Behind on Form 941? The IRS can come after you personally.

The IRS uses a two-part test: (1) you were a "responsible person" — someone with authority over the financial decisions of the business, including corporate officers, directors, check-signers, shareholders with financial control, and in some cases bookkeepers or office managers with bill-pay authority; and (2) you were "willful" — meaning you knew the trust fund taxes were unpaid and either used the money for something else or consciously disregarded the obligation. Both elements must be present. The IRS construes both broadly.

Yes — if they had authority to decide which creditors got paid and knew payroll taxes were outstanding. Actual check-signing authority is not required; the test is whether the person had significant influence over financial disbursements. The 4180 interview explores this in detail. If you are a bookkeeper or controller who processed payroll for a business that owed 941 taxes, document your actual authority and report lines carefully.

Willfulness under §6672 means the person either knew the trust fund taxes were not being paid and paid other creditors anyway (voluntary, conscious, and intentional failure to remit), or recklessly disregarded an obvious risk. Courts have found willfulness even when officers claimed ignorance, if the circumstances showed they should have known. Importantly, paying other business expenses when you know taxes are overdue is itself evidence of willfulness. The 4180 interview is designed to surface exactly this.

Yes, but the window is narrow. Within 60 days of receiving Letter 1153 (the TFRP proposal), you can submit a written protest to the IRS Office of Appeals. Common grounds: you were not actually a responsible person, or you lacked the authority to remit taxes. After final assessment, you can pay a small portion and file a refund claim in Tax Court. Beacon Tax Relief helps you organize the documentation for a protest; for the actual protest filing and Appeals representation, you need a licensed EA or tax attorney.

Generally three years from the later of the return due date or the date the Form 941 was filed. If the employer omitted more than 25% of the trust fund taxes owed for a given quarter, the period extends to six years. The IRS can also toll the statute during certain events. Beacon Tax Relief helps you map the 941 filing history and identify which quarters may still be within the assessment window.

The IRS will likely assess the TFRP based on whatever information it has — which typically means assessing it against every person who appears to have had financial authority. Non-response does not protect you; it removes your ability to present evidence that you were not a responsible person or lacked willfulness. Responding — with organized, factual documentation — is almost always better than silence.

Payments on a business Installment Agreement are applied to the trust fund portion first (per IRS allocation rules), which reduces the TFRP base. But if the business IA defaults, the TFRP can still be assessed against individuals for any remaining trust fund balance. The TFRP is a separate legal liability — a business payment reduces it but does not eliminate the personal exposure until the trust fund balance reaches zero.

Yes. If a licensed EA or tax attorney is attending the 4180 interview on your behalf or representing you in the TFRP process, they need a valid Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative) authorizing them to act for you in that specific matter. Beacon Tax Relief generates Form 2848 for your review — you sign and submit it. The representative must still be licensed independently of anything this software does.