Resolving a Tax Debt with the IRS: A Practical Guide

Summary. Seven steps, in order, from levy to resolution.

Step 0 — If something is happening right now

Wage levy in effect. Call the number on the notice today. Ask for a levy release based on economic hardship and be ready to describe your income and necessary expenses. Simultaneously, request a resolution — levy is generally prohibited while an installment agreement request, an offer in compromise, or a collection due process hearing is pending.

Bank levy. The bank holds the funds for a statutory period before remitting them. That window is your opportunity. Call immediately, request a release for hardship, and if you have a CDP right that has not expired, exercise it.

A notice that says "Final Notice of Intent to Levy" or "Notice of Your Right to a Hearing." You have 30 days. File the CDP request. It stops levy action, suspends the collection period, and preserves Tax Court review.

A "90-day letter" — a statutory notice of deficiency. You have 90 days to petition the United States Tax Court (150 if addressed outside the country). This deadline cannot be extended by anyone. Filing the petition means you do not have to pay first.

Your license is threatened by a state tax authority. Contact the state directly; license actions usually have their own hearing process and their own short deadlines.

You cannot afford help. Skip to Step 7 now. Free representation exists and it is good.

Step 1 — Pull your transcripts

Nothing intelligent can be decided without them, and they are free.

Request all four types, for every year in question:

Wage and income transcript — everything third parties reported about you: W-2s, every kind of 1099, K-1s, mortgage interest, retirement distributions, brokerage proceeds. This is what you use to reconstruct unfiled returns.

Account transcript — assessments, payments, penalties, interest, and transaction codes for each event on the account.

Return transcript — what was filed, for years a return exists.

Record of account — return and account combined.

How to get them: online through the IRS individual account, by mail request, or by having a representative pull them with an authorization on file.

Then read the account transcript for three things:

The assessment date for each year — the ten-year collection period runs from it.

Whether a substitute for return was prepared — if so, the balance is probably inflated and Step 3 will reduce it.

Events that suspended the collection period — prior offers, prior CDP hearings, bankruptcies, time abroad.

And then ask the IRS directly for its computed collection statute expiration date for each year. You are entitled to it, and it changes the entire strategy.

Step 2 — Find out which years are unfiled

Compare the transcripts to your records. Any year with a wage and income transcript but no return transcript is unfiled — or was filed by the IRS as a substitute.

Ask how many years the IRS wants. As a practical matter it is commonly the last six, but it depends on the facts. Do not prepare twenty years of returns on the assumption you must.

Compliance is the gate. No installment agreement, no offer in compromise, and no currently-not-collectible determination is available while returns are missing. Everything downstream waits on this step.

Step 3 — File the missing returns

Even if you cannot pay. Especially if you cannot pay.

The failure-to-file penalty under 26 U.S.C. § 6651 accrues at a much higher monthly rate than the failure-to-pay penalty. Filing without paying is dramatically cheaper than not filing.

If the IRS prepared substitute returns, the balance almost certainly overstates the tax, because a substitute gives you:

• Single filing status
• Standard deduction only
• No dependents or credits
• No basis on securities sold — a $40,000 stock sale becomes $40,000 of income
• No business expenses against 1099 income

Filing the real return generally replaces the substitute assessment.

Reconstructing records:

• Wage and income transcripts for the reported figures
• Bank and credit card statements, categorized by vendor
• The last return you did file, to see what expense categories existed
• Brokerage historical statements for basis — this fixes the worst substitute distortion
• Vendor and supplier reprints of invoices
• Mileage reconstructed from calendars and job logs
• Landlord or servicer records for rent and mortgage

Where a record is genuinely gone, provide a documented estimate with the methodology written out. An honest, explained estimate beats an omission.

And file quickly, because of the refund deadline. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6511, a refund claim generally must be filed within three years of the return's due date or two years of payment, whichever is later. Refunds older than that are permanently gone — not applied to other years, not paid. Every filing season you wait closes another year.

Step 4 — Compute your own numbers

Do this before anyone quotes you a fee.

Your monthly figures:

Average monthly gross income        $ ______
Allowable living expenses           $ ______
   (national/local standards for food, clothing,
    housing and utilities by county, transportation
    by region, out-of-pocket health care)
MONTHLY DISPOSABLE INCOME           $ ______

Note the trap: allowable living expenses use published standards. Spending above the standard generally does not count, which is where most homemade offers fail.

Your asset figures:

Home: quick sale value                 $ ______
  minus mortgage balance               $ ______   = $ ______
Vehicles: quick sale value             $ ______
  minus loans, minus equity allowance  $ ______   = $ ______
Bank accounts (less small allowance)              = $ ______
Retirement accounts, net of tax and penalty       = $ ______
Cash value life insurance                         = $ ______
Other: investments, receivables, business assets  = $ ______
REALIZABLE ASSET VALUE                            = $ ______

Reasonable collection potential ≈ realizable asset value + (monthly disposable income × the applicable number of months).

Then compare to your balance:

• RCP well below the balance → an offer in compromise is realistic
• RCP near or above the balance → an offer will not be accepted. Anyone who says otherwise is selling you something
• Disposable income near zero and no assets → currently not collectible is your answer
• Disposable income comfortable → an installment agreement

Step 5 — Choose the resolution

Installment agreement. Pay over time. Streamlined agreements for balances under defined thresholds need minimal financial disclosure; larger balances need full financial statements.

Choose direct debit. It lowers the user fee, reduces default risk, and supports a request to withdraw a filed lien notice after a few months of payments.

Currently not collectible. Collection is suspended because it would create economic hardship. Penalties and interest keep accruing and a lien may still be filed — but the levies stop.

The strategic point: the collection period keeps running while an account sits in this status. For someone on a fixed income with no assets and a liability that expires in a few years, this is often better than an offer, because an offer suspends the collection period while it is pending.

Offer in compromise, under 26 U.S.C. § 7122. Three grounds — doubt as to collectibility (the common one), doubt as to liability, and effective tax administration.

What an offer costs beyond the payment: an application fee and initial payment (waivable for low-income applicants), suspension of the collection period while pending plus additional time, and five years of required compliance after acceptance — default reinstates the whole original liability.

Borrowing to pay in full. Sometimes genuinely cheapest. Compare the loan rate against the combined penalty and interest rate before dismissing it.

Step 6 — Ask for penalty relief

Penalties are often a third or more of the balance, and relief is granted routinely to people who ask.

Ask in this order:

First-time abatement. An administrative waiver for a clean compliance history in the preceding three years, current filing, and payment or a payment arrangement. It is granted essentially on request. Ask for it first, because it does not consume your reasonable-cause argument for other years.

Reasonable cause. Circumstances beyond your control despite ordinary business care and prudence: serious illness, a death in the immediate family, a natural disaster, destruction of records, inability to obtain records, and in some cases reliance on a tax professional.

What a reasonable cause request must contain:

• What happened, with specific dates
• How it prevented compliance — the causal link, stated explicitly
• When it ended and how quickly you complied afterward
• Documents: hospital and treatment records with dates, a death certificate, a disaster declaration, a fire or police report, correspondence with the professional
• Your compliance history

Statutory exceptions and IRS error, including erroneous written advice from the IRS.

One honest limitation: interest is generally not abatable except where it results from IRS error or delay. Target the penalties — and the interest that accrued on them comes off with them.

Step 7 — Get help, including free help

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics — independent organizations, often at law schools or legal aid offices, that represent taxpayers in disputes with the IRS for free or a nominal fee for those below an income threshold. They handle audits, appeals, collection cases, and Tax Court litigation. They also serve taxpayers who speak English as a second language.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service — an independent organization inside the IRS, free, for problems causing financial difficulty or that normal channels have not resolved. Ask for a Taxpayer Assistance Order where an IRS action is causing or about to cause significant hardship. This is a real remedy with teeth and almost nobody names it.

Volunteer preparation programs for return preparation, for taxpayers under an income threshold, for people with disabilities, and for older taxpayers.

If you are hiring: only an attorney, a CPA, or an enrolled agent can represent you before the IRS. Verify the credential.

A diagnostic question that separates professionals from salespeople: "What is my collection statute expiration date for each year?" Someone who has read your account transcript can answer. A salesperson cannot.

Warning signs of the tax resolution industry: a guaranteed outcome before anyone has seen your transcripts · a fee quoted on the first call · a salesperson who is not credentialed · pressure to decide now · a large upfront payment with no written scope · only offers in compromise discussed, never installment agreements, currently not collectible, or penalty abatement · no mention of free clinics to someone who would qualify.

A worked case: Marcus Oyelaran, from levy to resolved in eleven months

March. Marcus, a 44-year-old HVAC technician who spent four years as an independent contractor, opens a certified letter: Final Notice of Intent to Levy. $71,400. He has not filed since 2020.

Day 1. He reads the notice, finds the words "Notice of Your Right to a Hearing," and writes the 30-day deadline on his refrigerator. He files a collection due process request on day 6. Levy action stops. The collection period is suspended. Tax Court review is preserved.

Day 8. He creates an IRS online account and pulls wage and income transcripts, account transcripts, and record of account for 2020 through 2024.

What he finds:

• 2020: return filed, small balance, paid
• 2021–2023: substitute returns prepared by the IRS, treating every 1099 dollar as income
• 2024: not filed at all, no substitute yet

He also finds the assessment dates, and calls to request the computed collection statute expiration date for each year. 2028, 2029, 2030.

April–June. Reconstruction. He downloads four years of bank and credit card statements, sorts them by vendor in a spreadsheet, and finds what the substitutes ignored: truck payments and fuel, tools, parts, refrigerant, liability insurance, a phone line, continuing education, and his health insurance premiums. He pulls his 2019 return to remember which categories he used to claim.

He also finds a 1099-B. In 2022 he sold $31,000 of stock he had held since 2016. The substitute treated all $31,000 as income. His brokerage sends historical statements showing a basis of $27,400. That single document removes $27,400 of phantom income.

July. He files four returns. The actual combined liability is $19,800, not $71,400.

A refund he cannot have: 2021 shows an overpayment of $1,150 from withholding on a W-2 job he had that spring. The three-year refund window closed in April. That money is gone.

August. He computes his own numbers before calling anyone.

Monthly gross income                    $5,200
Allowable living expenses (standards)   $4,460
Monthly disposable income                 $740

Truck: quick sale $14,000 - loan $11,200  = $2,800
   less equity allowance                   =    $0
Bank accounts                              =  $600
Retirement (small IRA, net of tax/penalty) = $3,100
REALIZABLE ASSETS                          = $3,700

He has $740 a month of disposable income and $3,700 in assets against a $19,800 balance. His reasonable collection potential exceeds the liability. An offer in compromise will not be accepted, and a firm that had quoted him $3,800 to file one was quoting him a rejection.

September. He enters a direct debit installment agreement at $420 a month. Lower fee, no default risk from a forgotten payment.

He also requests first-time abatement for 2021, the earliest penalized year, because his compliance history before that was clean. Granted. That removes roughly $2,900 in failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties, plus the interest that accrued on them.

December. After three months of on-time direct debit payments, he requests withdrawal of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien — on the ground that withdrawal will facilitate collection and is in the best interest of both parties. Granted. His credit file and his ability to refinance improve.

February, the following year. He files his current-year return on time, on the first day he can. He is compliant, in an agreement, penalized less, and the lien notice is withdrawn.

What the whole thing cost him: an afternoon reading notices, three weekends of bank statements, and $0 in professional fees.

What waiting cost him: $1,150 in a refund that expired, and four years of penalty and interest on money he mostly did not owe.

Reading an account transcript

The account transcript is the most useful document in a collection case and it looks like nonsense until someone explains it.

What to find, in order:

The tax period at the top — one transcript per year.

"Return filed" or its absence. A code and date indicating a return was processed. If the return was prepared by the IRS rather than by you, the transcript will show it — and this is the single most valuable thing on the page, because it tells you the balance is probably inflated and fixable.

The assessment date. The date the tax was assessed. The ten-year collection period runs from here. Write it down for every year.

Penalty entries, itemized by type: failure to file, failure to pay, estimated tax penalty. Add these up — this is the number penalty abatement targets.

Interest entries, which accrue continuously.

Payments and credits, including refunds from other years that were offset against this balance.

Events that suspended the collection period. Entries showing a pending offer in compromise, a CDP hearing request, a bankruptcy filing, an installment agreement request, or time outside the country. Each of these extended your collection expiration date, sometimes by a lot.

Lien and levy entries, showing when a Notice of Federal Tax Lien was filed and when levy action was taken.

Then do two things:

Add up penalties across all years. That total is your penalty abatement target, and it is often startling.

Ask the IRS for its computed collection statute expiration date for each year. Your own arithmetic from the assessment date will be wrong if there were suspensions. The IRS's computed date is the one that governs, and you can simply ask for it.

Choosing between the four paths, honestly

A decision table for the common situations.

No assets, income at or below allowable living expenses, older liabilities. → Currently not collectible. Free to request, stops levies, and — critically — the collection period keeps running. For someone whose liabilities expire in a few years, this quietly resolves the whole problem.

Modest assets, real disposable income, balance manageable over time. → Direct debit installment agreement. Then first-time abatement, then a lien withdrawal request after a few months.

Few assets, disposable income far below what would pay the balance before the collection period ends. → Offer in compromise, on doubt as to collectibility. Compute reasonable collection potential first. Weigh the collection-period suspension — if the liability expires in 18 months, an offer that takes a year to decide may be a bad trade.

You do not actually owe it. → Depends on where you are. Within 90 days of a notice of deficiency: Tax Court petition. Otherwise, an audit reconsideration or a doubt as to liability offer, or raising the liability in a CDP hearing if you had no prior opportunity to dispute it.

It is your ex-spouse's liability from a joint return. → Innocent spouse relief under 26 U.S.C. § 6015. Note that equitable relief covers an underpayment, and that abuse and financial control are expressly relevant.

Substantial older tax debt, other debts, and you are considering bankruptcy. → Have the dischargeability analysis done first. Income tax can be discharged if the return was due more than three years ago, was actually filed by you more than two years ago, was assessed more than 240 days ago, and there was no fraud. A substitute return prepared by the IRS generally does not start the two-year clock. And bankruptcy does not remove a pre-existing lien from property.

A balance you could pay by borrowing. → Do the arithmetic. Combined penalty and interest can exceed a home equity line's rate substantially. This is unglamorous and sometimes right.

Any of the above, and you cannot afford help. → Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. They do all of this for free.

The collection due process hearing, done properly

A CDP request is a form with a few lines on it, and most people fill it out badly. Done well, it is the most powerful tool in the collection process.

What to raise in the request — and you must raise it there, because issues not raised are generally not preserved:

Collection alternatives. Name them specifically: an installment agreement at a stated amount, an offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status. Say what you want, not just that you disagree.

Whether the levy or lien is appropriate. The statute at 26 U.S.C. § 6330 requires Appeals to weigh whether the collection action balances the need for efficient collection against the intrusiveness of the action. Make the intrusiveness argument concretely — what the levy does to your household, your ability to work, your dependents.

Spousal defenses, if a joint return is involved.

The underlying liability, but only if you did not previously have an opportunity to dispute it. If you never received a notice of deficiency, or a substitute return was assessed without your participation, say so explicitly — this is a common and legitimate basis and it is frequently omitted.

Procedural failures — whether required notices were sent, whether the assessment was proper, whether the collection period has expired.

How to prepare for the hearing itself:

• Be compliant on filing before the hearing. Appeals will not grant an alternative to a taxpayer with unfiled returns. This is the number one reason CDP hearings fail.
• Have current financial statements prepared, with documentation
• Have your reasonable collection potential computed
• Have a specific proposal, in writing, with numbers
• Have the transcripts, so you can discuss dates precisely
• Know your collection statute expiration date for each year

What comes out of it: a notice of determination, which — if the request was timely — can be petitioned to the United States Tax Court. The court reviews whether Appeals abused its discretion.

The equivalent hearing, for comparison: requested after the 30 days but within a year. Same officer, largely the same conversation, but no suspension of the collection period and no Tax Court review. Worth having, much less than the real thing.

The single sentence worth remembering: the 30-day deadline is the difference between a right and a courtesy.

Financial statements: how to complete them without hurting yourself

Any resolution beyond a small streamlined installment agreement requires a financial statement, and how it is completed determines the outcome.

Be accurate. Understating assets or income on a financial statement submitted to the IRS is a serious matter, and the information is verifiable against transcripts, credit reports, public records, and bank records.

But accuracy includes claiming what you are entitled to claim, and most people under-claim.

Income. Use an honest average. Seasonal and variable income should be averaged over a full year, not measured in a good month. Document it.

Housing and utilities. The standard is by county and household size. Include everything: rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, HOA, electricity, gas, water, trash, telephone, internet, and cell service.

Transportation. Ownership costs plus operating costs by region, or public transportation. A second vehicle for a working spouse counts.

Health care. Out-of-pocket costs get a standard amount per person, and documented costs above the standard are generally allowed — premiums, prescriptions, treatment, dental, vision. This is the most under-claimed category on the form. Document it and claim it.

Court-ordered payments. Child support, spousal support, and judgments are allowable when actually being paid. Attach the order and proof of payment.

Child care necessary for employment. Allowable and documented.

Taxes. Current federal and state withholding or estimated payments are allowable expenses. Do not omit these.

Life insurance term premiums, within limits.

Delinquent state and local taxes being paid under an agreement — allowable on a calculated basis.

What generally is not allowed: payments on unsecured credit cards, private school tuition, charitable contributions, voluntary retirement contributions, and expenses for family members not in the household. Knowing this in advance prevents the disappointment of a rejected budget.

Documentation to attach:

• Three months of bank statements, every account
• Three months of pay statements, or profit and loss for self-employment
• Current mortgage or lease and property tax statement
• Vehicle registrations and loan statements
• Utility bills
• Health insurance and out-of-pocket cost documentation
• Court orders for support
• Retirement and investment account statements
• Life insurance policy with cash value information

One practical note: a financial statement is a snapshot with a shelf life. If it goes stale during a long process, update it — and if your circumstances got worse, an update helps you.

Staying out of it next time

Most tax problems are a withholding problem, not a spending problem, and the fix is arithmetic done once.

If you are an employee: check your withholding after any change — a raise, a second job, a spouse starting work, a child aging out of a credit, a large bonus, a change in filing status. The most common cause of a surprise balance in a two-earner household is that both jobs withhold as though they were the only job.

If you have self-employment or gig income: you owe income tax and self-employment tax, and nobody is withholding either.

The mechanical fix: open a separate account. On every payment received, immediately transfer a fixed percentage — many people find 25–30% about right, higher in a high-tax state — and pay quarterly estimated taxes from that account. The single behavior that prevents this entire article is a separate account and a percentage rule applied on the day money arrives.

Quarterly estimated payments have due dates in April, June, September, and January. Missing them creates an estimated tax penalty even if you pay in full at filing.

Safe harbor: paying in a defined percentage of the prior year's tax, or a defined percentage of the current year's tax, generally avoids the estimated tax penalty. This is worth knowing because it converts an uncertain obligation into a fixed known number — the prior year's tax is a figure you already have.

If you take a retirement distribution: withhold at the time of the distribution. The single most common cause of a mid-size surprise liability is a retirement withdrawal taken in an emergency with no withholding elected. Ten percent withholding on a hardship withdrawal is almost never enough.

If you sell stock, crypto, or property: estimate the gain and make an estimated payment in the quarter of the sale.

If you forgive, settle, or default on a debt: cancelled debt may be taxable income and you may receive a 1099-C. Exclusions exist — insolvency, bankruptcy, certain student loan and principal residence provisions — but they must be claimed on the return.

If you get married or divorced: filing status changes everything, and a divorce decree assigning tax debt to one spouse does not bind the IRS.

And, if nothing else: file on time, every year, even when you cannot pay. The failure-to-file penalty is the expensive one, filing preserves refund claims, and filing keeps you compliant — which is the gate to every resolution in this guide.

Lien problems: getting a house sold or refinanced

A filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien is the thing that most often blocks a transaction, and there are four specific requests that address it. Each is a defined administrative request with published standards, not a favor.

Withdrawal — the notice is removed as though never filed. Available where the filing was premature or not in accordance with procedures, where you enter an installment agreement (and a direct debit agreement is the strongest posture), where withdrawal will facilitate collection, or where withdrawal is in the best interest of both you and the government.

Request this after a few months of on-time direct debit payments. It is granted regularly and almost nobody asks.

Discharge — a specific piece of property is released from the lien so it can be sold. Available on several grounds, including that the government's interest in the remaining property is adequate, or that the sale will produce proceeds paid to the government, or that the property is being sold for no more than the amounts owed to senior lienholders so the tax lien has no value in it.

Use this when selling a house with a mortgage that consumes the equity.

Subordination — the lien remains but yields priority to another creditor, typically so a refinance can close. Available where subordination will increase the amount realizable by the government or facilitate collection.

Use this when refinancing at a lower rate frees up money that will go toward the tax.

Release — the underlying liability is satisfied or becomes legally unenforceable, including when the collection period expires.

How to make one of these requests:

• Identify which one you actually need — most people ask for the wrong one
• Get the published application requirements for that request
• Provide the specific transaction: the purchase agreement, the payoff statement, the appraisal, the title report, the estimated closing statement
• Show the government's position: what it gets from the transaction, or why its position is not impaired
• Allow real lead time. These take weeks, and closings do not wait
• Get the determination in writing before closing

And the timing lesson: start the lien request when the property goes on the market, not when a closing date is set. A discharge request filed ten days before closing will not make it.

Innocent spouse relief, practically

If a joint return produced the liability and the income or errors were your spouse's, this is your route. 26 U.S.C. § 6015.

Understand the problem first: a joint return makes each spouse liable for the entire balance. A divorce decree assigning the debt to one spouse does not bind the IRS at all — it may give you a claim against your ex in state court, but the IRS can still levy your wages.

Three forms of relief, and picking the right one matters:

Innocent spouse relief — an understatement attributable to the other spouse's erroneous items, where you did not know and had no reason to know, and where it would be inequitable to hold you liable.

Separation of liability — allocates a deficiency between spouses who are divorced, legally separated, widowed, or have lived apart for the required period.

Equitable relief — the catch-all when the others do not apply. Critically, this is the only route for an underpayment — a correctly reported tax that simply was not paid. If your return was accurate and the money just was not sent, equitable relief is your only path.

What to put in the request:

A detailed personal declaration, in your own words, covering: the marriage and its finances, who prepared the returns, what you were told, whether you were permitted to see records, what you did and did not know, why you signed, the circumstances of the separation, and your current financial situation.

Evidence of separate finances — separate accounts, separate spending, who controlled the money.

Evidence of what you could not have known — that you were excluded from the business, that records were kept from you, that the household lifestyle was consistent with the reported income.

The divorce decree and any support orders.

Economic hardship evidence — income, expenses, and what payment would do to you.

Evidence of abuse or financial control, which is expressly a relevant factor and can outweigh a knowledge finding. Protective orders, police reports, medical records, counselor letters, shelter records, and statements from people who witnessed the conduct.

Your compliance since — filing and paying on time after the marriage ended is meaningful.

Two hard facts to prepare for:

Your former spouse will be notified and given the opportunity to participate. The statute requires it. There are protections where abuse is involved — raise them explicitly and ask about them.

Deadlines apply and they differ by the type of relief. Raise this claim promptly rather than waiting for collection to become intolerable.

And if it is denied: a determination can be petitioned to the United States Tax Court, with its own deadline.

Deadlines, on one page

Copy this somewhere you will see it.

And the two behaviors that make the table unnecessary:

Open every envelope on the day it arrives, and write the deadline on the front.

File every return on time, even when you cannot pay.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I start? Transcripts. They are free and nothing intelligent can be decided without them.

I haven't filed in years. File. The failure-to-file penalty is much larger than the failure-to-pay penalty, and filing usually slashes a substitute-return balance.

The balance is more than I earned. That is a substitute return with no deductions and no basis. File the actual return.

They're taking my paycheck. Call today. Ask for a hardship release, and file a resolution request — levy is generally barred while one is pending.

They took my bank account. The bank holds the funds for a statutory period. Call now, within that window.

How long do I have to request a hearing? 30 days from a lien filing notice or a Final Notice of Intent to Levy. That preserves Tax Court review.

Can I settle for a fraction? Compute your reasonable collection potential first. If it exceeds the balance, no.

Should I file an offer or ask for currently not collectible? If your collection period expires soon and you have no assets or disposable income, currently not collectible is often better — an offer suspends the collection clock.

Can penalties be removed? Frequently. Ask for first-time abatement first, then reasonable cause with documents.

I can't afford a tax lawyer. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics represent people for free, including in Tax Court. Call one today.

Related documents

• Personal Income Tax Problems: Unfiled Returns, Liens, Levies, and Offers in Compromise
• Tax Problem Resolution Checklist
• Tax Controversy Toolkit
• Debt Collection and the FDCPA
• Defending a Debt Collection Lawsuit

Educational only, not legal advice. Thresholds, standards, and forms change annually. Free representation is available through Low Income Taxpayer Clinics and free assistance through the Taxpayer Advocate Service.