RESOLVING YOUR IRS CONTROVERSIES

A Guide to How Our Firm Can Help Dealing with the IRS can be one of the most stressful experiences a person or business ever faces — and the tax code is full of unfamiliar terms, strict deadlines, and high stakes. Below is a plain-language overview of the areas of IRS controversy work we handle. If any of this sounds like your situation, we encourage you to reach out for a confidential consultation.

Administrative Appeals

When the IRS makes a decision you disagree with, you often don’t have to go straight to court. Most decisions from the IRS’s Collection or Examination divisions can be challenged through an internal appeal — a chance to make your case before an Appeals Officer, who works independently from the employees who made the original decision. Because strict rules and deadlines apply, having an experienced advocate on your side significantly improves your odds of success.

Asset Protection

Protecting your assets from creditors, including the IRS, is a sensitive area of the law. Handled incorrectly, it can violate state or federal fraudulent transfer laws and make your situation worse. Handled correctly, there are legitimate estate planning strategies that offer real creditor protection while staying fully within the law. We can walk you through your options and help build a plan that protects what you’ve worked to build.

Audits (Examinations)

The IRS generally has three years from the date you file to audit a return and propose changes — a process that can reach income tax, excise tax, employment tax, and estate or gift tax returns. Facing a revenue agent or auditor without help can be stressful and, frankly, intimidating. We stand between you and the IRS so you don’t have to go through it alone.

Bankruptcy Considerations

When the IRS is a creditor, bankruptcy can offer real relief. It should never be your first move, but it’s worth understanding: bankruptcy courts have the power to bind the IRS, and in most cases bankruptcy law takes precedence over the tax code. Older tax debts — generally those assessed more than three years before filing — may even qualify for discharge, depending on the facts of your case. We can help you evaluate whether bankruptcy is a viable strategy for resolving tax debt.

Collection Due Process (“CDP”) Hearings

Since 1998, taxpayers have had a powerful tool for challenging IRS collection actions: the Collection Due Process (“CDP”) hearing. If the IRS threatens to seize your assets or income, or files a federal tax lien against you, you may have the right to request a CDP hearing — essentially an administrative appeal — to dispute what you owe or propose an alternative resolution. Not every IRS notice triggers this right, so knowing which ones do, and acting before the deadline passes, is critical.

Criminal Tax Investigations (“CI”)

Most IRS audits are civil, not criminal. But if the IRS suspects a taxpayer intentionally underreported income or filed a fraudulent return, it can open a criminal investigation — handled not by ordinary revenue agents, but by IRS Criminal Investigation special agents. These cases often begin with a tip from an informant or whistleblower, though they can also arise from a broader grand jury investigation. If a special agent contacts you, do not speak with them and do not attempt to represent yourself. Call a tax attorney first.

Failure to File Cases

It’s more common than most people think: taxpayers who know a return is required simply don’t file. While the law technically allows criminal penalties, the IRS’s main goal is usually to get delinquent returns filed and bring taxpayers back into compliance, not to prosecute. Still, unfiled returns are a serious matter, and the longer they go unaddressed, the more complicated and costly the fix becomes. The sooner it’s handled, the more options you have.

Innocent/Injured Spouse Relief

Married couples can file jointly or separately each year. Filing jointly is often more convenient and can carry tax advantages, but it comes with a major risk: a joint return makes both spouses “jointly and severally” liable, meaning the IRS can pursue either spouse for the full amount owed, regardless of who earned the income or caused the problem. This can create real unfairness when a tax debt results from one spouse’s actions alone. The law provides relief for an “innocent” spouse, but qualifying requires meeting strict criteria — including showing you didn’t know about your spouse’s wrongdoing and didn’t benefit from it.

Installment Agreements

Owing money to the IRS isn’t, by itself, a crime, except where nonpayment is a deliberate act. For taxpayers who genuinely can’t pay in full, the IRS offers several collection “alternatives,” the most common being a monthly installment agreement. Except for smaller balances, approval is entirely at the IRS’s discretion, but in some cases an accepted agreement can even mean paying less than the full balance over time. We can help determine whether an installment agreement fits your situation and negotiate the best available terms.

IRS Interviews

As part of audits or investigations, the IRS can interview individual taxpayers, corporate employees, third parties, and other witnesses. If someone refuses a requested interview, the IRS can issue a summons, similar to a subpoena, and failure to comply can lead to federal court proceedings. In most cases you have the right to record the interview and to have your attorney present; if you’re the “target” of a criminal investigation, you also have the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment. Whatever the circumstances, having counsel present protects your rights and your interests.

Levies

A levy is one of the IRS’s most aggressive collection tools — the legal seizure of a taxpayer’s income or property. Revenue officers frequently target bank accounts and wages first. Before issuing a levy, the IRS is required to send a series of notices of its intent to do so, which is your window to act (see Collection Due Process Hearings, above). Even after a levy is issued, the IRS must release it if certain conditions, such as financial hardship, are met. We can help you respond before a levy hits, or work to get one released if it already has.

Liens

A federal tax lien works differently than a levy: instead of seizing property, it secures the government’s interest in it. The moment a tax assessment goes unpaid, a lien automatically attaches to everything you own, wherever it’s located. Until the IRS files a public notice, typically at county courthouses or with a state office for personal property, the lien is “secret” and largely invisible to others. Once that notice is filed, you have the right to challenge it through the same Collection Due Process procedures described above.

Offers-in-Compromise (“OIC”)

An Offer-in-Compromise lets certain taxpayers settle their tax debt for less than the full amount owed. Despite what advertising from tax resolution companies might suggest, the IRS doesn’t grant these easily — historically, fewer than half of submitted offers are accepted. Qualifying requires documented proof that the IRS could never reasonably collect more than what you’re offering. Before hiring anyone to help with an OIC, we recommend downloading and honestly completing Form 433-A (OIC) from irs.gov, which includes a pre-qualifier tool. We can help you prepare a strong, well-supported offer and set realistic expectations from the outset.

Passport Denial or Revocation

Since 2018, the IRS has had a powerful collection tool: if you owe more than a set threshold in back taxes (currently $66,000, up from the original $50,000), the IRS can certify your debt to the State Department as “seriously delinquent.” Once certified, the State Department may deny a new passport or revoke an existing one, a serious problem for anyone who travels internationally for work or family. There are proactive steps that can prevent this, and if it’s already happened, there may be a path to reversal.

Penalty Abatement

The Internal Revenue Code contains more than 150 different penalties. The most common — failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, failure-to-deposit, accuracy-related, and fraud penalties — can add substantial cost on top of what’s already owed; fraud penalties alone can equal 75% of the underlying tax. Some penalties apply automatically, while others depend on a revenue agent’s or officer’s judgment. Getting a penalty removed generally requires showing “reasonable cause”: essentially, that something outside your control led to the violation. We know how to build that case.

Tax Return Preparer Cases

Most preparers, particularly licensed professionals like CPAs and enrolled agents, do honest, competent work. But the industry also includes many unlicensed, unregulated preparers, and their mistakes or misconduct can land squarely on the taxpayer. The IRS has increasingly cracked down on high-volume “refund mill” preparers through fines, penalties, prosecution in serious cases, and injunctions. Whether you’re dealing with the fallout of a bad preparer or facing IRS scrutiny as a preparer yourself, we can help.

Tax Court

The United States Tax Court lets taxpayers challenge a proposed IRS deficiency before having to pay it, a major advantage over other courts, which generally require payment first and a lawsuit for a refund afterward. Because of this, the vast majority of tax disputes end up in Tax Court. Our firm has filed hundreds of Tax Court petitions on behalf of clients and knows how to build a strong case in this forum.

Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (“TFRP”) Cases

When a business withholds federal taxes from employees’ paychecks but fails to send those funds to the IRS, the money is treated as a “trust fund” held on the government’s behalf. If it never makes it to the IRS, the agency can pursue the responsible individuals personally through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, or TFRP. These cases are serious and complex, but they are defensible with the right representation.

Whistleblower Cases

Federal law rewards individuals who report suspected tax law violations, offering a financial incentive, typically 10% to 30% of the tax ultimately collected, to encourage people to come forward. Filing a successful whistleblower claim isn’t simple, however; the requirements are strict and the bar for approval is high. If you’re considering reporting suspected tax fraud, we can help you understand your options and build the strongest possible claim. Every situation is different, and the right strategy depends on your specific facts. If you’re facing any of the issues described above, contact our office today to discuss how we can help.