“I’ll Work My Way Out of This”: Why That Plan May Be Keeping You Stuck in Tax Debt

Mar 4
3 min read

By Suzanne Weathers, EA | Weathers & Associates Consulting

Solving Tax Problems

“I’ll Work My Way Out of This” It’s a thought many hardworking people have when they fall behind with the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing agencies:

“I’ll just work harder. Pick up a second job. Take on more clients. I can earn my way out of this.”

If that’s where your mind goes, you’re not alone — and you’re not wrong for wanting to fix the problem yourself. But if you’ve been carrying tax debt for more than a few months, I want to offer you a new perspective:

The IRS does not wait for life to calm down.

Penalties continue to grow. Interest compounds. Notices keep arriving. And soon, what started as a manageable balance becomes a crushing weight — and many people freeze.

The Freeze Response is Real — And Common

“I’ll Work My Way Out of This”: Why That Plan May Be Keeping You Stuck in Tax DeIn my work with individual taxpayers and sole proprietors, I often meet people who are smart, motivated, and financially responsible — but they’ve become stuck. Not because they’re lazy or don’t care, but because:

They’re afraid of what they’ll find out
They don’t know which paperwork to start with
They feel ashamed of falling behind
They believe they should be able to fix it themselves

And so, begins the work more, spend less, do without cycle. Clients have told me they:

Took on extra work but avoided their own bank account out of fear
Canceled family trips or skipped celebrations, feeling they didn’t deserve joy
Lost sleep, lived with constant low-level stress, or waited for “the other shoe to drop”
Stopped opening mail or answering phone calls — even from people they love

It’s not just about money. It’s about the emotional toll of living with something unresolved, afraid that if you do anything — apply for a loan, talk to an accountant, even breathe wrong — the IRS might come knocking.

That kind of weight changes how you show up in your work, your home, and your own life.

There Is a Way Out — But It Starts with a Plan, Not Just More Hustle

Look — more hustle can help. Sometimes it’s exactly what’s needed to make ends meet in the short term. But without a clear framework or a long-term strategy, that hustle can quietly cost you in ways you may not see right away.

It can lead to bigger tax bills, missed estimated payments, or a growing sense that no matter how hard you work, you're still behind. Worse, it can pull you away from your kids’ events, your health, your time off — all in the name of “fixing” something that actually needs a structured solution, not just more effort.

Working harder doesn’t fix a system-level problem — and tax debt is a system issue. The IRS offers real settlement and repayment options, but you have to know which one fits your situation:

A payment plan may be enough if you can pay overtime
If your financial situation is tight, the IRS may agree to temporarily pause collections
In serious hardship cases, you may even qualify to settle for less than you owe

But the IRS won’t tell you which option is best for you — and choosing the wrong one can cost you years and thousands of dollars.

That’s why we offer a Tax Debt Workshop: a step-by-step way to take control of your situation with clarity, support, and expert guidance. You’ll learn what documents you need, how IRS collections work, and what resolution options are realistically available based on your income, assets, and personal goals.