Why You Shouldn't Take on Your IRS Tax Problems Alone

by Clifford N. Ribner

If the IRS determines that you owe the government money, then your first instinct may be to fight them. A tax attorney seems too expensive, so you decide to represent yourself.

However, that's a dangerous course to take for a number of reasons. First of all, tax law is extremely complicated, and only professionals who are truly trained and experienced in it, and who have access to specialized (and expensive) tax law databases and libraries and know how to use them, are truly capable of navigating through it. The number of things that can go wrong by taxpayers attempting to represent themselves is legion.

I have seen dozens of situations where taxpayers came to me to represent them after they had attempted to do so themselves. Most of my job, in those cases, consisted of undoing the damage they had done. This includes highly educated professionals who hired me too late -- after they left prison after tax convictions.

Protect yourself against IRS mistakes

If you've watched legal dramas at all, you've no doubt heard the phrase, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The same thing goes for the IRS.

Every conversation you have with IRS personnel is saved in memoranda of one kind or another, and these IRS personnel are perfectly capable of mistaking what you say. As Martha Stewart found out, any false statement to any federal official of any kind, even though not made under oath, can result in criminal indictment.

Without knowledge of the law, taxpayers can easily make seemingly innocent statements that IRS personnel interpret very differently, even if those IRS agents are acting in good faith, which, unfortunately, is not always the case.

Leave tax law to the experts

Because the tax law is so complex, taxpayers are likely to do more harm than good if there is any questionable issue between them and the IRS. And if you're having a conversation with the IRS, a questionable issue is almost always the case.

Every action in this area can have serious repercussions. You wouldn't try to do your own brain surgery, so why risk your financial life by attempting something equally complex: taking on the IRS alone?

The stakes are high and the requirements are numerous and complex. You could very well make a mistake and not even know it until after even more serious problems than those you were attempting to fix arrive.

With the help of a tax lawyer, you'll be able to avoid speaking to the IRS yourself at all. He can handle all communications with them for you.

Gain the full protection of the law

Don't rely on IRS personnel to protect you. They're on the government's side, not yours. A tax lawyer, on the other hand, knows what you're entitled to.

Believe it or not, Congress actually gave taxpayers significant new procedural protections in 1998. However, if you're representing yourself, you have no real way of forcing the IRS to respect those protections. A tax lawyer would know what those protections are, and how to help you make the most of them.

Pick the right tax attorney - they'll tell you if you need a lawyer or not

Everyone's situation is different, but it's rare that you won't save money by using a tax lawyer to interface with the IRS. When people don't need me, I tell them so. Sometimes I'll charge them a relatively nominal amount for a brief education on how they should conduct themselves with the IRS. I never do that unless I have first determined that there's no possibility of criminal exposure for those people with their specific tax problems.

When you're looking for a tax attorney, make sure you find a lawyer with specialized education (an LL.M. in Taxation). Good references, like other lawyers, judges, or peer-reviewed ratings like Martindale-Hubbell, will also help you in making a decision. Good tax attorneys will also have years of litigation experience under their belts.

Don't take on the IRS alone. You'll be inviting more stress and numerous unknown problems if you should make a mistake. A tax attorney may seem expensive, but the mistakes they help you avoid and the money they could help you save make them well worth it.


About the Author
Clifford N. Ribner is a tax attorney in Tulsa, Okla. For more than 28 years, he has helped people with serious tax problems fight the government and win. If you're deep in IRS debt and need somewhere to turn, visit him online at http://www.cnribneratty.com.