Need Professional Help? Talk to a Tax Attorney.
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In order to achieve a beneficial, quick and smooth resolution to a complex tax problem, taxpayers often engage the services of a tax relief company. Tax relief companies house tax attorneys, enrolled agents, tax analysts and other tax professionals who help in the preparation and representation of a tax case. Even though many tax relief services make big promises, it is important for you to hire a service that is competent and will give you real results.
Expertise and Experience
Many tax cases cannot be resolved successfully without the expertise and experience of licensed tax professionals. Enrolled agents, certified public accountants (CPAs), and attorneys are licensed tax professionals that have unlimited IRS representations rights. This means they can represent their clients for any IRS issue, such as audits, collection issues, payment arrangements, and appeals. These licensed tax professionals must meet certain requirements and standards in order to obtain their credentials.
When hiring a tax relief service, it is important to know the qualifications, the specialization and the experience of the enrolled agents, CPAs or tax attorneys that will be preparing your case. Many licensed tax professionals specialize in specific areas of the tax code and only handle certain types of tax cases. Before hiring a company, you should seek information about the professionals that will be involved in the resolution of your case.
A competent tax company will have the resources to provide the best possible resolution to tax problems. A service that promises results, but is not equipped with skilled tax attorneys, enrolled agents or CPAs cannot fulfill promises.
Past Performance
Past performance can help to predict future results. A tax resolution service's past success can help you to determine how much help it can provide you. Looking at the success rate of a company before hiring it can be a useful method to learn the capabilities of a tax resolution service. When looking at the past resolutions, focus on the tax cases that are similar to the tax problem for which you are seeking a resolution.
To better understand how reliable a tax service is, you should look into the consumer complaints against a tax resolution company and how the company responds to these complaints. Instead of depending on unreliable online consumer boards that have no authentication systems in place and are often full of counterfeit complaints, it is advisable to use legitimate resources such as Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.
Upfront Payments and Hidden Fees
Legitimate tax resolution companies charge a reasonable flat fee for their services and will determine that fee only after they have thoroughly examined the client's situation to establish exactly what needs to be done to best resolve the client's tax issues. A reliable tax resolution firm will be clear about the total cost of a resolution, allowing the taxpayer to decide whether s/he can afford the cost.
Fraudulent tax relief firms, on the other hand, often charge exaggerated upfront fees which are then augmented by hidden fees the client is not informed about prior to contracting the company for service. Fraudulent tax services often make unrealistic promises to tempt taxpayers into paying for their services and to make their exaggerated upfront payments seem fair.
Realistic Resolutions
A tax resolution service that is legitimate and reliable will focus their efforts on tax resolutions that are achievable. It will inform the taxpayer about all their options for tax resolution only after studying the particulars of a tax case. Many fraudulent tax companies that have now been forcefully shut down by law enforcement agencies promised substantial tax debt reduction, even "pennies on the dollar" tax settlements, in advertisements to anyone who would hire their service, despite the fact that the IRS only considers tax debt reduction if the taxpayer meets certain strict requirements. Every tax resolution company and licensed tax professional is bound by the tax laws, the tax code and IRS policies, and need to work within them. A company that informs taxpayers of the many restrictions and tries to find the most beneficial resolution by working within those restrictions can be trusted to provide reliable service.
Effective resolution of a tax problem can only be achieved through expertise, experience and adherence to IRS policies and regulations. These three qualities make a tax resolution firm competent and reliable to resolve tax issues successfully.