Tax & Compliance
IRS Representation & Resolution
You do not have to talk to them. That is what representation means.
An IRS notice is a document designed to be alarming, and most of them describe a problem considerably smaller than it appears.
Some are automated mismatches that resolve with a single letter. Some are genuinely serious. Being able to tell the difference immediately, and knowing what the deadline actually is, is most of what representation provides.
Representation, properly defined
When you sign a Form 2848, we become your authorised representative. The IRS deals with us instead of you: we receive the correspondence, we take the calls, and we make the arguments.
Only CPAs, Enrolled Agents and attorneys hold unlimited representation rights. Our team includes a CPA, two Enrolled Agents, and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist — this is work we do regularly, not occasionally.
Unfiled returns
This is the most common serious situation we see, and the most recoverable.
When returns go unfiled, the IRS may eventually prepare substitutes on your behalf. Those substitutes allow no deductions, no dependents, and no favourable filing status — the resulting balance is nearly always far higher than what would actually have been owed.
Filing the real returns, even years late, frequently reduces the liability dramatically before any negotiation begins. And because the IRS requires roughly six years of compliance before it will agree to any resolution, filing is the prerequisite for everything else.
Resolving a balance
Once the liability is correct, there are a limited number of genuine paths: pay it, arrange an installment agreement, qualify for an Offer in Compromise, or be placed in currently-not-collectible status.
Offers in Compromise are heavily advertised and rarely available. Qualification runs on a formula based on realisable assets and future income, and if the formula says you can pay, the offer will be rejected. We run that calculation before you commit to anything, and we will tell you plainly which path you are actually on.
Penalties
Penalty abatement is routinely available and routinely unclaimed.
First-time abatement covers a clean compliance history. Reasonable cause covers illness, disaster, reliance on incorrect professional advice, and similar circumstances. Both require asking, in the right form, with the right supporting facts.
If you are being levied
A Final Notice of Intent to Levy starts a 30-day clock, after which the IRS can reach bank accounts and wages.
There are several ways to stop this, and nearly all of them work better before the levy issues than after. If you are holding that notice, treat it as urgent.
Common questions
Who is actually allowed to represent me?
Only CPAs, Enrolled Agents and attorneys have unlimited representation rights before the IRS. Our team includes a CPA, two Enrolled Agents and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist.
I have years of unfiled returns. Is it too late?
No, and the situation almost always improves once they are filed. The IRS generally requires the last six years to be current to negotiate anything, and substitute returns the IRS prepares on your behalf are invariably worse than filing properly.
Will I qualify for an Offer in Compromise?
Far fewer people than the advertising suggests. Acceptance depends on a formula based on your assets and future income. We run the calculation honestly before you spend anything, and will tell you if an installment agreement is the realistic outcome.
Can you stop a levy?
Often, yes, and quickly — but the timing matters enormously. If you have received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy, contact us the same week.
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An introductory call is thirty minutes and costs nothing. If we are not the right firm for what you need, we will say so and point you somewhere better.