How an Aviation Business in Florida Settled Years of Back Payroll and Income Taxes

A small aviation business in Florida came to us owing the IRS about $69,000 spread across several years of payroll and income taxes, with penalties piled on top. By the time the case closed, the back-and-forth with the IRS was finished and the company had one fixed monthly payment instead of a balance that kept growing. Here is how it moved from stuck to settled.

How it started

The business had fallen behind on more than one kind of tax at the same time, which is more common than people think. Part of the debt was payroll tax. That is the money an employer holds back from employee paychecks for federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare, plus the employer’s own share. Part of it was the company’s income tax, since the business files as an S corporation. On top of both, the IRS had added a civil penalty, which is the extra charge the agency applies when returns or payments come in late.

The unpaid periods stretched back a long way. Payroll quarters going back to 2017 had gone unpaid, and so had several income tax years through 2023. When a balance sits that long, penalties and interest keep adding up month after month. By the time the company reached out, the total had grown to roughly $69,500.

For a small business, that is a hard number to look at. Payroll tax debt in particular gets the IRS moving faster than almost anything else, because the agency treats the money withheld from paychecks as funds held in trust for employees. Falling behind on it is one of the quickest ways to draw serious collection action.

The pressure from the IRS

When payroll and income tax debt goes unpaid across this many periods, the IRS does not just send reminder letters forever. It can move to take money directly. That means levies on business bank accounts, which freeze and pull funds the company needs to make payroll and pay vendors. It can also file a federal tax lien, a public claim against the business that makes it harder to get credit or financing.

For an aviation business with employees, equipment, and ongoing operating costs, a surprise levy at the wrong moment can be the difference between a normal week and a crisis. The owner was carrying that uncertainty every day, not knowing when the next notice or account freeze might land. That weight is part of what we work to lift early, before anything forces a bad decision.

What we did

The first step was to put the whole picture on the table. We pulled the IRS account transcripts so we could see every unpaid period, the exact balances, and where each one stood in the collection process. Guessing is not good enough with the IRS, so we work from the agency’s own records.

Next we filed a power of attorney and became the company’s point of contact. From that point on, IRS calls and letters came to us instead of landing on the owner’s desk. That alone takes a lot of the daily stress out of a case.

We then made sure the company was current. The IRS will not approve a payment plan for a business that is still missing required returns or still falling behind, so getting compliant is a non-negotiable first move. With that in place, we looked closely at the company’s real numbers and built a monthly payment the business could actually sustain. Then we proposed a formal installment agreement and worked the terms with the IRS.

The outcome

The IRS issued a Form 433-D, which is the document the agency prepares only after it has agreed to the terms of an installment agreement. In plain terms, once that form shows up, the negotiation is over and the matter is resolved. The company moved from a growing, unpredictable balance to a single fixed payment of about $820 a month, starting in June 2026.

The roughly $69,500 in back taxes is now inside a defined plan rather than hanging over the business with no end in sight. As long as the company keeps up the monthly payment and stays current on new filings and taxes, it can run day to day without the threat of a sudden levy or account freeze.

Why it matters

Most business owners who get this far behind are not careless. They get busy, a hard stretch hits, payroll tax slips a quarter, and then it snowballs. The good news is that even a multi-year payroll and income tax problem usually has a path out. A clear plan with the IRS replaces fear with something you can budget around, and that predictability is often the thing that lets an owner get back to running the business.

Results depend on each taxpayer’s specific facts and financial situation. PFGTAX does not guarantee any particular outcome or reduction in tax debt.