As soon as the IRS contacts you about unpaid taxes, acting quickly can save you a lot of money and help avoid tax liens and levies. Unfortunately, life issues can get in the way of handling back taxes promptly. For example, suppose you haven’t acted upon notification from the IRS regarding unpaid tax liabilities. In that case, you should expect to receive notification from them placing a lien or a levy on your assets. When that happens, you have no time to lose. You must act immediately to prevent that escalation by the IRS because the financial ramifications of either action can be devastating. 

There’s no question that the pandemic has affected the finances of many people. Going through possible job loss or reduction in business productivity has made paying bills on time a challenge. Even with government interventions for rent and payroll assistance, it’s likely that the credit scores of many people took a hit this year.

When you create a personal or household budget it is the starting point to effective money management and laying a solid financial foundation. Follow the steps to create a worksheet with columns that give you an accurate look into all aspects of your resources and the demands on them. The resulting document empowers you to discover what you have, how much you need to make, how well you’ve been managing so far, and how to adjust so that you stay ahead with your financial goals.