There are major differences in the way that the NY Tax Department and the IRS view a tax debt.
The NYS Tax Department, especially with unpaid sales tax, views the unpaid taxes as money that needs to be paid to them. They are less willing than the IRS to understand that a taxpayer will not be able to pay them back all the taxes, interest (in the 7.5% to 14.5% range) and penalties they owe. They want to be paid back in up to five years through a payment plan, even though legally they have twenty years to collect. When such a payment plan becomes impracticable since the monthly payments are not affordable, an offer in compromise may then be the best solution since I find that the offer in compromise group is willing to work out a fair deal to resolve the tax issue.
The IRS, on the other hand, is more flexible than NYS Tax Department since if you can prove to them that you only have enough income to pay basic living expenses (rent, food, transportation, etc), they will allow the tax debt payment be differed until your income rises to a level where you can pay toward your tax debt and also pay basic living expenses. The IRS calls this “status” currently non-collectible, and it helpful even though interest (usually about 3-4%) is charged on the unpaid debt, since this status allows for a normal lifestyle and allows for greater planning to take place to resolve the tax debt through an offer in compromise. I have also found that the IRS allows for more flexible payment plan arrangements, such as tax payment plans that take into account seasonal income issues (contractors, etc in the winter), and modified payment plan where for some period of time (six month, one-year, etc.) the payment is lower to allow the taxpayer to adjust their living expenses to enable them to make the payments. Lately, NYS Tax Department is less willing to entertain the modified payment approach.
