IRS Resolution

First, do not ignore it

Every IRS letter carries a deadline for a reply, and as those deadlines pass the options left to you narrow. A letter answered in the second week is a routine matter. The same letter answered in the sixth month has usually turned into something harder and more expensive.

Most letters are not audits. Many are automatic mismatches — a 1099 that reached the IRS but does not appear on your return, for example — and are settled with a letter and documents.

The right to represent you

CPAs have unlimited representation rights before the IRS. With a signed Form 2848 we can speak to the IRS on your behalf, conduct the correspondence, attend the audit and negotiate the outcome. You do not need to be in the room.

An unlicensed tax preparer generally cannot do this, which is why people who work with one often end up sitting in front of the examiner alone.

What we handle

Reviewing and answering the letter, with the position taken documented
Audit representation — correspondence, office and field audits
Penalty abatement, including first-time abatement where you qualify
A reasonable cause argument where the circumstances call for one
Installment payment agreements
Completing unfiled returns from earlier years

First-time abatement is overlooked regularly. If your compliance history is clean, a penalty can often be removed simply by asking for it properly — no extraordinary reason is needed.

What changes once we are working together

We handle the correspondence and the meeting in your name; you do not need to be in the room

What the letter is actually asking for is explained to you in plain language

If you have a right to penalty abatement, it is claimed properly

If the debt cannot be paid at once, a payment plan is negotiated

Common questions

A letter arrived and I do not understand it.

Bring it in and we will read it together.

We explain what it says, set out what is being asked for, handle the reply, and keep you informed at every stage of the process. A great many letters are settled easily within the time allowed for a response.

Can penalties really be removed?

Often yes — and it is asked for far too rarely.

First-time abatement and reasonable cause are two legitimate routes. Neither gets claimed, because people assume the penalty is final. If you have a right to it, not asking is money lost outright.

I cannot pay what I owe.

Not paying is a problem; not making contact is a bigger one.

Installment payment agreements, and in some situations currently not collectible status, exist for exactly this. Staying silent only speeds the collection process up.