Jurat

[erchess]

I have a client who is facing considerable tax debt from prior years while currently broke. If I understand the agent I am working with properly, she is going to ask a manager to waive his debt (he's already in CNC Status) if he provides in addition to what I have already given her, a signed statement believably explaining how he is paying the expenses he is paying on the unemployment insurance he is drawing and proof that he is drawing only that much and a letter from his bank saying that they will not loan him more than x amount on his only significant asset which is a small parcel of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere. The statement of where he is drawing additional cash from requires a JURAT but she cannot tell me what it should say. The deal as it is being offered to me is that the Service will accept whatever he can currently borrow against the land if anything in full satisfaction of a debt when he thinks the land is worth maybe 50 K and he owes over 100K.

Number one has anyone ever known the IRS to forgive tax debt outside of the OIC Process? I have not filed for an OIC and I have not heard anyone suggest that I do so. I am however dealing with the collections division. Number two can anyone suggest what the Jurat should say?

[Koss]

Jurat - Definition

The term jurat usually refers to language that appears immediately below the signature. It usually takes the form of a short paragraph, with a blank space for the date and the name of the person who is signing the document, that is completed and signed by a notary.

The most common form is the following:

State of ____________________

County of ___________________

The foregoing instrument was subscribed and sworn to before me this _________ day of
____________________, 2011, by __________________________________.


_______________________________________
Notary Public

Alternatively, it could refer to language that appears immediately above the signature, often used on a document that does not need to be notarized. It usually looks something like this:

Under penalty of perjury, the undersigned hereby states that the foregoing is true, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge.

With respect to the content of the statement that your client submits to the IRS, I suggest you stick with plain English. You may want to insert a table or something, if there are a lot of figures involved. And you may be able to save some space by numbering the paragraphs, because that allows you to then refer back to an earlier paragraph, e.g., "The monthly loan payment for the vehicle identified in Paragraph 6 above is $248.76."

But even that reeks of unnecessary legalese. If he only has one car, you can just say:

My car is a 2007 Honda Accord. The loan balance is $3,907.14. The monthly payment is $248.76. The loan will be paid off in 17 months.

Stick with plain English.

Inserting a jurat, in my opinion, is not practicing law. The notary-style jurat can be found in any notary handbook. Notary handbooks are often official documents published by state agencies or bar associations. Most notaries are not lawyers. These documents are meant to be used by non-lawyers.

The non-notary jurat that I posted above is just a modified version of the language that appears above the signature line on Form 1040.

I admit that I do not understand why the IRS agent could not explain what a jurat is, without giving you specific verbiage. Without violating any guidelines, I think she could have told you that the statement submitted by your client "needs a jurat, which is the language inserted for a notary," or that the statement "needs to be signed under oath," or that the statement "needs to be signed under penalty of perjury, just like the signature on a Form 1040."

BMK

[erchess]

TY Burton

I don't see why she could not tell me what the Jurat needed to say either, nor can see how using one would be considered practicing law. I appreciate your providing the language I wanted. When I saw it I recognized it but I couldn't recall it. And yes I want to put the rest of the letter into standard business English.

[kpangelinan]

I have a client who is facing considerable tax debt from prior years while currently broke. If I understand the agent I am working with properly, she is going to ask a manager to waive his debt (he's already in CNC Status) if he provides in addition to what I have already given her, a signed statement believably explaining how he is paying the expenses he is paying on the unemployment insurance he is drawing and proof that he is drawing only that much and a letter from his bank saying that they will not loan him more than x amount on his only significant asset which is a small parcel of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere. The statement of where he is drawing additional cash from requires a JURAT but she cannot tell me what it should say. The deal as it is being offered to me is that the Service will accept whatever he can currently borrow against the land if anything in full satisfaction of a debt when he thinks the land is worth maybe 50 K and he owes over 100K.

Number one has anyone ever known the IRS to forgive tax debt outside of the OIC Process? I have not filed for an OIC and I have not heard anyone suggest that I do so. I am however dealing with the collections division. Number two can anyone suggest what the Jurat should say?

I don't think any Revenue Officer has the authority to wipe a tax liability out and I have never even came across a situation that it ever came up in 15 years of dealing with collections. Their has to be more to the story....maybe it's nearing it's 10 year statute, maybe the RO's talking about penalties (which they have the authority), maybe she's talking about a subordination clause to temporary lift the lien, etc.

But, I would definitely say they can't wipe out the debt outside an OIC.