10 Frustrating Things You Can Expect in Dealing Directly with the IRS

My law firm put together a good list of "tactics" the IRS commonly uses against taxpayers who are attempting to negotiate a resolution to their IRS tax liability. It was posted on the Tax Relief Blog, the official blog of Roni Lynn Deutch, A Professional Tax Corporation. Below, please find a exceprt from the post:

Before you try to resolve your Internal Revenue Service back tax liability on your own, you should be mindful of the time and frustration you will likely experience in dealing with the IRS. Although you cannot be totally shielded from some of the frustration (e.g. see Item 1 below), a competent representative will go a long way to mitigate most of the frustration you would likely experience if you dealt directly with the IRS to resolve your tax matter.

1. No Contact Made by Representative

Although you may have obtained representation, the IRS will oftentimes contact you directly. When you inform the IRS that you are represented, do not be surprised if the IRS representative informs you that your representative has not made contact with them. While sometimes this may be true—e.g. early in the representation before you return your signed IRS Form 2848, Power of Attorney—oftentimes it is just a result of poor record management by the IRS.

If this happen to you, request the IRS representative’s contact information (name, IRS identification number, telephone number, and fax number), and then instruct the IRS representative that you have representation. Also, let the IRS representative know who your representative is and that your representative will be in contact with him or her shortly. Do not provide any additional information to the IRS representative even if requested. Thereafter, contact your representative and inform him or her of what occurred. Your representative can take the appropriate steps thereafter on your behalf.