There are plenty of people who owe taxes, but there are very few who know whom to look to for help.
Everybody knows what a tax preparer is, and everyone understands at least the generalities of what it takes to prepare a tax return. Even if someone lacks the ability to prepare their own taxes, they at least have some concept of what their tax preparer is doing for them: the tax preparer will follow a strict set of rules and guidelines to go through your financial information for the year to arrive at a determination of how much you owe to the IRS or the state.
“Tax Relief” on the other hand, is much less of a household name. When I tell people that I work in a Tax Relief office, people always ask the follow-up question “Tax Relief, what’s that?” It’s a valid question, and it seems to be one that very few people know the answer to.
Tax Relief is the thing that people need when they get those nasty letters from the IRS or the state, the ones that say that thousands of dollars are owed, liens are being filed, and garnishments and levies are about to start. At the first stage, Tax Relief is about representation. Hiring a Tax Relief professional means having that professional serve as your representative, stepping in between you and whichever tax agency is targeting you. That means your representative will be notified of any collection action or assessment made against you, and that they will have a chance to fight it before it takes effect. If your Tax Relief professional is worth their salt, then the first real effect for you is the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your representative is handling your case and working as a shield for you.
After you’ve hired your Tax Professional and they’ve set the stage with the IRS for what will happen next, the next step is to work on whichever resolution works best for you. There are several possible outcomes, including an offer in compromise. Your Tax Relief professional will inform you of your options and provide a recommendation, but the choice will ultimately be yours. Once you’ve decided, your representative will start preparing and eventually submit all of the paperwork related to your case.
With the general concept of the process listed above, it’s important to see where a bad Tax Relief professional could make mistakes or imperil your case through negligence or poor work. Two of the biggest companies in this field, J.K. Harris and Tax Masters, have both gone under this year due to a host of problems, including lawsuits from extremely dissatisfied clients. Your opportunity to fully evaluate your potential representatives is in the free consultation.
What you need to make sure of, is that your representative is knowledgeable, diligent, and sincere. The criteria of being knowledgeable speaks for itself. It is important that your representative be diligent so that they are constantly following up with correspondence they receive from the IRS, or with questions that they receive from you.
Sincerity is perhaps the single most important characteristic which separates good tax representatives from bad ones. One of the most oft-used phrases in radio and TV commercials is “pennies-on-the-dollar”, as unethical firms try to entice taxpayers with promises of low percentage settlements without providing any context. Many of these firms crank out offer in compromise applications that don’t have a chance at success, and as a result, the taxpayer’s situation remains exactly the same as it did before, only more interest has accrued on the original balance and the taxpayer has poured down the drain whatever fees they paid to their insincere representative.
When you get a free consultation with an Enrolled Agent, Tax Attorney, or CPA, make sure that they are truly interested in helping you. If it seems like a good fit, you should know by the end of the consultation. In order to get the best and most accurate information from the Tax Relief professional, make sure that you come prepared with tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs, and other information that will help the professional know what the details are of your specific case. Often, insincere Tax Relief professionals will only take a cursory glance at the information that you have provided before telling you that they believe you will qualify for an offer, without any real idea of what truly is the best resolution for you.
If the consultation goes well, you’ll know it. Good consultations contain information going back and forth as well as an emerging sense of trust that you and your representative will be able to work well together. If the consultation doesn’t work out, then you’ll have saved yourself time and money knowing that you avoided making the wrong decision. But when the consultation does work out, you’ll know that you’re entering a professional relationship that will provide you with the crucial help that you need.