Unfiled years and a balance that keeps growing.
Unfiled returns, a balance you cannot pay, a lien filed or a levy threatened. None of it improves by waiting, and almost all of it is more workable than it looks from inside the envelope. Our CPA and Enrolled Agents handle it directly with the IRS, with a power of attorney on file.
Kevin takes every intake personally, which means only so many happen each week.
What the account actually needs.
Collection work runs in an order. Skipping to the resolution before the filings are current is the most common way these matters stall.
Unfiled Returns and Substitute-for-Return Assessments
Nothing else moves until filing is current. A substitute for return was prepared without your deductions, and replacing it with an actual return is often the largest reduction available.
Federal Tax Liens and the Levy Process
A lien attaches; a levy takes. If either is in motion, that is the time-sensitive part.
Installment Agreements
A payment plan is the most common resolution, and the terms available depend on the balance, the type of tax, and whether filings are current. Not every plan requires a full financial disclosure. Defaulting on a plan puts the account back where it started.
Penalty Abatement
First-time and reasonable-cause relief exist where the facts support them. We do not promise abatement before reading the transcript.
Offer in Compromise, Honestly Assessed
Settling for less is real, and rarer than late-night radio suggests. It turns on the IRS collection formula, and we run that arithmetic before recommending it.
Notices and Examinations
A CP2000 or an examination is a different track from collection, though they often arrive at the same house. Both are handled here. See IRS representation.
Questions people ask when the letters pile up.
I have several years of unfiled returns. Where does that start?
With the filings, in order. Until the returns are in, most resolution options are unavailable. Where the IRS has already assessed a substitute for return, filing an actual return with your deductions frequently reduces the balance substantially on its own. It is common work and it is fixable. The returns rarely need to go back as far as people fear.
What is the difference between a lien and a levy?
A lien is a claim against property. It does not take anything, but it surfaces when you sell or borrow. A levy actually takes: wages, a bank account, receivables. Different remedies apply to each, and both are easier to address before they are in place. If a levy is threatened or in motion, that is the urgent part.
Can I really settle for less than I owe?
Sometimes. An offer in compromise turns on a formula measuring what the IRS calculates it could reasonably collect from your income and assets. Argument doesn’t change it. Where the numbers support it, it is a legitimate outcome. Where they do not, submitting one wastes months and the fee. We run the calculation first and tell you honestly which side of it you are on.
Will the penalties come off?
Sometimes, and it is worth asking. Relief exists for a first incident where compliance history supports it, and for reasonable cause where the facts genuinely support it. Penalties are often a large share of a balance, so it is a real lever. It is assessed from the transcript and the facts, and never promised in advance.
What does having a power of attorney on file actually do?
Form 2848 lets us obtain your transcripts, speak to the IRS on your behalf, and receive the correspondence. Practically, it means the calls and the deadlines come to the firm rather than to your mailbox. CPAs and Enrolled Agents both hold unlimited representation rights before the IRS.