IRS representation and tax resolution. You do not have to face it alone.
A notice, an audit, or years of unfiled returns is not a paperwork problem. It is a sleep problem. We file a Power of Attorney, pull your transcripts, and take over the conversation, so you find out what you actually owe before you agree to what they say you owe.
Already a client? Send the notice through Basecamp and we will pick it up there.
The letter is still on the counter. Unopened counts too.
- An IRS letter arrived and you have read it four times without knowing what it wants
- CP14, CP2000, or CP504 is sitting on the counter with a deadline on it
- You are behind on returns and every month you wait makes the conversation harder
- The balance is real and you need a payment path that does not wreck your cash flow
- A lien is blocking a closing or a refinance you have already started
- You are being audited and would rather not be the one on the phone
- Payroll taxes fell behind and you have heard the phrase trust fund penalty
- Your last preparer went quiet exactly when the notice showed up
Three things worth knowing tonight. Free advice, no engagement.
IRS notices carry response deadlines, and the options available before a deadline passes are broader than the ones available after.
Do not ignore the date on it
Nearly every IRS notice carries a response window, and the rights you have inside that window are broader than the ones you have after it. Missing that deadline can cost you options that do not come back.
Do not pay it just to make it stop
Read the notice before deciding how to respond or pay. A CP2000 proposes changes, while other notices request payment of an assessed balance. Follow the notice's instructions and response deadline.
Do not guess at what they know
Your transcripts are part of the record of what has been reported under your number. They're a starting point we reconcile against your original documents, not the notice, and not memory alone.
Five steps, and a clear process for responding to the IRS.
Resolution is a process, not a negotiation trick. Here is the sequence, and where in it the pressure actually lifts.
- Step 01
Free 20-minute call
You tell us what the letter says and what you are worried about. We tell you what it actually means and what the real deadline is. No pitch on this call. If the fix is something you can do yourself in ten minutes, we will say so.
- Step 02
Power of Attorney, then the transcripts
We file Form 2848 for the specific matters and years involved and pull your IRS wage and income transcripts and account transcripts. It tells us what the IRS actually has on record, which we reconcile against your original documents before taking a position.
- Step 03
We become the contact
Once the POA is on file for the matters and years it covers, the IRS generally directs correspondence and calls on those items to us. The IRS still sends notice copies to you directly on those matters too. Forward anything you receive to us right away so we can track deadlines and respond in time.
- Step 04
The position, in writing
We work out what you actually owe, which can be less than what was proposed, and what relief you may qualify for. First-time abatement, reasonable cause, an installment agreement or offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status. You see the math before we file anything.
- Step 05
Filed, followed, and closed out
We submit, then we follow it. IRS timelines slip and cases go quiet, so the job is not done at submission. You get the resolution letter in your portal and a plan for staying out of it next year.
Notices, audits, back taxes, and the collection side. Each one has a path.
Every link below goes to a full written explanation of that situation. No email required, no form. Read first, decide later.
IRS notices
CP14, CP2000, CP501/503/504, LT11. We read what it is really asking and respond before the window closes.
Read the guide →Audit representation
Correspondence, office, and field audits. We handle communications and represent you under Power of Attorney, though the IRS may require your participation for certain steps.
Read the guide →Back taxes + unfiled years
Multiple years unfiled. We scope how far back is actually required, then file in the right order.
Read the guide →Payment plans
Installment agreements, partial-pay plans, and whether an offer in compromise is realistic or a waste of your money.
Read the guide →Penalty relief
First-time abatement and reasonable cause. Penalty relief can be a meaningful part of reducing a balance, depending on the case.
Read the guide →Liens + levies
What a lien actually blocks, and the four ways out: release, withdrawal, discharge, subordination.
Read the guide →Hardship status
When collection should be paused entirely because paying would leave you unable to cover basic living expenses.
Read the guide →Payroll tax exposure
Trust fund recovery penalty assessments, which can reach you personally, not just the business.
Read the guide →We pull the transcripts before we agree to anything.
This is the difference between representation and paperwork.
Answering what they said
Some notices, like a CP2000, are generated from an automated matching program comparing forms filed about you against your return. Others are calculated balances or collection notices with a different basis. Either way, the notice does not know your basis, your deductions, or the 1099 that was issued twice.
Respond to the notice alone and you are negotiating against a number nobody has verified.
Answering what they have
Transcripts are part of the IRS record: forms reported under your number, assessments, payments, and the collection clock. We reconcile that record against your original documents before a position is taken.
It is ordinary work, and it can surface relief a taxpayer negotiating alone might not know to ask for.
The questions people ask before they call.
Can you actually represent me, or do you just prepare the paperwork?
We represent you. An Enrolled Agent on our team holds unlimited practice rights before the IRS, which means representation at every level: examination, collection, and appeals. We file Form 2848 for the specific matters and years at issue, and IRS correspondence and phone calls on those items come to us.
What does it cost?
It depends entirely on what the file needs, and we will not quote a number before we have seen the transcripts. Some cases are a single well-argued abatement letter. Others are years of unfiled returns plus a collection plan. The 20-minute call is free, and if the whole thing is a $0 fix we will tell you that on the call rather than sell you an engagement.
Should I just call the IRS myself?
Sometimes, honestly, yes. A simple math-error notice or a first-time penalty on an otherwise clean record can be a phone call you make yourself. Where representation earns its keep is when the amount is large, several years are involved, the notice proposes an adjustment you disagree with, or talking to the IRS yourself risks volunteering something that widens the inquiry.
I have not filed in years. Where do we start?
We start by pulling your IRS transcripts and account records to see exactly which years and forms are missing. Non-filing is more common than people think, and there is a well-established process for getting current. Filing the missing returns is also generally what unlocks relief options, so that is the first step either way.
Can you stop a levy or garnishment?
It depends on the case, and speed matters more here than anywhere else in tax. There are defined windows to request a Collection Due Process hearing or negotiate a hold, and they close. If you have received a final notice of intent to levy, that is the call to make today rather than next week.
Do I need to be a full-service client?
No. Resolution work stands alone. People come to us for one notice and leave once it is closed. If the underlying cause turns out to be structural, we will show you the planning math, but the resolution is the engagement you are buying.
Do you handle state tax problems too?
We handle Texas Comptroller matters as part of our practice. If you have a problem with a different state's tax agency, ask us on the Discovery call and we will confirm whether it is something we can take on before you engage.
Bring us the letter.
No payment, no pitch. You will leave the call knowing what the notice means and what the deadline is.
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