Hey everyone, I could really use some advice here.

    My dad is a 60-year-old retired veteran. He receives disability pay, military retirement, and Social Security—this is his only income. He’s in poor health, and I’ve been taking care of him, so this has added a lot of stress to both of us.

    He hasn’t filed taxes since 2018, and now he’s received a call from a company called Clear State Taxes. They claim the IRS is going to take money from his disability and retirement income because of back taxes. They said they can “investigate” and help resolve it—for a fee.

    This is hitting him hard mentally, and I’m not sure if this company is legit or just preying on him. But we do understand that he probably owes back taxes due to not filing.

    So my questions are:

    • Is this call likely a scam or a legit third-party tax resolution service?
    • Can the IRS actually garnish his disability, retirement, or Social Security for unpaid taxes?
    • What’s the safest and most legit way to resolve back taxes and get back in compliance?
    • Is there any relief for disabled veterans or people in financial hardship?

    He doesn't have any other income, so losing any of this would be devastating. I just want to get him out of this hole and protect what little he has.

    Thanks so much for any advice you can offer.

    My retired veteran father is being threatened over back taxes — is this legit and what can we do?
    byu/Mutanium intax



    Posted by Mutanium

    10 Comments

    1. It’s a scam. The company can see public records and your dad may have a federal tax lien. Contact a reputable local CPA that handles back taxes and dispute resolution.

    2. Probablya scam. He would have received irs letters if they were after him. He can call the irs and ask them.

    3. And I am a day late on estimated payments and I’m getting letters.

      These people are scammers. Do you have any irs correspondence. Why did he not file?

    4. Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 on

      The IRS can take anything. They are the funding source for the government. He needs to file tax returns. It probably isn’t a huge amount of tax each year, but just not filingbhas added 25% to whatever he owed each year. Not paying could add another 25%. And there is interest assessen in addition, although the rate is good.

      Step 1 figure out what his tax should be. Step 2 file but ask IRS about penalty abatement. Then stay compliant. He should be able to get a 72 month payment plan for back tax, but needs to file every year or that gets cancelled.

    5. DomesticPlantLover on

      Can they garnish? Absolutely.

      How to resolve: contact a CPA.

      There can be relief. Not filing taxes for 7 years is a big deal though. He’s got 3 lines of income. Don’t expect a lot of sympathy. I don’t know of any special relief for disabled vets, especially who don’t even try to pay their taxes.

      But the paperwork you got is a scam. But it’s a blessing–you know the IRS is coming for you. Resolve this now before it gets worse.

    6. Normal-Site-5194 on

      Since you have been his caretaker, why weren’t you proactive in making sure that his taxes were filed? You could have done that every year when you filed your taxes.

    7. Even for someone whose income is too low to owe taxes, it’s a good idea to file every year. That way the IRS knows whether or not you owe.

    8. It’s possible that he doesn’t owe. What state do you live in? VA is tax free both state and federal so take that out of any math you do. My state doesn’t tax VA disability, social security or military retirement so I only pay state taxes on iRA withdrawals.

      Federally, Social Security Is Only Taxable If Combined Income Is High enough. If his combined income (defined as AGI + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security) is below ~$25,000 (single) or ~$32,000 (married), then none of his Social Security is taxable. That could further reduce his need to file.

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