A Jeopardy/Termination Assessment is considered by many knowledgeable tax experts as the most assertive activity conducted by the Internal Revenue Service. A Jeopardy Assessment is when the IRS believes that back taxes have not been paid and that the taxpayer has attempted to remove money from the reach of the Internal Revenue Service. After administrative approval within the Internal Revenue Service, the money is seized. A Jeopardy Assessment requires only administrative approval from Internal Revenue Service personnel. It is non-judicial and does NOT require the approval of a judge.

A Termination Assessment is when the IRS believes that an individual has derived income from an illegal activity or that a person has income, which was not reported for tax purposes, and that individual is either attempting to hide the money or has removed the money from the United States. Again this is a non-judicial procedure; it does NOT require approval of a judge.

The defenses to a Jeopardy/Termination Assessment can broken into three areas:

Each of these requires a knowledgeable, well though out defense.

Once a Jeopardy/Termination Assessment has already been applied the only recourse for the return of funds is a lawsuit in Federal Court against the Internal Revenue Service. The burden of proof is totally on the taxpayer to proof that the monies were legitimate and that taxes were paid on those monies. If the taxpayer fails to prove both elements, the money is forfeited to the Internal Revenue Service.