detroit Withholding Tax Schedule. If part of your work was performed outside Detroit, Part 3 of Form 5121 allocates your wages, and Treasury can ask for your employer’s letter and your work log to support the split. Detroit limits when days worked at home count as work outside the city, so read Treasury’s telecommuting guidance before you allocate.

Where can I meet with the IRS in person?

The IRS runs a Taxpayer Assistance Center in downtown Detroit. Visits are by appointment only, booked at 844-545-5640. Once you sign Form 2848, we can talk to the IRS for you instead.

Where would a Plymouth tax case go to court?

The U.S. Tax Court holds its Michigan trial sessions in Detroit, as its list of places of trial shows. A case gets there only if you file a petition, usually after an IRS notice of deficiency or a Collection Due Process decision.

Do I have to drive to Brighton?

No. The free consultation can be by phone. For in-person meetings, Brighton is the closest of our 4 offices to Plymouth; the others are in Lansing, Jackson and Saginaw.

What should I bring to the consultation?

Every IRS and Treasury letter you’ve received, your most recent filed returns, and proof of income such as pay stubs or business records. For years you haven’t filed, bring whatever W-2s and 1099s you have. Missing records aren’t a reason to wait, because we can help you get them.

What does it cost?

The consultation is free, with no obligation. Fees depend on what your case needs, and we quote them before you decide to hire us.

For owners of shops, restaurants and other small businesses in Plymouth and Plymouth Township, unpaid payroll tax can turn into a personal debt. When a business withholds income tax and the employee share of Social Security and Medicare from paychecks but doesn’t pay it over to the IRS, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against each person who was responsible for paying it and willfully didn’t, often an owner or officer. The penalty equals the unpaid withheld amount, and the IRS can collect it from that person’s own wages, bank accounts and property.

Michigan has a similar rule. Under section 205.27a(5) of the Revenue Act, Treasury can hold a business’s officers, members, managers or partners personally liable for unpaid Michigan business taxes when it finds they were responsible for filing and paying them.

If your business is behind, we look at the business account and each owner’s personal exposure together, then deal with the IRS revenue officer or Michigan Treasury on the business’s behalf. More on our tax help for businesses.