Be Wary of Tax Relief Advertisements

Owing taxes that we haven’t budgeted for is never a comfortable place to be. When we find ourselves in this position, it can be easy to see hope in pervasive marketing campaigns promising to absolve us of the obligation to pay our full tax bill to the government. However, taking the time to research and educate ourselves regarding what can, and cannot, be accomplished is exceptionally important in order to avoid overpaying for a false promise.

Misleading Advertisements

We’ve all seen or heard the, “save pennies on the dollar,” marketing campaigns from big-box tax firms. We’ve all heard the success stories of somebody settling their $500,000 tax bill for $1,000. And, while programs do exist to assist taxpayers in times of personal hardship with their unpaid taxes, the advertising is often misleading and they do not address that it is truly a specific group of people who qualify for any type of debt forgiveness with the IRS.

Oftentimes, these larger firms advertise that they are able to successfully complete resolution strategies such as Offers in Compromise – settling the debt outright for a lesser amount than is owed – before ever even having been granted the authority to speak with the IRS regarding a specific taxpayer’s account. This leads to higher than necessary costs, in many cases, being paid upfront to these firms for services they are not even certain they can deliver.

How is ATBS Different?

At ATBS, we don’t believe that misleading taxpayers regarding ways to address their back tax is an appropriate tactic. Our team of experts begins every case by completing an investigation into a taxpayer’s specific account with the IRS. Beginning at this stage for every client allows our team to obtain specific historical data regarding a specific account and then tailor resolution strategies to each individual case.

We only ever charge a taxpayer for the work we are sure needs to be completed, rather than charging for work that may or may not be appropriate. The same way a repair shop runs a diagnostic to determine applicable mechanical fixes, our team finds out what is specifically needed to correct the tax delinquency before putting together a quote for the work involved in fixing the problem.

Our aim is to be fair to the situation of each individual driver that we work with. Once our team has obtained the data from the IRS regarding any specific taxpayer account, we will provide a comprehensive outline of potential resolution options that fit the situation. We will then talk through the pros and cons of each option and provide our taxpayers the ability to make the most educated decision for themselves. Following that, we will work with our taxpayers to employ the option that they are most comfortable with.

Our approach is to be a team member to the taxpayers who trust us to represent them with the IRS and to work collaboratively in an effort to reach a solution dictated by what is actually reasonable for our client and not necessarily driven by what the IRS wishes for our client to pay monthly.

Don't Fall for False Advertisements

It can be easy to get caught up in promises made so freely by firms offering huge debt forgiveness without having actually investigated your account. You should always:

• Request a comprehensive diagnostic of your IRS account before paying for full representation

• Know that firms will charge for this diagnostic – ATBS works very hard to be the most reasonable price point for the drivers we are working with

• Ask if the firm you’re speaking with works with truck drivers and if they’re familiar with this specific industry vertical – asking about their familiarity with per diem and depreciation are good indicators of whether they would be a good fit for you.

At the end of the day, you should always be the one in the most control of the decisions made around your account with the IRS. If you have someone pressuring you into a specific resolution option without having gone through the available options with you, always check that you trust the motives and understand the potential outcomes before agreeing to work them.