Like individuals, businesses in Portland can qualify for certain forms of tax relief. These business payroll & tax relief options can particularly apply if the business fails to claim certain credits and other forms of relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instant Tax Solutions can review your current situation and financials from the past several years in order to help you find the relief you need. We can then seek to reduce your tax burden using a variety of possible options, including filing an amended business tax return, requesting penalty abatement, disputing a tax assessment, and taking advantage of state and federal programs specific to your region.
Reach out to our experienced Portland tax debt relief lawyers today for a consultation and accounts review. We aim to work with you, fast, while fighting against the IRS and Oregon Department of Revenue to protect the full extent of your legal rights.
Call (888) 363-8958 or contact us online to schedule your consultation with a business tax relief expert today.
What Are My Options for Seeking Relief From Portland Payroll Taxes?
Payroll taxes are a primary way that programs like Medicare and Social Security are funded. According to the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan think tank, over 23% of federal, state, and local tax revenues are generated by payroll taxes.
At the same time, payroll taxes inflict a substantial financial burden on businesses of all sizes. Not only are businesses expected to pay a portion of employee wages through the payroll tax, but they must also make timely deposits in the exact manner that the IRS demands.
Oregon also expects businesses to pay a payroll tax, albeit a much smaller one, which helps contribute to the state’s unemployment insurance fund.
Except in very rare instances, there is no actual program for payroll tax relief. However, recent decades have provided two such instances: once during the Great Recession, which began in 2009, and several times during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021.
The good news is that businesses can file an amended tax return up to three years from the return’s initial due date. If you are able to uncover deductions and credits, including certain forms of payroll relief you didn’t fully claim, then you may have your current tax burden adjusted to a lower amount.
Reach to Instant Tax Solutions to learn more about how you could qualify for forms of pandemic relief that are still valid to claim in retrospect. We can also help you examine your options for other forms of relief, including a pause on collection actions, making an offer in compromise, and more.
What Credits Can Help Me Reduce My Portland Business Taxes?
There are many different federal programs that could allow you to claim an additional credit on your current taxes or, potentially, a return filed within the past three years. Examples include:
- Employee Retention Credit — A popular pandemic-era program, you may be eligible to retrospectively claim additional credits, depending on the number of employees you had and whether they qualify
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit — Available under certain circumstances when you hire a qualifying employee in a targeted group
- Retirement Plans Startup Costs Tax Credit — Offsets the costs of implementing certain employee retirement plans
- Credit for Increasing Research Activities — Offered to qualifying businesses conducting certain types of research and development
- Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit/Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit — Provided for businesses that purchase certain electric or alternative-energy vehicles
- Empowerment Zone Employment Credit — Available for businesses that operate in certain designated regions or whose workforce is primarily sourced from these regions
- New Markets Credit — Granted in relation to certain “qualified equity investments made in qualified community development entities (CDEs).”
Oregon Programs and Credits That Could Reduce Portland Business Taxes
Oregon has a number of programs for providing credits and other forms of relief to qualifying businesses. These include:
- Enterprise Zone Program (EZ)
- Long-Term Rural Enterprise Zone Program (LTREZ)
- Strategic Investment Program (SIP)
- Oregon Investment Advantage Program (OIA)
Additionally, Oregon offers a Qualified Business Income Reduced Tax Rate (QBIRTR) that applies to certain businesses earning $5 million or less in annual revenues through ordinary business activities. You can claim the QBIRTR rate for the current year and, potentially, for years that you recently filed if you erroneously calculated your taxes at the higher rate.
How Can I Qualify for a Reduced Rate for Portland Unemployment Taxes?
In July 2021, the Oregon legislature passed a special bill that provided tax relief to certain businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While many provisions of the bill have expired or are no longer relevant, certain businesses are supposed to qualify for a reduced unemployment tax rate through 2024.
Reach out to Instant Tax Solutions to see if you are still able to qualify for a reduced rate and other forms of relief provided to Oregon businesses.
Get Assistance With Portland Business Tax Compliance
Instant Tax Solutions can not only help you find relief and manage your current tax obligations, but we can also provide you with a path toward better compliance and timely payment in the future.
As strict as the IRS and Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) are about individual income taxes, they operate an even stricter oversight over business activities. Taxes must be paid regularly, in the proper amount, and through the deposits described by state, federal, and local authorities.
By working with ITS, we can help you form a plan for paying future tax obligations on time and with ease. Our goal is to help your business prosper into the future with as minimal stress and headaches related to taxes as possible.
We have helped thousands of businesses like yours in their efforts to get on top of accounting and avoid possible penalties and other consequences in the future. Let us help you develop a reliable system, one that scales with you as you add employees, grow in revenues, or evolve the types of services and products your business offers.
We are experienced tax consultants ready to help you stay in business tax compliance — and out of the crosshairs of the IRS!
Options for Relief From Penalties for Unpaid Business Taxes
Businesses have access to many of the same options for relief as individuals, which are outlined below.
Currently Not Collectible
Certain collection actions can be paused, and due dates extended if the amount of taxes you owe cannot feasibly be paid back in full at the current moment. Filing organizations placed in “currently not collectible” status are likely to still accrue penalties and interest during the grace period they are given, but they are also spared from certain collection actions.
The effective date for actions like levies (asset seizure and bank account freeze), liens, and more can also be pushed back while the filer gets the chance to get their finances in order.
Unreasonable Hardship
If your business can demonstrate that current penalties like levies are having an outsized impact on your ability to continue earning revenue in order to pay back owed taxes, you may qualify for a hardship exemption.
Penalty Abatement
Some penalties can be removed at the sole discretion of the IRS and Oregon DOR. These abatement actions are typically only available to businesses that otherwise filed on time and made a good-faith effort to pay what they thought they owed.
You may also be able to qualify for the removal of certain penalties and interest if you can find another justification that makes legal and financial sense.
Offer in Compromise
An offer in compromise allows certain filers to settle their overdue taxes for less than the total assessed amount. Once an agreement has been made, the agreed-upon amount must be deposited as a lump sum or in a short series of payments, sometimes within six months or less.
Offers in compromise are made on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the IRS representative in charge of your collections. Reaching an agreement often takes the knowledge and experience of professional tax experts, which is why we encourage businesses to reach out to us as soon as they can to start examining their options.
Disputing or Amending Your Assessed Tax Bill
You have the option to dispute certain taxes, such as when you think you don’t actually owe the amount the IRS is claiming. You may also be able to file an amended tax return if an error or oversight in a previous filing has been uncovered.
It is critical for businesses to thoroughly investigate their accounts and financial history to check the math of the IRS and Oregon DOR. Failing to do so could mean you are paying for taxes that you don’t technically owe.
Get Business Payroll & Tax Relief Along With Expert Tax Advice
For over a decade, Instant Tax Solutions has provided relief to individuals and businesses struggling with their tax obligations. Through our assistance, you will be able to fully understand exactly what you owe and what options you have to resolve your tax debt as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Not only that, but we can also help you develop a plan for staying in compliance and on time with all tax contributions in the future.
Find out why so many Portland businesses and individuals trust us to put their tax worries to rest! Reach out to us at (888) 363-8958 or contact us online to schedule a confidential case and financial review today.
