Why Hiring a Tax Attorney is in Your Best Interest
Serious tax problems are just that – serious. They can be very difficult to deal with because the IRS has all the leverage in the case. The internal revenue code and accompanying regulations can be a real bear, particularly since you don’t understand them but the IRS agent you are dealing with does. This is why hiring tax attorney to deal with serious issues just makes sense.
Should you hire a tax attorney to deal with a $1,500 tax bill from the IRS? Probably not. You are going to end up spending more money in attorney fees than you will by just dealing with it yourself or paying the bill. Ah, but what if the tax bill you receive from the Agency is $25,000? Now we are talking about an entirely different game.
There are a couple of advantages to using a tax attorney in larger disputes with the IRS. The first is a simple one – you don’t communicate directly with the IRS. While avoiding personal interaction with IRS agents is certain a positive, the real value here is evidentiary. What you say is known as a “party admission” in courts. It can be introduced as evidence against you. Given this, IRS agents are trained to try to get you to say incriminating things. This is not an issue with a tax attorney. Why? They are not parties to the action and thus anything they say is not evidence. It may seem a small distinction, but it can be the difference between a successful resolution or a disaster.
The second benefit should be rather obvious at this point. You don’t know the tax code and regulations, but your attorney does. As shocking as it may be to most taxpayers, we actually have rights under the tax code. IRS agents aren’t going to tell you about them, but your tax attorney knows how to assert them and keep the Agency from running roughshod over you. Again, this is another key to obtaining a successful resolution in a case.
Debts owed to the IRS are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. This means you have no way of getting rid of them other than to deal with the IRS. If you have a significant debt, hiring an attorney to protect you is a very smart move.