You find out before you spend
The analysis comes first and stands on its own. If an offer is not viable, you have a clear picture of the alternatives instead of a lost fee.
IRS Problems
Most people who see the “pennies on the dollar” adverts do not qualify
An Offer in Compromise is a real programme with a real formula. We run that formula before you pay anyone to file one, and we tell you the answer either way.
The IRS will accept less than the full balance when it concludes it cannot collect the full balance. That conclusion is reached arithmetically: the equity in what you own, plus a multiple of what is left from your monthly income after allowable living expenses. The result is called reasonable collection potential, and if it comes out higher than the tax owed, an offer will not be accepted no matter how it is written.
The paperwork is Form 656 with a complete financial statement behind it — Form 433-A (OIC) for individuals, Form 433-B (OIC) for businesses — plus bank statements, pay records, vehicle and property values. There is a non-refundable application fee and an initial payment, both waived for taxpayers who meet the low-income certification on the form. We prepare the analysis first, at a fixed fee, so the decision to file is made on numbers rather than hope.
Scope
What’s included
Reasonable collection potential analysis
Your assets and income run through the same calculation the offer examiner will use, before anything is filed.
A straight answer on qualification
If the numbers say no, we say no and show you the arithmetic. There is no version of this where we file an offer we expect to fail.
Form 656 and the financial statement
Prepared with Form 433-A (OIC) or 433-B (OIC), fully substantiated, in the format the Offer unit expects.
Payment structure chosen deliberately
Lump-sum cash and periodic payment offers are computed differently. We model both and file the one that fits your situation.
Compliance brought current first
All required returns filed and current-year payments or deposits made — an offer is returned without them.
Appeal of a rejected offer
A rejection can be appealed on a deadline. We read the examiner’s computation and challenge the specific figures that are wrong.
Outcome
Why it matters
Collection generally pauses while it is considered
While a properly filed offer is pending, the IRS generally suspends levy action — one reason the filing decision should not be made casually.
A decision window that works for you
If the IRS does not decide within two years of receiving the offer, the law treats it as accepted. We track that date from day one.
Process
How it works
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Transcripts and financials
We confirm what is owed for which years, then collect the income, expense and asset detail the calculation needs.
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Run the formula
Equity plus future income, measured against allowable living expense standards. You see the number we see.
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File or redirect
If the offer is viable we prepare and submit it. If it is not, we move to an instalment agreement, hardship status or penalty relief.
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Work the examiner’s questions
Offers are assigned to an examiner who asks for updated documents. We answer on the deadlines and appeal a rejection where it is worth appealing.
Suited to
Who this is for
- Taxpayers with a balance far larger than anything they could pay
- People with little equity in property and modest income
- Anyone who has been quoted a settlement figure by a phone-call firm
- Business owners closing down with a balance left behind
- Taxpayers who want the honest answer before spending money
FAQ
Questions
For some people it is. For most it is not, because the formula counts equity in a house or a paid-off vehicle and counts income the taxpayer thinks of as already spent. We would rather tell you that in the first meeting than after you have paid a fee.
Months rather than weeks, and often close to a year. If the IRS has not made a determination within two years of receiving the offer, the law treats the offer as accepted — but planning around that outcome is not a strategy.
You pay the agreed amount on the agreed schedule and you stay filed and paid for the following five years. Falling out of compliance in that period can put the original balance back. We calendar the filings so that does not happen by accident.
Often needed alongside this
Other services
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Back Taxes & Unfiled Returns
Unfiled returns and unpaid balances feel permanent. They are not. Almost every case has a defined, legal path to resolution — the hard part is starting it.
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Installment Agreements & Payment Plans
An instalment agreement will not reduce what you owe, but it stops the collection machine and puts the balance on a schedule you can live with.
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Liens, Levies & Wage Garnishment
A lien is a claim on what you own. A levy takes it. The difference between the two is usually a letter you had thirty days to answer.
Let’s find out what you should actually be paying.
Thirty minutes with an Enrolled Agent, at no charge. Bring last year’s return and we will tell you plainly what we would do differently — and what it would cost.