Roni Deutch asked:


Highly Experienced

Tax lawyers have the education, training, and experience to help you solve your tax troubles. A competent tax lawyer will be knowledgeable about the IRS’ complicated tax code and therefore, better suited to help you resolve your tax debt.

IRS Defense

As you probably already know, the IRS can be very aggressive in their collection efforts. If you feel the IRS has treated you unfairly, then it is in your best interest to hire someone who has experience in dealing with the IRS and won’t be intimidated.

Privileged Communications

When you communicate with a tax lawyer or his or her staff, you can rest assure that what you tell them will remain confidential. Like all lawyers, tax attorneys are required to keep your communications confidential. They will only discuss with the IRS your financial information in order to resolve your tax debt.

Ethical Standards

Tax lawyers and attorneys are licensed and regulated by their respective state bars. They are required to complete a minimum amount of continuing legal education to remain up-to-date on their profession. They are also required to be honest in their communications. To do otherwise, would be to risk disciplinary sanctions by their state bar.

Skilled Negotiators

A tax lawyer’s negotiation skills and experience come in handy when negotiating with the IRS to resolve your debt. A tax lawyer can negotiate a manageable tax resolution since they have the experience and negotiation skills necessary to deal with the IRS.

Not Intimidated

Most taxpayers are intimidated by the IRS and the IRS knows this. On the other hand, tax lawyers are not intimidated by the IRS because they know what the IRS can and cannot do. Competent tax attorneys will not back down in their negotiations with the IRS until they have done the best they can for their clients.

Ron Finkelstein asked:


Tax law is a highly specialized area of expertise and there are many different types of taxes. Thus, not all lawyers have expertise in all types of tax issues or problems. As a result, it would be a good idea on your part to prepare a bit more in looking for a good tax lawyer than might be the case with other areas of legal expertise.

The biggest fear of most Americans is a tax audit. If the IRS audits you, it is time to retain an experienced tax lawyer. Audits are undeniably scary things. That being said, not all audits are equal. The IRS, in fact, uses three different types of tax audits. The tax attorney is the person who can help you now.

Correspondence tax audits are the tool used most by them. In these audits, if it lets you know there is a problem and asks for more money or information. If they are asking for information that makes you nervous, go see a tax lawyer. If they are asking for money, determine whether you are comfortable paying it or want to fight it.

Office audits are a step up from correspondence audits. You are asked to come to an office with documents and/or information. It is highly recommended that you do not go without an experienced tax audit lawyer. If you do, the agent may try to get you to say incriminating statements or provide information for which they have no right to get. A good tax audit lawyer will put a stop to such tactics.

Field audits are the stuff of legend. In a field audit, they come to you. An agent will appear at your office or home and start rifling documents. This should scare the “you know what” out of you. In such a situation, you must get a tax audit lawyer. They will often sit down with the agent as the audit occurs. This is particularly effective since the lawyer can effectively push the agent in directions that are helpful to you while avoiding less comfortable areas.

When the IRS comes calling, it is extremely important to take the situation seriously. They aren’t auditing you unless the agency believes you are playing games with your taxes. The agent’s mindset will not be whether you have done something wrong. Instead, it will be how to find proof you’ve done it. This mindset often leads to further tax assessments and even jail time for tax evasion.

If they contact you regarding an audit, you could be looking at years of stress. Once you make the smart choice of retaining a tax audit lawyer, you need to pick the right one.

You want to select a tax audit lawyer who does nothing but fight for you. He or she should have at least seven years of experience doing this and probably more. Again, you don’t want an inexperienced lawyer to be learning while defending you. The definition of wisdom is learning from your mistakes. You want a lawyer who already has wisdom, not one who will gain it on your case.