IRS Tax Help & Resolution

This is really the one mistake that makes things worse. An unanswered notice doesn't go away, it usually leads to follow-up notices, added penalties and interest, and fewer options by the time you do respond. Almost every notice comes with a deadline, and that deadline matters even if your first response is just asking for more time. Opening the envelope and dealing with it, even imperfectly, puts you in a far better spot than letting it sit in a drawer.

In many cases, yes. The IRS and California FTB both offer installment agreement options for people who owe more than they can pay at once. Which option fits depends on how much you owe, your income, and your overall situation, so it's worth talking through the specifics with us rather than assuming any one option applies. What we can say generally is that having a plan, even a partial one, is almost always better than doing nothing.

An offer in compromise is a program that lets certain taxpayers settle their tax debt for less than the full amount owed. It exists for genuinely narrow situations, generally where paying the full balance isn't realistically possible given your income, expenses, and assets. It is not a general-purpose discount and most people who owe back taxes don't end up qualifying for one. We can look honestly at whether your situation fits the criteria, and if it doesn't, we'll tell you that directly and talk through what other options make more sense.

Start by exhaling. This is more common than most people assume, and it's very catchable. The IRS generally responds better to someone who comes forward and starts filing than to someone who continues to avoid it. We help you figure out which years actually need to be filed, gather what's needed even if records are incomplete, and get those returns filed so you can deal with whatever notices or balances come out of that process from a position of actually knowing where you stand.

Usually not. Most of what people picture when they hear 'audit,' someone showing up at your door or grilling you in an office, isn't how the process typically works. A large share of what the IRS calls an examination is actually a correspondence check, a letter asking you to clarify or document a specific item on your return. It's still worth taking seriously and responding carefully, but it's rarely the ordeal people imagine.

Our preparers are CRTP-certified (California Registered Tax Preparer), not CPAs, tax attorneys, or Enrolled Agents. That gives us real ability to help you understand a notice, prepare an accurate response, and often represent you in connection with returns we prepared. It does not give us unlimited representation authority in every kind of IRS matter, and complex situations like formal audits of returns we didn't prepare, IRS collections litigation, criminal tax matters, or U.S. Tax Court cases fall outside that scope. If your situation needs a tax attorney, we'll say so plainly and help you understand why, rather than taking on something outside what our credentials allow.

It depends entirely on what's actually going on, how many years are involved, how many notices there are, and what kind of resolution you're pursuing. We can't quote a number without understanding your situation first, which is exactly what the free consultation is for. We also won't promise a specific outcome like penalty removal or a reduced balance, because those decisions ultimately rest with the IRS or the state, not with us. What we can promise is an honest read on your options.