Frequently Asked Questions

Tax relief refers to programs and strategies that reduce the amount of taxes, penalties, or interest owed to the IRS. It can include settling your debt for less than the full amount (Offer in Compromise), establishing a manageable payment plan (Installment Agreement), pausing IRS collections (Currently Not Collectible status), or eliminating penalties (Penalty Abatement). The right approach depends on your specific financial situation, income, assets, and the nature of your tax debt.

The best resolution depends on several factors: your total tax debt, your monthly income and allowable expenses, your assets and equity, whether your returns are filed, and what IRS collection actions are currently active. During your free consultation, we analyze all of these factors and recommend the specific resolution strategy most likely to achieve the best outcome for you.

Yes — through the Offer in Compromise program, the IRS can formally settle your debt for less than the full amount owed. In 2023, the IRS accepted thousands of OIC applications. Many clients settle for 10–50 cents on the dollar when they qualify. The IRS also forgives accrued penalties through penalty abatement, and in some cases debt becomes legally uncollectable when the 10-year collection statute expires.

Technically you can represent yourself before the IRS. However, the IRS is a sophisticated government agency with enormous enforcement power. Self-represented taxpayers consistently receive worse outcomes than those with professional representation. For matters involving large balances, levies, audits, Offers in Compromise, or criminal issues, experienced legal representation is strongly recommended. The savings from professional representation almost always exceed the cost of fees.

A paid-off or settled tax debt itself does not appear on credit reports. However, a Notice of Federal Tax Lien — filed when the IRS makes a public claim on your property — does appear in public records and can damage your credit significantly. Once resolved, we pursue lien withdrawal when possible, which removes the lien from public records entirely rather than just showing it as satisfied.

It depends on the resolution type. Wage garnishment releases can happen in 24–72 hours. Installment agreements can be established in 1–2 weeks. Currently Not Collectible status can be obtained in days to weeks. An Offer in Compromise typically takes 6–12 months for IRS review. We give you a realistic timeline at your first consultation.

An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an IRS program that allows qualifying taxpayers to settle their entire tax debt for less than the full amount. The IRS accepts an OIC when it believes the offered amount represents the most it can realistically collect from you — based on your income, expenses, assets, and future earning potential. Key qualification factors include: demonstrating inability to pay the full balance, having all required returns filed, not being in an active bankruptcy, and making an offer that equals or exceeds your Reasonable Collection Potential (RCP).

The minimum acceptable offer equals your Reasonable Collection Potential — essentially, what the IRS calculates it could collect from you through all available means. This includes net realizable equity in assets plus a portion of future disposable income. For taxpayers with limited assets and income, this can be far less than the original balance. Some clients with $100,000+ in tax debt qualify for offers of $5,000–$15,000.

A rejection is not the end. You have 30 days to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals, which is an independent body that reviews OIC rejections. We file appeals aggressively and win favorable outcomes in many cases. If the appeal is also unsuccessful, we explore alternative resolution paths such as installment agreements, Currently Not Collectible status, or Partial Payment Installment Agreements.

You must be current on all required tax filings before the IRS will consider an OIC. However, this is not a barrier to getting started. We help you get current on any missing returns as part of the preparation process — often handling multiple years of unfiled returns simultaneously before submitting your OIC.

An IRS installment agreement is a formal payment plan that lets you pay your tax debt in monthly installments over time instead of in a lump sum. Once approved, the IRS stops most collection actions. For balances under $50,000, "streamlined" agreements require minimal documentation. Larger balances require full financial disclosure but can still qualify. We negotiate to get you the lowest possible monthly payment.

A PPIA is similar to a standard installment agreement but with one critical difference: your monthly payment is set based purely on what you can afford — even if that amount will not fully pay off your balance before the IRS's 10-year collection statute expires. When the statute expires, the remaining unpaid balance becomes legally uncollectable. This makes a PPIA potentially far more valuable than a standard agreement for certain taxpayers.

Yes — interest and a reduced failure-to-pay penalty (0.25% per month instead of 0.5%) continue to accrue on the unpaid balance. The IRS does not suspend interest during an installment agreement. However, once you enter a formal agreement, the failure-to-pay penalty is cut in half, and future collection actions are stopped.

Call us immediately. After a bank levy, there is a 21-day holding period before the bank must send funds to the IRS. If we can obtain a levy release during those 21 days, your money can be returned. Every hour matters. We contact the IRS the same day you hire us and pursue a levy release on an emergency basis.

Wage garnishments require the same urgency as bank levies. We contact the IRS immediately, establish legal representation, and negotiate a levy release — typically conditioned on entering a payment agreement or establishing another resolution. In most cases we can release wage garnishments within 2–5 business days. We simultaneously put a permanent resolution in place to prevent re-garnishment.

The IRS continuous wage levy leaves only a small exempt amount based on your filing status and number of dependents. For a single taxpayer with no dependents, the exempt amount in 2024 is approximately $1,100 per month — everything above that can be taken. This means 60–80% of take-home pay is at risk. A properly negotiated levy release and installment agreement protects your full paycheck going forward.

Yes. The IRS can levy up to 15% of Social Security benefits through the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP). The IRS can also levy IRA, 401(k), and pension accounts — and when retirement accounts are levied, you typically owe income tax and early withdrawal penalties on top of the seized amount, compounding the damage significantly.

A federal tax lien is a legal claim the government files against all of your property when you fail to pay a tax debt. It attaches to real estate, vehicles, financial accounts, and even future assets. The lien is publicly filed in county records and appears on credit reports, making it difficult to sell property, refinance a mortgage, or obtain credit.

Yes, through a process called lien discharge. The IRS agrees to remove the lien from a specific property so the sale can proceed — typically requiring that the IRS receives their equity interest from the sale proceeds. We coordinate directly with title companies and the IRS to facilitate the discharge efficiently.

A lien release occurs when the debt is fully paid and the lien is marked as satisfied — but it remains in public records for up to 7 years. A lien withdrawal completely removes the lien from public records as if it never existed, which has a much more positive impact on your credit. We always pursue withdrawal when it is available, which is more common than most taxpayers realize.

Do not ignore it and do not respond without representation. Every IRS audit notice has a deadline and specific requests. Responding incorrectly can broaden the scope of the audit or result in an unfavorable assessment. Call us immediately — we review your notice, assess the risk, and take over all IRS communications so you never have to deal with auditors directly.

The standard audit statute is 3 years from the filing date. This extends to 6 years if you omitted more than 25% of gross income from a return. There is no statute of limitations for fraudulent returns or if you never filed a return. Most IRS audits cover 1–3 tax years.

Missing records do not automatically mean a bad audit result. We use reconstructed records, bank statement analysis, third-party documentation, oral testimony, and industry-standard expense estimates to support your returns. We have successfully closed audits with limited documentation in many cases.

CNC is an IRS hardship status that suspends all collection activity when your allowable living expenses equal or exceed your monthly income. Once in CNC status, the IRS cannot levy your wages, bank accounts, or property. Interest and penalties continue to accrue, but the 10-year collection statute keeps running — in some cases the debt expires before the IRS can ever resume collections.

No. Owning a home does not automatically disqualify you from CNC. The IRS considers your home equity as an asset, but if your disposable income (after allowable expenses) is still insufficient to support any payment, you can still qualify. We analyze your complete financial picture before making this determination.

The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) allows the IRS to hold individual business owners and managers personally liable for a business's unpaid payroll taxes. The "trust fund" portion includes employee income tax withholding, Social Security, and Medicare taxes — money held in trust for the government. The TFRP equals 100% of unpaid trust fund taxes and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

Yes, in some circumstances. The IRS can assess the TFRP against any individual who: (1) was a "responsible person" — had authority and duty to ensure taxes were paid, and (2) acted "willfully" — knew about the unpaid taxes and chose to pay other creditors instead. Whether a bookkeeper qualifies depends on their specific authority and decision-making role.

Our fees vary based on the complexity of your case and the resolution type needed. We use flat-fee pricing — you receive a transparent quote before any work begins with no hidden fees or hourly billing surprises. Fees are payable in monthly installments with no finance charges. We work with virtually every budget and will find a payment plan that works for you.

Yes. We handle both federal IRS matters and state tax issues across all 50 states. State tax agencies — including state income tax, sales tax, and payroll tax departments — each have their own resolution programs and collection procedures. We are familiar with state tax enforcement across all jurisdictions.

Your free consultation is confidential and completely no-obligation. We discuss your specific tax situation, review any IRS notices you have received, assess the urgency of any active collection actions, and identify all possible resolution options. We then provide a clear recommendation and a transparent fee quote. The call typically takes 20–45 minutes.

We begin working immediately upon retention. For urgent situations — active levies, imminent garnishments, or upcoming deadlines — we contact the IRS the same day and establish representation within hours. A Power of Attorney is filed immediately so all IRS communications are redirected to our team.

No. Once we file a Power of Attorney (Form 2848) with the IRS, you have no obligation to communicate with the IRS directly. All notices, calls, and correspondence come to us. We handle everything — you stay informed through your dedicated case manager but never have to deal with IRS agents yourself.