How it works
What actually happens, start to finish
Most people have no idea what they're agreeing to when they call a tax firm. Here's the whole process, including the parts that take longer than anyone would like.
Every case is different in its details, but the shape is consistent. Four stages, in this order, because each one depends on the one before it. Skipping ahead is what causes cases to fail.
Listen
A free, confidential conversation
You tell us what's going on, in whatever order it comes out. We ask about the balance, the notices, your income, and what's already been taken. Nothing is decided on this call and nothing is charged for it. What you should leave with is a clear sense of which options are plausible for you and roughly what the road looks like. If we don't think we can help, we'll say that too.
- Bring any IRS or state letters you've received, even unopened ones.
- A rough sense of income and monthly expenses is enough — no documents required yet.
- Ask about fees. You should never leave a first call unsure what something costs.
Investigate
Transcripts, and the real number
With authorization on file, we pull your IRS account and wage-and-income transcripts. This is where guessing stops. Transcripts show the actual balance by year, how much is tax versus penalty versus interest, which returns are missing, what third parties reported under your name, and — critically — how much time the IRS has left to collect. Nearly every real strategic decision in a case comes out of this document.
- We often find the balance differs from what the letters implied.
- Missing returns and substitute assessments surface here.
- Collection expiration dates shape which options make sense at all.
Get compliant
The gate everything else passes through
Almost no resolution option is available to someone with unfiled returns. If years are missing, they get prepared and filed — reconstructed from transcripts and records where the paperwork is long gone. Current-year withholding or estimated payments get corrected at the same time, because the IRS will not settle an old balance while a new one is quietly building.
- We determine how many years actually need filing, not simply all of them.
- Filing an accurate return can replace an inflated substitute assessment.
- Fixing withholding now prevents the same problem repeating next April.
Resolve
Negotiate, file, and close it out
With a compliant, fully understood account, the resolution itself is chosen and pursued: an installment agreement, an Offer in Compromise, penalty abatement, hardship status, a levy release, lien relief, or some combination. We handle the filings, the negotiation, and the follow-up correspondence, and we appeal where an outcome is worth contesting. Then we tell you plainly what to do so it stays resolved.
- Timelines vary widely — weeks for some releases, many months for a settlement.
- Where the first route is denied, appeal rights and alternative paths are planned for in advance.
- You'll know what would default an agreement before you sign it.
What we ask of you
Two things, honestly. Tell us everything early — surprises discovered by an examiner are far more expensive than surprises you volunteer. And respond when we ask for documents; the single biggest cause of a case dragging is a request sitting unanswered while a deadline moves closer.
Stage one is free.
A conversation, an honest read on your options, and no obligation to go any further.