Getting a back tax notice from the IRS is shocking and scary. It’s easy to bury your head in the sand and hope they forget about you. But this is a situation where it’s better to man-up, be proactive and get professional outside tax help.

Once you know the IRS has you in their sites, you and your Atlanta tax attorney need to stay one step ahead. The longer you wait, the worse it will get, and the smaller your chances for tax relief.

Atlanta taxpayers will benefit from these 5 tips to effectively settle your tax debt:

• Get your records and documents in order. Whether you have the proverbial shoebox full of receipts or meticulously organized files, when seeking tax help you’re going to need a paper trail for your Atlanta tax lawyer to follow.
• Get professional help. The search for tax relief is not the time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Once you know you’re in trouble, call a big gun in the form of a reputable Atlanta tax attorney. They alone know the ins and outs of the tax code and will be able to keep the IRS honest and get you tax help. The government is in the business of squeezing as much money out of you as they can. Your Atlanta tax lawyer works for you, and will cut you the best deal possible.
• Be honest with your Atlanta tax attorney. If you don’t lay all your cards on the table, they won’t be able to get you tax relief when the IRS discovers that you’re hiding money overseas, or have a secret cash stash in your garage. Forewarned is forearmed. Give your tax lawyer all the tools he needs.
• Make peace with the fact that you will pay. Unless you have extreme circumstances and are designated as Currently Not Collectible, no one walks away from the IRS unscathed. But your tax attorney has the experience to try to get accruing penalties and interest amounts knocked down or eliminated, and to provide the best tax help for the most advantageous settlement available. Let them take the heat for you and go toe-to-toe with the IRS, and make sure you don’t get bamboozled into signing away your life.
• Listen to your tax lawyer. They are experts who regularly work with the IRS and probably know the IRS attorneys professionally in your region. Your tax attorney has negotiated hundreds or thousands of tax settlement offers similar to yours, and they understand how to defend your rights and make the most of the situation. If they recommend you take an Offer in Compromise, sign up for a payment plan for tax relief, or pursue penalty waivers – do it!

If you’re in a bad tax situation, don’t make it worse by doing nothing. Call an Atlanta tax attorney today for immediate tax help and advice. You want to be able to sleep through the night again.

If you owe IRS back taxes from unfiled income taxes, sooner or later the IRS will take action to collect. In many cases this means additional tax debt from penalties and interest – on top of IRS liens and levies that can bring your life or your business to a halt. When you work with an Atlanta tax attorney or CPA to get tax relief, your tax lawyer will intervene with the IRS and work to reasonably settle IRS back taxes for you.

“Times were tough, so I didn’t pay my taxes.”

It’s a story I hear frequently these days: Maybe you were making good money or staying in the black with self-employment income before the economy went downhill – along with your job or small business income. You tried to stay afloat by not filing federal income taxes, and now you owe back taxes.

During this recent Recession the IRS significantly increased their efforts to enforce tax collection. Avoiding paying federal income taxes during tough economic times will only result in a staggering IRS tax debt from back taxes.

I provided IRS tax relief services to a client who had accumulated tax debt during the rough economy. With tax help from the Gartzman Law Firm, my client was able to settle almost $250,000 in back taxes for about $20,000 by pursuing an Offer in Compromise with the IRS.

Here’s how your Atlanta tax attorney can help you pursue an Offer in Compromise:

1. Meet with a tax attorney and complete a financial worksheet to paint a complete scenario of your IRS tax problems and owed back taxes.

2. Give your tax attorney Power of Attorney so they can communicate with the IRS on your behalf about your tax debt and specific details in your tax record: unfiled returns, amount the IRS claims you owe, etcetera.

3. Your tax attorney will review your case and present viable financial and legal options to present an Offer in Compromise to the IRS.

4. Work with your tax attorney to complete the filing for an Offer in Compromise. As a tax attorney, I understand what the IRS will be taking into consideration regarding your financial status: income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and personal issues like age, employment, medical, and family status.

5. Submit the Offer in Compromise. On average, the process takes three to four months.

6. You will receive a letter from the IRS about the acceptance status of your Offer in Compromise, and what payment is owed.

During this process your Atlanta tax attorney will intervene on your behalf with the IRS – meaning you’ll talk with your lawyer, not get bounced around to different people at the IRS. Your tax attorney may meet with an IRS Revenue Officer, automated collection service (ACS) personnel, Offer in Compromise examiners, or sometimes an Appeals Officer to resolve your tax problems.

Back taxes and IRS tax problems preventing you from economic recovery? Settle your back taxes today with the experienced legal counsel and financial guidance of Jeffrey S. Gartzman, Atlanta tax attorney and CPA by calling (770) 939-7710, or contact us online.

In some cases, the first word a taxpayer hears from the IRS that they’re in tax trouble is a Notice of Deficiency Letter, called a 90 Day Letter. This letter is issued after the IRS has performed an audit of your taxes or proposes adjustments – and it can come as a surprise.

A Notice of Deficiency gives you ninety days to take action before the IRS does. If you receive this letter, don’t wait to seek tax help.

Get a tax attorney on your side immediately

An experienced tax attorney will help you file a petition in the United States Tax Court to keep the case open to dispute the IRS proposed adjustments to your tax return. Removing this ninety day deadline will help your tax attorney guide you through the appropriate channels for tax relief.

An IRS attorney will be assigned to your handle your case – against you. Hiring a tax attorney to represent you will ensure there’s a fair bridge between you and the IRS. They will deal with the IRS attorney on your behalf. Atlanta area taxpayers are at an advantage by hiring an Atlanta tax attorney, because chances are the IRS attorney on your case, and possibly the Appeals officer, will be from the local IRS Atlanta office and may be professionally familiar with the person representing you.

Ask your tax attorney about an Appeals Settlement with the IRS. When you work with a tax professional instead of on your own, it’s more likely that your tax settlement will be for less than what the IRS said you owed.

Jeffrey S. Gartzman is an Atlanta tax attorney and CPA who has been helping people find tax relief for over 28 years. He will help you with tax resolution, tax problems, and settling back taxes. To get the tax help you need, contact The Gartzman Law Firm, P.C., today at (770) 939-7710.