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Page 12 Oil Burner Service • Oil Filter • Cleaning • Tune-Up $140 Call 781-324-2770 IRS DEBT I RS offers in compromise aren’t always the best way to eliminate IRS debt. The IRS does not have an unlimited amount of time to collect unpaid taxes owed by taxpayers. Oftentimes, taxpayers unknowingly and needlessly give the IRS more time to collect the tax. Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6502, the IRS only has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect the unpaid tax. This is called the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). It is important to keep in mind prior to filing for bankruptcy, filing an offer in compromise, filing for innocent spouse relief or delaying the collection process by filing a collection due process appeal thar you should keep the following in mind: a. Be confident in the probability of success b. That success will result in less debt than waiting for the CSED Once you file for an Offer in Compromise, that will extend the CSED for the time the Offer in Compromise is open plus an additional 30 days. Offers in Compromise can be open for anywhere between six months and one year. With Covid-19, the time period is almost certain to be longer. Most Offers in Compromise fail anyway. The CSED is tolled while the Offer is pending. The tolling ends once the Offer is accepted. Furthermore, the taxpayer must remain current for a period of five years on all tax filings and payments. Making a payment plan in order to get the IRS off your back does not extend the CSED. Filing for bankruptcy extends the CSED plus an additional six months after the bankruptcy is finalized. If the bankruptcy fails due to the tax returns not being timely filed, then you have simply given the IRS more time within with to collect the tax. You can file for bankruptcy for a federal income tax for any tax return that was due to be filed more than three years prior to the bankruptcy filing. Keep in mind that the original tax returns themselves must have been filed on a timely basis. The CSED is not extended if you enter into an installment agreement with the IRS. It is not extended while it is requested and while it is in place. Also be careful when applying for innocent spouse relief. If both husband and wife sign off on a tax return, they are both liable for the taxes owed. To be eligible for innocent spouse relief, the following conditions apply: 1. There was a joint income tax return filed for the year that resulted in the disputed debt 2. There was a substantial understatement of tax that was caused by an erroneous item on the return or the negligence of one spouse 3. The “innocent” spouse didn’t know or didn’t have reason to know there was a substantial underpayment of the tax liability 4. It would be inequitable or unreasonable to hold the spouse liable for the tax liability The problem is that filing for innocent spouse relief extends the CSED. If the CSED isn’t far off, you might be better off not filing for such relief. Remember: know the date of assessment and realize the IRS has only 10 years to collect that debt before you take any one of these courses of action. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 15, 2021 AUDIT | FROM PAGE 1 It was the same in the Malden Public Schools, where just over 1,000 students of its total population of around 6,200 were receiving special education services last spring and continuing to receive such services this school year. All of these students were in the fully remote learning program from March 13, 2020, until the end of last school year in June. This school year, about 200 of the highest needs students returned to in-person learning this past October and will begin again on Tuesday, January 19, as previously planned. The other 80 percent of special education/IEP students will remain in remote learning for the time being, due to either parental choice or existing COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Special Education audit was requested Several Malden School Committee members expressed concerns late last spring about the quality and quantity of services being delivered by the Malden Public Schools to its special education students. These inquiries were echoed by members of the Malden Special Education Parent Action Committee (SEPAC) and were similar to questions posed by parents and officials in many districts statewide and nationwide. The premise for the questions was similar as well, due to obvious issues arising from attempting to replicate in-person learning techniques and practices to students, particularly in the cases where students are high-need and are physically and/or intellectually challenged. At a May meeting, Ward 7 School Committee Member Michelle Luong called for a directed, in-house audit of special education services delivered, or missed, for Malden students as well as an explanation of how any issues arising from the remote learning model could be addressed. In the meantime, in addition to the challenges posed by remote learning, the Special Education Department underwent a change in its leadership when Assistant Superintendent Michael Wood, who oversaw special education, unexpectedly announced his resignation in mid-June. New Assistant Superintendent MacDonald appointed A new Assistant Superintendent, Pamela MacDonald, was appointed by Supt. John Oteri in August, and one of her immediate tasks was compiling the requested audit. On Monday night, at the regular January School Committee meeting, Assistant Supt. MacDonald presented the results of the special education services audit. MacDonald said efforts were made for several months to contact parents of special education students and ask them survey questions about last spring’s initial COVID-19-fueled remote learning model as well as other questions on the learning plans in place for this school year. The complete results of the survey and Special Education Audit Presentation is available for review on the district website, www.maldenps.org. Go to the Resources Tab and then to Student Services Office. There is also a separate website for Student Services available at https://sites.google.com/maldenps.org/maldenstudentservices/home. Nearly 550 families responded to the survey, representing 54 percent of those contacted, which MacDonald said was a positive number, considering the contacts were “cold calls” by email, primarily. She added that just under 20 percent of the parental contact emails on the students’ records were incorrect, primarily due to changes left unreported to the school district. Responses were encouraging, MacDonald said Macdonald said many of the responses were encouraging, in that 61 percent of those responding indicated they received all the services outlined in their remote learning plan and the percentage rose to nearly 80 percent when the responses included “most of services” received. Other questions asked which specific services families believed were missing or lacking, and MacDonald said steps have already been taken to address them. The most common answer for services lacking or not received were for “academic support” or “speech and language therapy”; both areas were cited by 70 percent-plus of the respondents who answered on lacking/missing services. MacDonald reported that several new speech and language therapists have been hired by the district for this school year and a private, state-of-the-art tele-therapy company has also been contracted by the Malden Public Schools to enhance academic support resources. The Assistant Superintendent also noted the Malden district has been one of just 20 statewide to be included in a new IEP program management pilot system coordinated by the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE), which she said will “greatly enhance tracking and management of students’ programs” in addition to what is already in place. The new IEP pilot program is geared to urban districts with lower to middle income demographics, like the Malden Public Schools. Luong: It is important we continue to track progress School Committee Member Luong had asked “What is the temperature check?” for determining where students stood as to their academic and therapeutic status and how any lost progress could be restored. As for future steps before the end of this school year, MacDonald said she and her staff are working to set up a program where additional instruction in both academics and therapy can be provided to assist special education students who may have regressed to be able to reclaim their progress with “compensatory services.” This would be delivered during vacation weeks in February and April and possibly on Saturdays. “We have some students in front of screens five to six hours a day. It’s a hard ask to have them stay on longer at the end of a school day. That is why we would offer the alternative times and days,” MacDonald said. “We aren’t going to do it [provide extra learning opportunities] just to do it. We want it to be meaningful for kids. We are determining who needs new services and who needs compensatory services.” Luong called the presentation “very informative” and said she would continue to monitor the situation with her colleagues. “It would be a good idea to continue assessments such as these on a regular basis, at least once a year,” she said. “It is critical that we make sure our special education students receive the services they and their families need.” Ward 5 School Committee Member Adam Weldai, who has long been a special education activist on the board, along with Ward 3’s Jennifer Spadafora, said he appreciated receiving the report and noted it was a two-sided situation when MacDonald came on board in her post in late-August. “It was great to get a fresh set of eyes on these issues and she [MacDonald] was not expecting this [audit] coming her way at the start either,” Weldai said. “We have to assist these students as much as we can and make sure we continue providing services they require to progress and succeed.”

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