A lot of the competitors in my business spend a ton of money advertising on television and the radio. You hear the hype, “settle your taxes for ‘pennies on the dollar.’” This hype gets people going. They want to get out of what they owe to the IRS for much less! Can this happen? It depends.

An offer in compromise is not an available alternative in every situation. I don’t like to make spot judgments for each client, so I always look at every possibility, but for some people, it is simply impossible to get an offer in compromise accepted. Now, I try to be honest with my clients and not simply prepare and offer in compromise if I know it will be rejected just so I can earn a fee. How is that honest or the in the best interest of my client? It wastes their money on my legal fee (since we charge much more for processing an offer in compromise than just setting up an installment agreement). It also wastes their money and time because while that bogus offer is being considered the client is not paying the IRS and their account continues to accrue interest, and the collection statute is tolled while the offer is being reviewed. I wonder how many “tax resolution specialists” tell their clients that?

My advice is to listen to your tax attorney. If you are told that you won’t qualify for an offer in compromise by one attorney, but another “tax resolution specialist” is all to happy to prepare your offer in compromise, you may want to ask yourself, “are they interested in helping me or padding their own wallet?” It may not be in your best interest to spend the money on the offer in compromise when there is no likelihood that it can be accepted. Just remember that you need to temper your desire to eliminate the amount of taxes you have to pay and be real with yourself.

Stay tuned to this blog for more information about offers in compromise, installment agreements, and tax resolution information. There will be some future articles about qualifying for an offer in compromise and other tax resolution possibilities.