The Top 5 Reasons You Need Tax Representation – Now !
Tax representation, defined as paying a tax professional like me to represent you before the IRS or another state agency, is not for everyone and, in many instances, may be an unnecessary waste of money. But when IS it necessary?
1. You are afraid of dealing with the IRS on your own. You can’t discount the “fear factor” as a reason to pay a tax professional for representation. Fearful people get themselves in deeper trouble by putting their proverbial foot in their mouth. The objectivity of a tax professional, or third party, is sometimes essential for resolving a tax case. Furthermore, you can’t underestimate the PEACE OF MIND of having a qualified individual handle your dealings with the IRS.
2. You owe a lot of money to the IRS. The more you owe the IRS, the higher the stakes are, and the more aggressive the IRS will get. You will benefit from having a tax professional lowering the temperature of the negotiations and handling the matter for you.
3. Your are being levied by the IRS or on the precipice of aggressive collection action. Levy release/reductions require a lot of work in a very short period of time. A qualified tax professional should know all of the ropes to get the levy fixed quickly.
4. You haven’t filed for many years and/or the IRS filed returns for you (SFRs). The tendency of a non-filer is to overestimate the task of resolving their tax situation — thinking that they need to file TEN returns — with information they lost in their flooded basement, e.g. Most non-filer situations are NOT as a bad as the taxpayer thinks. A licensed tax professional can clear the air by researching the taxpayer’s record and properly determining the MINIMUM needed to be done. Furthermore, “SFRs” do not always need to be fixed. In some cases, your representative will recommend that the returns STAND as they are while the debt is negotiated another way.
5. Your case is assigned to a Revenue Officer, the Large Dollar Unit of ACS or Regular ACS. If your case is assigned to one of the above, that means serious business: you are in jeopardy of aggressive collection actions. Workers in these divisions are HUMAN: capable of error and OVERSTEPPING their powers. (Trust me on this. I deal with them every day). Having a representative automatically lowers the temperature of the negotiations — making sure that your rights as a taxpayer are defended, preventing the agencies from levying you.