IRS Problem? You Need a CPA Firm, Not a Call Center.

Tax relief is three jobs done in order. First, representation: we file a power of attorney (Form 2848), pull your IRS transcripts, and take over communication so you stop dealing with the IRS directly. Second, compliance: unfiled returns get filed and wrong assessments get corrected, because the IRS won't negotiate with a taxpayer who isn't current. Third, resolution: we match your finances to the program the IRS will actually accept — payment plan, offer, hardship status, or penalty relief.

That order matters. The late-night-radio version of this industry sells step three without doing steps one and two, which is why so many "settlement" engagements stall for months and end with an installment agreement you could have had at the start — minus a large upfront fee.

This page is the map. Taxstra maintains detailed guides for every major notice and resolution program — linked throughout — and this page tells you which one applies to you and what working with us looks like.

IRS collection follows a predictable sequence, and every notice carries a code (top right corner of the letter) that identifies the stage and the deadline. Find yours below — each links to a full guide on what it means and how to respond.

Don't see your notice listed? CP14 balance-due letters, CP501/CP503 reminders, and state notices all feed into the same process — bring whatever you received to the case review and we'll place it in the sequence.

Once you're compliant, the case moves to resolution. These are the realistic paths, and the honest version of who each one fits:

Penalty abatement deserves a specific note, because it's the most commonly missed money in collection cases. First-time abatement is an administrative waiver available when you have a clean compliance history for the prior three years and are current on filings — many taxpayers qualify and are never told. Reasonable-cause abatement covers serious illness, disaster, and similar circumstances when documented. We request abatement whenever the facts support it; whether the IRS grants it is always their call.

Why acting early matters in dollars: the failure-to-file penalty runs 5% of the unpaid tax per month (up to 25%), the failure-to-pay penalty runs 0.5% per month (also up to 25%), and interest compounds on top of both. On a $42,000 balance, drift costs real money every month — and filing on time even when you can't pay avoids the largest penalty entirely.

Our fees are flat and quoted after the transcript review, scoped to your actual case: notice responses, return preparation for missing years, and the resolution filing itself are each defined line items. You'll know the full cost before we start.

• 1. Case review (free, 30 minutes). You tell us what arrived and when. We identify the notice stage, the live deadlines, and whether this is an engagement worth paying for — sometimes the honest answer is a do-it-yourself response, and we'll say so.
• 2. Authorization and transcripts. Form 2848 puts us between you and the IRS. We pull account, wage-and-income, and return transcripts to see what the IRS believes is true — the case is built on the record, not on memory.
• 3. Stabilize. Deadline responses go in, collection holds are requested where available, and any active levy or garnishment is addressed first.
• 4. Compliance. Missing returns get prepared and filed; substitute-for-return assessments get challenged with accurate numbers.
• 5. Resolution and closure. We submit the agreement, offer, or status request your finances support, manage the IRS follow-up, and document the terms — then set up the estimated payments or withholding fix so this doesn't happen again next year.

• CPA-led, not commission-led. Taxstra is led by Bryan Martin, CPA, MBA. Your case is handled by a licensed, regulated firm — not a sales floor that hands your file to an unnamed back office.
• Resolution and compliance under one roof. Most collection cases require returns — missing years, amendments, corrected assessments. As a full tax preparation and planning firm, we do that work in-house instead of outsourcing the hardest part.
• Established and nationwide. Roughly 1,500 clients across all 50 states, fully remote. IRS representation works the same wherever you live; state notices come with genuine multi-state expertise.
• Proactive planning after resolution. Most IRS debt starts as a withholding or estimated-payment failure. We fix the cause — quarterly estimates, entity structure, payroll setup — so the resolution is the last one you need.
• Tech-forward and responsive. Secure client portal (TaxDome) for document exchange, modern tooling, and fast turnaround — which matters when every notice has a deadline.