IRS Resource Center
IRS notices, audits and collections, explained by advisors who handle them.
Plain-English guides to IRS letters, audits, appeals, penalties, payment plans and Tax Court, written by the advisors who represent clients before the IRS every week.
Guides
10 plain-English guides
How to respond to an IRS CP2000 notice
What a CP2000 underreported income notice means, how to check it, how to respond by the deadline, and what happens if you don't.
Read the guideIRS balance due notices: CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504 and the final notice
What each IRS balance due notice means, how penalties and interest grow, and when the IRS can levy wages and bank accounts.
Read the guideIRS correspondence audit (Letter 566): how to respond
How IRS mail audits work, what Letter 566 asks for, how to organize your response and what happens next.
Read the guideIRS field audit: what to expect from start to finish
How an IRS field audit by a revenue agent works, from the opening letter and information requests to the final report and appeal rights.
Read the guideHow the IRS appeals process works
How to take an IRS audit or collection dispute to the Independent Office of Appeals, what a protest must include, and how settlements are reached.
Read the guideIRS penalty abatement: first-time abatement and reasonable cause
How to remove IRS failure-to-file, failure-to-pay and deposit penalties through first-time abatement or reasonable cause, and what does not qualify.
Read the guideIRS offer in compromise: who qualifies and how it works
How an IRS offer in compromise works, how the IRS calculates the minimum offer, filing requirements and what happens while it is pending.
Read the guideIRS payment plans: installment agreement options compared
Which IRS payment plan fits your balance: guaranteed, streamlined, in-business and partial-payment installment agreements, plus fees and how to avoid default.
Read the guideTrust Fund Recovery Penalty: when owners become personally liable for payroll taxes
How the IRS assesses the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against owners and officers for unpaid payroll taxes, the 4180 interview, and how to appeal.
Read the guideUnfiled tax returns: how to get back into compliance
How many years of unfiled returns the IRS expects, substitute for return assessments, lost refunds, penalties and how to come forward safely.
Read the guideIn depth
Services and in-depth pages
IRS Audit Representation
CPA representation for IRS and state tax audits, appeals, collections and penalty abatement. We deal with the IRS so you don't have to. Offices in…
IRS Audit Representation in Washington, DC
IRS and DC Office of Tax and Revenue audit representation for businesses and individuals in Washington, DC. Senior CPA advisors handle the exam,…
IRS & New York Residency Audit Representation
IRS audit, New York State and New York City residency audit, and sales tax audit representation for businesses and individuals in Manhattan and…
IRS Audit Representation in Northern Virginia
IRS and Virginia Department of Taxation audit representation for businesses, federal contractors and families in Ashburn, Loudoun, Fairfax and across…
Taxpayer Rights in an IRS Audit
Your rights in an IRS audit: the 10 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the right to representation, to record interviews, to refuse statute extensions, to…
Tax Resolution Services
Tax resolution for individuals and businesses that owe the IRS: installment agreements, offers in compromise, currently not collectible status, lien…
Received an IRS Letter? Five Steps to Take First
What to do in the first week after an IRS notice arrives: confirm it's real, find the deadline, pull transcripts, and get a representative on Form…
IRS Warnings on Tax Schemes
Tax schemes the IRS warns about, including syndicated conservation easements, inflated charitable donations and K-1 deductions from promoted…
Ponzi Scheme & Crypto Scam Losses
Tax relief for victims of Ponzi schemes, investment fraud and crypto scams: theft loss deductions under IRC 165, Rev. Rul. 2009-9 and the Rev. Proc.…
1099 vs W-2 Worker Classification Rules, IRS Audits & Court Cases
Independent contractor or employee? IRS common-law test, Section 530 relief, the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, Virginia…
Virginia BPOL Audit Help
Representation for Virginia business license (BPOL) tax audits and assessments in Loudoun, Fairfax and every Virginia county, city and town:…
U.S. Tax Court Case Summaries
Daily plain-English summaries of new United States Tax Court opinions: T.C. opinions, memorandum opinions and summary opinions, with issue, holding…
Tax Court Lessons 2025–2026
Lessons from every U.S. Tax Court opinion in 2025 and 2026: deadlines, statute of limitations, charitable and conservation easement valuation,…
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