Balances frequently shrink
Between properly prepared back returns, penalty abatement and correcting IRS substitutes, the final figure is often materially lower.
IRS Problems
There is a way out, and it starts with filing
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.
People fall behind for ordinary reasons. A business went through a bad stretch. Someone got sick. A preparer disappeared mid-year. The balance grew, the letters got louder, and it became easier not to open them.
The escalation is mechanical, not personal — and it can be interrupted. What it cannot be is outrun. Nothing is negotiable until the missing returns are filed, so that is always where we start. We have seen worse than your file, and we are not here to judge it.
Scope
What’s included
Full account reconstruction
Every year, balance, penalty and collection action laid out in one document so you can see the whole picture.
Back return preparation
We prepare and file the missing years. Filing voluntarily nearly always beats the substitute returns the IRS prepares for you.
Missing records rebuilt
Wage and income transcripts recover the W-2s and 1099s you no longer have, so old years can still be filed correctly.
Collection holds
Where grounds exist we request holds on levy and garnishment while the case is worked.
Instalment agreements
Streamlined, non-streamlined and partial-pay arrangements sized to what you can actually afford.
Offer in Compromise analysis
An honest assessment of whether you qualify before you spend money pursuing one.
Outcome
Why it matters
A realistic plan, not a sales pitch
We will tell you plainly if an Offer in Compromise will not fly. Firms promising “pennies on the dollar” to everyone are selling, not advising.
It ends
Every case we take has a defined finish line — filed, agreed and closed — and we tell you where it is from the start.
Process
How it works
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Confidential review
Tell us what you know. We pull the transcripts and find out what they know, which is usually different.
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Get compliant
File the missing years. Nothing can be negotiated until this is done.
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Negotiate
We propose the resolution the financials actually support and take it through to agreement.
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Stay out
Withholding and estimated payments set correctly, so next year does not start a new cycle.
Suited to
Who this is for
- Taxpayers with several years of unfiled returns
- Anyone facing a wage garnishment, bank levy or federal tax lien
- Business owners behind on payroll tax deposits
- People who received a substitute return prepared by the IRS
- Spouses seeking relief from a liability that is not theirs
FAQ
Questions
IRS policy generally treats six years of filed returns as the threshold for compliance, though the facts of your case can change that. We confirm the exact requirement from your transcripts rather than assuming.
A substitute for return is prepared from the income the IRS was told about, with no deductions, no dependants and usually the worst filing status available. Filing your own return for that year, with the deductions you are entitled to, is the normal way to have the figure reconsidered.
For failing to file or failing to pay, criminal prosecution is very rare and is reserved for deliberate evasion rather than people who fell behind. Coming forward voluntarily, before the IRS contacts you, is also the single strongest fact in your favour.
Often needed alongside this
Other services
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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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Offer in Compromise
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.
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Penalty Abatement & Reasonable Cause
Penalties and the interest they carry can be a third or more of an IRS balance. Some of it is removable, and nobody removes it unless you ask.
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.