In the popular film “Stranger Than Fiction,” an IRS agent audits a young business owner and falls in love with her. Real life is not like the movies. Your IRS agent is not going to be Will Ferrell. There will be very little humor and even less romance in your story.

Your story is likely to involve sleepless nights, stress filled days, and a sense of crippling guilt. The best thing you can do with IRS debt in real life is to get out of it. Here are some tips for meeting tax debt head on.

Let Yourself Off the Hook (A little Bit)

Taxes can be confusing and arbitrary. In Chicago, you will be charged 9% tax on fountain drinks and only 3% tax on bottled and canned sodas. And Alabama charges a 10 cent tax per deck of playing cards. What does this all mean?

Frankly, there are a good deal of people who do not know. Why are taxes so random? Why can they be so different in various cities and states? A lot of people are struggling to answer these questions so, if you do not know all there is to know about taxes, give yourself a break.

Know That Taxes Are Not Going Anywhere

A lot of people try to solve problems by ignoring them. This is not very effective. (Notice I said “try.”) Taxes have been around a long time. People were paying taxes back in 1776, when Great Britain taxed the American Colonies. Taxes, the IRS and back taxes are here to stay, and you need to plan accordingly.

Get The Help You Need

One of the worst things you can do when your in debt is being stubborn and refusing help with IRS debt. The IRS has a lot of powers that can make you miserable. True, they need to warn you and give you a chance to speak before waging levies. But, once they do, the IRS can seize wages, money from bank accounts, account receivables, insurance proceeds, and social security payments. With enough Irs back taxes owed, some situations even allow the IRS to take personal property or residences in compensation for unpaid debt.

That is a frightening reality. Do not ignore tax debt problems. See a local tax preparer or tax company, and get help with IRS debt. Links like this.