Questions clients ask
Plain-language answers to common questions about federal tax disputes, grouped by service. Each one lists the official sources it relies on.
IRS audits and examinations
- How far back can the IRS audit your tax returns?
- What should you do with an IRS 30-day letter?
- What happens at an IRS Appeals conference?
- Is a CP2000 notice an audit, and how do you respond?
- What penalties can the IRS add after an audit?
- What are your rights during an IRS audit?
- Can the IRS audit your cryptocurrency, and what will it already know?
- What happens in an IRS worker classification audit?
- What are the warning signs that a civil IRS audit could turn criminal?
- What should you bring to a first meeting about an IRS audit?
- Can you reopen an IRS audit after it closes?
- How does a tax attorney represent you before the IRS?
- How should you answer an IRS Information Document Request?
- Can the IRS contact your bank, clients or employer during an audit?
- What records does the IRS require to support business deductions?
- How are partnership audits different under the centralized audit regime?
IRS collections and enforcement
- Can IRS penalties be removed?
- Do you qualify for an IRS offer in compromise?
- Can the IRS make you personally pay your company's unpaid payroll taxes?
- How long does the IRS have to collect a tax debt?
- What is a Collection Due Process hearing, and when must you ask for one?
- What IRS payment plan options are there, and what do they cost?
- What does “currently not collectible” status mean?
- Can a federal tax lien be released, withdrawn, discharged or subordinated?
- The IRS levied your bank account or wages: how do you get it released?
- Can you get innocent spouse relief from tax on a joint return?
- Can income taxes be discharged in bankruptcy?
- Can unpaid taxes cost you your passport?
- How does the IRS decide what you can afford to pay?
- A private agency says it is collecting your IRS debt: is it legitimate?
- Collection Due Process or the Collection Appeals Program: which one fits your case?
- What should you gather when the IRS starts collection?
Tax litigation
- What should you do when you receive a notice of deficiency?
- How long do you have to claim a tax refund?
- How do you file a petition in the U.S. Tax Court?
- Small tax case or regular case: which should you choose in Tax Court?
- Tax Court, district court, or the Court of Federal Claims: where should you fight the IRS?
- Can a Tax Court case settle before trial?
- Can you appeal a Tax Court decision, and to which court?
- How does the Tax Court review a Collection Due Process decision?
- Can you recover your legal fees if you beat the IRS?
- Who has to prove what in a Tax Court case?
- Where will your Tax Court trial be held?
- Can you take an innocent spouse denial to the Tax Court?
- What if you missed the 90-day Tax Court deadline?
- What should you bring to a first meeting about a Tax Court case?
- What happens before a Tax Court trial?
Where cases are heard
- IRS and tax controversy lawyer in Alexandria, Virginia
- What to expect at the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, DC
- Filing a tax refund suit in federal court in Alexandria: what to expect
Tax planning for law firms
- How much salary should a law firm owner take from an S corporation?
- Missed the S corporation election deadline: can your firm still elect?
- What is an accountable plan, and how should a law firm reimburse expenses?
- Can a lawyer take the 20% qualified business income deduction?
- Does your law firm have to report cash payments over $10,000?
- When does a small law firm have to deposit payroll taxes?
- What happens if California suspends your law corporation?
- Which entity can a California law firm use, and how is it taxed?
- When are payments to your law firm reported on Form 1099?
- Should a California law firm elect the pass-through entity elective tax?
- How do S corporation owners handle health insurance for tax purposes?
- Who pays tax on interest earned in a lawyer's trust account?
- How should a law firm owner handle quarterly estimated taxes?
- How is the sale of a law practice taxed?
- Which law firm expenses are deductible, and which draw IRS attention?
Strategic tax counsel
- Amended return or voluntary disclosure: how should you correct a past tax mistake?
- Do you have to report foreign bank accounts, and what are the penalties?
- What are the IRS streamlined procedures for missed foreign reporting?
- Do you have to report a gift or inheritance from abroad?
- What tax issues should you settle in a divorce?
- What tax questions should you settle before selling a business?