Two Tips for Working With a Tax Debt Relief Professional

Tax debt problems can be extremely burdensome. The penalties and interest always increase, the letters never seem readable, and you feel overwhelmed. Therefore, you hire a tax debt relief professional. And that tax debt relief professional does in fact provide you with some instant relief, at least mentally. He or she explains that you do have options to solve this problem and your situation is far from hopeless.

Unfortunately, many taxpayers speak with their tax debt help professional only during that initial conversation, maybe once or twice during the negotiation process, and then at closing, when the negotiating is done.

This non-contact approach is not ideal. Instead, work directly with your tax debt help pro according to these two major guidelines:

1. Do a Lot of Work in That Initial Consultation

Many tax debt relief experts offer a free initial consultation. Others charge a nominal fee. Whatever you choose, make sure you get as much as you can out of this initial consultation, because you are going to relying on this person to solve a major problem that is affecting your life.

Questions you might want to ask that most people don't include:

• How will we correspond during the process? Email, phone, mail?
• How often will we correspond during the process?
• What course of action will we pursue, installment payment plan, Offer in Compromise, or a tax court challenge?
• What is the best outcome that can be hoped for in this situation?
• What are the fees and how are they figured? Are they flat fees or a percentage of tax debt reduced?

2. Keep In Touch and Do Your Part

While it's no use pestering your tax debt professional daily, it is vital to keep in touch. The IRS and state tax authorities do not move quickly, but when they do move, you need to know about it. Typically, you should receive a copy of any letter sent to your designated representative, but a call to your pro at this time is a good idea.

Competent tax debt relief professionals are happy to speak with their clients not only during that initial consultation, but throughout the process. This accessibility is not due solely to customer service courtesy, but also because, in the case of tax debt problems, the customer is often the biggest part of obtaining a successful result.

For example, if your tax debt problem is related to unfiled tax returns, you may need to contact past employers to get W-2s or benefits information. Or if you are submitting an Offer In Compromise, you may have to seek out various documents from your banks and other sources in order to build a complete picture of your personal balance sheet.

Tax debt relief professionals work most effectively with taxpayers who insist on working together towards a common goal: real and lasting tax debt relief.

About the Author:
Andrew Freiburghouse is a freelance writer and editor living in Brooklyn, NY. He has worked in a variety of fields including magazine journalism, tax preparation, screenwriting, copywriting, and real estate. He graduated from Santa Clara University in 1999 with a B.A. in English. A regular contributor at tech blog Edgelings.com, Andrew was born and raised in the City of Los Angeles. He hopes he will survive the New York winter.