Assuming you are referring to the IRS, the statute of limitations for “active” collection is 10 years from the date of assessment.  By “active” we mean the IRS will come after taxpayer directly.  After 10 years  the IRS cannot continue to do so but may, if previously filed continue to renew a tax lien on [...]

You can find the IRS National and Local Standards for all of the US on our Professional’s Portal at https://www.taxresolutioninstitute.org/forms-library/

Tolling means freezing which in effect extends the statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations on collection by the IRS is 10 years.  It is important to keep in mind however that several items including filing a rejected Offer in Compromise, taxpayer waivers, appeals, holds on collection and bankruptcy may extend the statute.

If a client is deemed to be un-collectable (CNC status) it will usually be revisited within 2 years.

It is up to the courts to determine if the “client” has a legal liability to pay the IRS assuming their alternative is to pay nothing.  However if the “client” receives an IRS 3rd-party levy and proceeds to pay the taxpayer, the IRS may come after the “Client” for the amount paid up to the [...]

The answer to this question depends on the circumstances.  There are options allowing a taxpayer to exclude the cancellation of debt (“COD”) income including proof that the taxpayer was insolvent at the time the debt was cancelled but it needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.  If the COD income cannot be excluded, [...]

Yes you may be solvent for collection purposes and not for tax purposes under section 108.

If you are referring to the collection statute we instruct our clients not to sign a waiver.  If you are talking about audit and not collections. Typically you do not have a lot of choice in the matter.  If you do not extend the assessment period the IRS will disallow the deductions in question and [...]

Yes.  For the IRS, the 10-year statute is based upon the date of assessment and is not related to payment.

To be safe, you should span more years than you think are necessary. For example if your client states they are unfiled or owe from 2006, you should begin earlier and span to at least a year past the current year. For example in this case you may put 2003 through 2016 on the form. [...]

May of the clients with these types of issues do not pay their bills in general.  If you are going to accept a payment plan it is ideal to have payments stay ahead of billings.  If your client is unable to stay in front of the work with payments, you should at least have a [...]

The key to success in performing resolution work is to understand both the process and the “system”.  Your goal should be to try to work within your comfort level but this may be difficult for someone without experience.  Just beginning in this profession will limit the scope of work that you should and will want [...]

We accept credit cards and recommend accepting them as an option.  That being said we prefer ACH electronic payments over credit cards because they are more reliable and it is harder to file unsubstantiated disputes.

“Rich” is subjective.  You have the ability to earn a substantial amount of revenue practicing in this area.  For example, a single qualified professional can earn well over $500,000 per year practicing in this area full-time.

We recommend having a website.  This is a relatively inexpensive way to create a broad presence.  Be honest about what services you can provide and be careful not to make promises in writing that you cannot fulfill.  Keep in mind that even though people searching for these types of services are emotional, they typically can [...]

First tell the Revenue Officer (“RO”) that you must contact your client to discuss whatever the new issue is that he or she has brought to your attention.  Assuming your client has not paid you for the new work (a promise to pay is not enough), call the RO back and indicate that you have [...]

Depending on the reliability and past payment history of the client, we may stop work.  It is important to know that many people with these types of issues do not pay their bills including to the government.  If you resolve a client’s problem, you drop to the bottom of their payables list like a lead [...]

I do not believe it is necessary to have a separate entity to handle this type of work. I personally flow tax resolution referrals originating from networking to my CPA practice,SST CPAS and leads/referrals I receive from internet marketing flow to The Tax Resolution Institute. Keep in mind that I am doing this for business [...]

The answer is easy and implements common logic.  If a potential client is willing to sign an engagement letter that sets forth a maximum number of hours that SHOULD resolve their case, you can use an open-ended agreement with a defacto fixed fee.  Assuming the client is reasonable and responsive in a timely fashion, both [...]

This is a good question and both options have their merits.  If you request the information in an interview it should be done solely to gauge the client’s current financial standing.  This can be a valuable opportunity to make sure your client has their ducks in a row in terms of substantiation to back up [...]

The IRS 10-year collection statute begins when a liability is assessed.  This holds true for the Trust Fund Recover Penalty as well.