Tax Law Services in El Paso, TX

Which of These You Need Depends on Where the IRS Already Is

People arrive at a tax firm from three distinct positions, and mistaking one for another wastes time that is often genuinely scarce.

The first is active enforcement. Wages are being garnished, an account is frozen, or a lien has been recorded. Here the balance is not the immediate problem; the deadline is. A frozen bank account releases funds to the government 21 days after the levy is served, and a Final Notice of Intent to Levy opens a hearing window of exactly 30 days, a right the Taxpayer Advocate Service documents in detail. Work in this position is measured in days, and it belongs with collection defense.

The second is a settled balance with no active collection. Notices have arrived but nothing has been taken. This is the most workable position, because there is time to assemble a proper financial picture and choose the program the numbers support. That is the domain of tax debt resolution, and the IRS publishes an overview of the programs available to taxpayers who owe.

The third is legal exposure wearing the costume of a balance. An open examination, income that never made it onto a return, unpaid payroll taxes at a business, or a liability created by a spouse. What distinguishes these is that what you say, and who you say it to, changes the outcome. They belong with attorney representation before any disclosure is made to anyone.

Most files begin in one category and touch another. An active garnishment gets stopped, and then the underlying balance gets resolved. A resolution matter reveals two unfiled years with unreported income, and privilege becomes relevant. The free consultation exists to sort this out, and it takes one conversation and your most recent notice.

What Every Engagement Includes

Regardless of which area a matter falls into, the opening sequence is identical, because you cannot choose a strategy without knowing what the IRS actually has on file.

• Account transcript analysis. Every assessment, penalty, and payment, plus the collection statute expiration date for each year. That last date frequently determines which program is optimal, and taxpayers almost never know it.
• Power of attorney. Form 2848 routes IRS contact to the firm, which stops calls to your home and workplace as soon as it processes.
• Compliance review. Unfiled years are identified, because no program is available to a taxpayer who is not current, and IRS-prepared substitute returns are usually worth replacing.
• Deadline audit. Every live clock in the file is identified and calendared, including hearing windows that expire in weeks.

Fees are scoped after that review rather than before it. A firm quoting a settlement figure over the phone has not seen your transcripts and is guessing. Detailed fee structures are set out on the resolution page, and clients across the county and into southern New Mexico work through the same process. Background on the firm is on the about page.