Social Security Question

[SHSBulldog00]

If you are retired and you owe the IRS do you have to pay your debt from your social security check when you receive it?

(You are unable to make a payment)

I have heard after 6 or 7 years you don't have to pay it. Is that true?

[BullsFan]

If you owe the IRS you will have to pay it. There is no moratorium on how long they expect it to be paid. And fines and penalties will build up in the meanwhile. They don't really care how you pay it or from where the money comes. So long as the IRS is concerned, a debt is a debt is a debt. What I would advise is to call and set up a payment plan. Tell them you'll pay them a minimal amount. They are far less likely to start proceedings on someone who is, in their eyes, making good faith effort to pay a debt than someone who doesn't respond to them at all. The number is 1-800-829-1040. And remember that you're talking to a person, not the actual IRS. Several years ago I worked someone through bankruptcy proceedings, and talked to many different people at the IRS many different times. The answers I got were as varied as the accents. The law may be unyielding but the people don't have to be. If you don't feel like you're getting good help, then end the call and call back. Or call the next day. Most of the people I talked to were very nice and of great help, but I talked to a couple of real stinkers.

[STANG RED]

I had a bout with those SOBs several years back. Even after setting up payments and making payments, I was still getting nasty letters from them, to either pay up or have liens put on everything I owned. I'd call about the letters, and they'd tell me to just ignore them and keep making payments as required, and everything would be fine. But the letters never kept coming, and the language in them kept getting sterner. So I finally just took out a loan and paid them off, to get them off my back. I'm guessing that’s probably what they wanted all along. They just keep on harassing till you give in. They can sure make life measurable for you.