Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 1/29/2007

Question
Hello Mr. Markus my name is Olga and I live in Florida. My husband and I filed chapter 13 and have opted to payoff the IRS what is owed. However, we were caught off guard when we saw the payoff letter had an additional 6,000-7,000 towards our outstanding balance. We've been diligently keeping tabs of payments through the National Bankruptcy website. The site has a totally different amount then what the trustee sent us. Our attorney finally reached out to us and explained that the extra 6-7,000 dollars is an unsecured reserve that the government charges when a payoff is opted for.He further explained that no matter if we continue with the payment plan or payoff the government that specific 6-7,000 charge has been calculated into our balance. We've looked over or signed contracts and no where does is say or was it explained to us by our attorney that this additional fee was going to be charged to us. Furthermore, on top of the trustee fee this additional and suprisingly unsecured fee of 100.00 is supposed to be disbursed to the government but, we haven't seen anything on the site. What we calculated the 6,000-7,000. dollars be is for unsecured creditors that weren't listed onto our payment plan.
Is there such a fee in existance and can this additional fee be charged to us? We feel so frustrated and would like for this matter to end. Thank for your time. Olga from Florida.  

Answer
It seems like you are asking a tax question, rather than a bankruptcy question.  If you disagree with a claim filed by the IRS, you can object to their claim in the bankruptcy case (as long as you do it prior to the deadline).  From the facts as I read them, your attorney is not charging you the fee, the IRS is, so it's not your attorney's fault.