What To Expect

Most clients want to know what, when, and how things will happen with their case. Learn more about the step-by-step process.   

 

Step-By-Step Strategy

We'll personalize a step-by-step strategy to work with the IRS on your case. The following timeline will give you a good idea of how our process works. Every case is unique and will receive personalized attention.

 

1. Immediate Relief
We lift the burden of IRS contact from you. Mobile Accounting files the Power of Attorney with the IRS promptly. These documents not only give us the power to represent you, but they legally require the IRS to negotiate with us, instead of you. Please note: It takes the IRS some time to get the database updated to reflect your representative. You may continue to be contacted by the IRS during this time. The agent may even tell you that we have not sent your Power of Attorney to them (Mobile Accounting is not identified as your representative; the name of the Representative, who works for Mobile Accounting, is identified). Be assured that we have sent them the proper paperwork. If you are contacted, tell them you have signed a contract with Mobile Accounting and a Licensed Taxpayer Representative (Enrolled Agent, CPA, Attorney) will be representing you.

2. We attempt to stop any enforced collection activity.
If the IRS has begun enforced collection against you -- such as a lien or levy -- we immediately request a Stay of Collections (SOC).

3. You begin work on your questionnaires.
The series of questionnaires in your client package are vital to your case. Complete them as soon as possible. If you are participating in our Credit Card Expense Program, send us your credit reports as soon as you receive them. Customers who need help can call their case specialist for further assistance.

4. Our case specialists begin preparing your case
We evaluate your options and determine the best course of action. Once we receive your information, it is scanned into our database and automatically routed to a case specialist. Your case specialist will go to work for you to evaluate the most appropriate and beneficial course of action, then prepare a rough draft of your tax resolution, which might be an Installment Agreement, Innocent or Injured Spouse Relief, Penalty Abatement or Offer in Compromise (OIC). Meanwhile, if you have any unfiled returns, our tax department, if contracted to prepare your returns, goes to work on those. Once we have received your credit reports, our Counselors begin working on your credit card debt, attempting to negotiate favorable terms in order for you to have more funds to resolve your tax problems.

5. We get you into compliance
You file your returns. Before you can negotiate with the IRS, you must be in compliance. That means all overdue returns must be filed. Our tax department, if you have contracted with Mobile Accounting for tax preparation, will assist you so you can properly file your returns. It will then take 2-3 weeks for the IRS to record your returns (or you have the option of taking them to your local IRS office and getting them recorded and date stamped). Then we can proceed on your OIC.

6.  We review your OIC or other tax resolution offer.
We will set a time and date to review your OIC or other tax resolution offer, and provide you with a list of supporting documents (for example, mortgage checks and bank statements) the IRS will require. We will also provide an update on the status of any of our negotiations with your credit card creditors.

7.  You provide supporting documents.
Make copies of all the registered documentation and retain the orginals for your own records, then provide us with all requested documentation.  This step is critical, because negotiating and settling your case with the IRS can only occur once this step is finalized. Your participation and timely cooperation is vital.

8.  We submit your offer to the IRS
We finalize your offer.  Once everything is assembled, we will review your documentation and the offer with you. You sign your OIC or other tax resolution offer, verifying that it represents the true facts of your case. Now everything is sent to the IRS.  We review all information and documentation in order to verify we have formulated the very best resolution for your situation.

9. Resolution and peace of mind
We finalize your case.  You must be prepared to wait. For an Offer in Compromise, it can take the IRS from 6 to 24 months to finalize your case. Other methods of resolution can be finalized much quicker. You may be asked to resubmit your documentation over and over again, because IRS rules require that whenever documentation becomes 90 days old, it must be updated. Stay strong. Remain patient.

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IRS Intimidation Tactics

The IRS rarely gives up without a fight. As we work to resolve your IRS problem to your advantage, you might expect the IRS to use one or more of the following tactics to attempt to persuade you to make a deal with them on their terms.

 

Keep in mind.
By law, the IRS must leave you alone, although you will continue to receive written correspondence from them. Once you become a Mobile Accounting client and we submit your Letter of Representation and Power of Attorney, the IRS is legally required to deal with us, not you. The IRS may try to intimidate you into dealing with them directly. Don't fall for it. If you receive a call from an IRS agent, ask for that person's name and ID number, politely refer him / her to us. End the call and call your case specialize at Mobile Accounting. Give them the name and ID number from the person you spoke with at the IRS.

The IRS may try to tell you we aren't doing our job.
This is just another intimidation tactic. They may tell you we haven't filed this form or that form. Little wonder. The IRS has several databases, and they aren't all updated that regularly. In fact, the national database is only updated once a week. If you have any question about the status of your case, contact your Mobile Accounting case specialist. We'll give you the facts. Our databases are updated daily.

The IRS may try to outwait you.
It may seem like it takes forever for your case to move through the IRS bureaucracy. It will be easy to get frustrated and to take the bait and settle on the IRS' terms. Don't. We will work tirelessly on your behalf until we achieve the best possible settlement for you.

The IRS will ask for your documentation again and again and again.
Be prepared to play their game. The IRS considers any documentation over 90 days old to be out of date. So make copies of all your documentation at the start. And be prepared to update the information each month and resubmit the necessary documents frequently.