The IRS has announced new procedures to help individual taxpayers and small businesses with back tax problems. These changes should help significantly.

The Great Recession did untold damage to Americans. The dramatic downturn in earnings for both businesses and individuals left many people owing taxes they simply could not afford to pay because, well, they didn’t have any money. This ultimately resulted in tax liens being issued by the IRS, a move which just dug the hole that much deeper for most taxpayers.

The IRS has recognized its efforts are creating more problems than benefits. Given this, it has instituted new policies aimed at providing relief. The first is to bump up the threshold of taxes owed before lien will be issued. This exact amount is unknown, but this should mean fewer people have tax liens filed against them. The next move is to streamline the tax lien removal process. If you have a lien and agree to a direct debit payment plan, the lien will be removed quickly. Third, the Offer in Compromise process is going to be streamlined to shorten the evaluation period. Fourth, small businesses will have easier access to installment agreement plans.

Combined, these efforts should prove to be a boon for taxpayers. Tax liens are real killers, so creating avenues for reconciliation with the IRS that excludes there use is a very good move. What if you simply lost everything? Then new Offer in Compromise provisions should allow you to get out from under nearly all, if not all, of your tax debt and restart your life.