The Internal Revenue Service today kicked off the 2009 tax filing season by announcing a number of new steps to help financially distressed taxpayers maximize their refunds and speed payments while providing additional help to people struggling to meet their tax obligations.

Among the areas where the IRS can provide assistance:

Postponement of Collection Actions: IRS employees will have greater authority to suspend collection actions in certain hardship cases where taxpayers are unable to pay. This includes instances when the taxpayer has recently lost a job, is relying solely on Social Security or welfare income or is facing devastating illness or significant medical bills. If an individual has recently encountered this type of financial problem, IRS assistors may be able to suspend collection without documentation to minimize burden on the taxpayer.

Added Flexibility for Missed Payments: The IRS is allowing more flexibility for previously compliant individuals in existing Installment Agreements who have difficulty making payments because of a job loss or other financial hardship. The IRS may allow a skipped payment or a reduced monthly payment amount without automatically suspending the Installment Agreement. Taxpayers in a difficult financial situation should contact the IRS.

Additional Review for Offers in Compromise on Home Values: An Offer in Compromise (OIC), an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer’s tax debt for less than the full amount owed, may be a viable option for taxpayers experiencing economic difficulties. However, the equity taxpayers have in real property can be a barrier to an OIC being accepted. With the uncertainty in the housing market, the IRS recognizes that the real-estate valuations used to assess ability to pay may not be accurate. So in instances where the accuracy of local real-estate valuations is in question or other unusual hardships exist, the IRS is creating a new second review of the information to determine if accepting an offer is appropriate.

Prevention of Offer in Compromise Defaults: Taxpayers who are unable to meet the periodic payment terms of an accepted OIC will be able to contact the IRS office handling the offer for available options to help them avoid default.

Expedited Levy Releases: The IRS will speed the delivery of levy releases by easing requirements on taxpayers who request expedited levy releases for hardship reasons. Taxpayers seeking expedited releases for levies to an employer or bank should contact the IRS number shown on the notice of levy to discuss available options. When calling, taxpayers requesting a levy release due to hardship should be prepared to provide the IRS with the fax number of the bank or employer processing the levy

A mortgage foreclosure rescue service that claimed that, for a $1,200 fee, they would stop foreclosure and save consumers’ homes, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law. Many consumers who paid the company ultimately lost their homes to foreclosure, and others avoided foreclosure only through their own efforts.

Under a federal court settlement, the defendants are barred from falsely representing:

• that any home mortgage foreclosure can or will be stopped, postponed, or prevented;
• an ability to help all consumers, regardless of their individual circumstances;
• the likelihood that foreclosure can or will be stopped, postponed, or prevented;
• the degree of past success of any such efforts;
• the number of satisfied customers or customer complaints;
• the terms of any refund or guarantee;
• the likelihood that a consumer will receive a full or partial refund if a foreclosure is not stopped, postponed, or prevented;
• any approval, endorsement, or rating by the Better Business Bureau or any other consumer advocacy or consumer protection association; or
• any fact material to a consumer’s decision to purchase any mortgage foreclosure rescue service.

The defendants also are prohibited from falsely representing any material fact in connection with marketing any good or service. In addition, they are barred from disclosing or benefitting from personal information obtained from anyone in connection with marketing mortgage foreclosure rescue services. The settlement imposes a judgment of $1,178,920, all but $8,320.84 of which is suspended based on the defendants’ inability to pay. The full judgment will be imposed if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition. The settlement also contains record-keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with the order.

The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the stipulated final order regarding Florida-based Mortgage Foreclosure Solutions, Inc., Debra Behrens, and Michael Siani, was 4-0. The order was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, and was entered by the court on January 5, 2009.

NOTE: Stipulated final orders are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. A stipulated final order requires approval by the court and has the force of law when signed by the judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Frank Dorman,
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2674

STAFF CONTACT:

Mortgage Financial Solutions
Dama J. Brown,
FTC’s Southeast Region – Atlanta
404-656-1361

Valerie M. Verduce,
FTC’s Southeast Region – Atlanta
404-656-1355

For Immediate Release  -  January 08, 2009

 Freddie Mac  announced it is extending its suspension of all foreclosure sales and evictions involving occupied single family and 2-4 unit properties with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages through January 31, 2009. The suspension does not apply to vacant single family properties.

“Freddie Mac is committed to pursuing every responsible opportunity to reduce foreclosures and accelerate the return of stability to the U.S. housing market,” said Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer David M. Moffett. “Today’s announcement will provide Freddie Mac and its servicers additional opportunities to help put more families on the path to stable homeownership.”

The extension will also provide servicers with more time to help troubled borrowers find an alternative to foreclosure and implement the Streamlined Modification Program that went into operation on December 15, 2008. Developed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), HOPE Now and 27 mortgage servicers, the Streamlined Modification Program was designed to expedite loan modifications for eligible borrowers who have missed three or more mortgage payments.

Freddie Mac gives lenders servicing its mortgages broad authority to help troubled borrowers before they miss a payment through forbearance as well as provide permanent rate reductions, mortgage term extensions or other modifications to borrowers who are already delinquent. In 2008 Freddie Mac enabled three out of five of its delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

Source:  http://freddiemac.com/news