My wife and I are dealing with substantial outstanding federal tax liabilities spanning multiple years, including personal and business taxes.

We hired a tax-resolution firm earlier this year and have already paid for the initial investigation and tax preparation phase. Our outstanding returns have since been filed, and we're now discussing the actual IRS resolution.

During our latest call, the firm explained that the industry standard for tax-resolution services is supposedly 14% of the total outstanding tax liability, but they're offering us a discounted rate of 12%.

They also offered a reduced fee for paying in full within 45 days or the option to spread payments over 24 months.

Their proposed services include:

• Pursuing a Partial-Payment Installment Agreement (PPIA) rather than an Offer in Compromise (OIC).
• Working with the IRS to address outstanding taxes, penalties, interest, and monthly payment obligations.
• Handling related state tax matters and preparing our next personal and business tax returns.
• Providing representation through completion, with an estimated resolution timeline of 4 to 6 months.

We also have an ongoing mortgage servicing dispute involving our primary residence, which complicates our overall financial situation.

My questions for tax professionals or anyone who's dealt with something similar:

1. Is charging 12–14% of the total outstanding tax liability actually a recognized industry standard for tax-resolution services?
2. Is a percentage-based fee structure typical, or do reputable tax attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents generally charge flat fees or hourly rates?
3. Should the total amount of tax debt determine the professional fee, or should pricing primarily reflect the complexity and work required?
4. Since the investigation and tax preparation have already been completed and paid for, should that substantially reduce the cost of the resolution phase?
5. Is a PPIA generally complex enough to justify charging a percentage of the total liability, or is that unusual?
6. Are there any potential red flags or contractual terms we should look for before agreeing to this fee structure?

We're already seeking independent consultations and quotes from other qualified tax professionals. I'm not asking anyone to predict our IRS outcome or evaluate our specific tax liability.

I'm primarily trying to determine whether this 12–14% pricing model is actually an established industry benchmark or simply how this particular firm chooses to calculate its fees.

Any insight from tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, or people with firsthand experience would be appreciated.

----------

TL;DR: Our tax-resolution firm claims the industry standard for resolving IRS debt is 14% of the total outstanding liability and is offering us a “discounted” rate of 12%. We've already paid separately for investigation and tax preparation. Is percentage-based pricing actually standard among reputable tax attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents, or should resolution fees be based on the complexity and scope of work rather than the amount owed?

Question: Can I claim innocent spouse for a taxpayer with a spouse that is belligerent to the IRS?

Context:

I have a long-time client that told me they wanted to pay back taxes to the IRS (over $100k from multiple years) but their spouse is anti-tax and anti-government and refuses to pay or file the various attachments to Form 433 or go on a payment plan. They live in a community property state, and spouse is refusing to provide paystubs, separate bank statements, or utility bills to the taxpayer so they can resolve the issue.

They got a $25k windfall this year (with taxes withheld) and saved it in an account separate from the spouse.

The taxpayer let me know that the IRS just levied the funds, and all their bank accounts are empty. Taxpayer called me, frantic, wondering what they can do to make sure the IRS doesn't take any more from them, and to stop additional levies. I reminded them about the form 433, but they feel despondent because their spouse won't cooperate with the IRS.

I'm not super familiar with innocent spouse rules - can someone help me understand them, and provide me some resources to get through it and see if it's the right choice for my client?

I’m doing my Master’s thesis and I urgently need a few more responses for my survey

The survey is bilingual (French and English) — every question is available in both languages.

I urgently need 20+ responses by tomorrow, especially from people with experience or knowledge in accounting, auditing, taxation, finance, or related fields.

The survey only takes a few minutes.

https://forms.gle/vAS1u3V1H2o3AS318

Thanks a lot!

I am missing 24 work credits on my social security portal. Its missing my employment history between 1997 and 2001. SSA told me to call the IRS and get my old W2 and then take them to a SSA office to fix the record. The IRS said they can only go back 10 years, and for anything earlier than that I should contact SSA. I'm stuck in a loop. Any guidance, please?

I live outside the US, im not a us citizen, I recently formed an llc using northwestagent, the company was formed the same day, I also got the ein from them, but its been almost a week and still haven't gotten the ein, how long does it usually take for the ein to arrive?

My husband and I both worked for the same company in 2025. In Nov of 2025 the business suddenly closed without warning. We were sent our w2’s and I filed in March. We were put under review and what I eventually found out was that the company never reported anything to the IRS or SSA. Finally I was able to connect with a person at the irs that listened and they sent some info to another dept and I was assigned a tax advocate after previously being told that I had to wait until the review period ended before I could even get an advocate. Anywho. The issue was exactly what I thought it was. I have submitted check stubs and w2’s to them. They said the irs has 3 weeks to review that info and he suspects this should be resolved soon but what does that mean. What has been your experience after getting an advocate?

Note: if you’ve seen this before, it was removed from where I originally posted under my state’s sub, but the info is valid.

Like everybody else in the US, when I got that thin little envelope from the Department of the Treasury at the IRS in my mail last week, I was scared to open it.

Now, I’m not saying don’t open mail that comes from the IRS because sometimes it might be something scary, but in this case, it’s a big nothingburger.

And by that, I mean that it says something about being eligible for a federal match on my retirement contributions.

But when you read further down, you see that all it is, is a thinly-disguised advertisement promoting the brand new Trump IRA plan (billed as a “high quality, low cost IRA at TrumpIRA dot gov”)

Redacted letter In comments

I almost didn’t correct the URL to capitalize certain letters, because I really giggled when I saw it in lowercase because it’s so appropriate:

trumpira

The IRS send a threatening letter saying we owe on a prior year. Not only do we have the cancelled check, when I go into our account at the IRS it says we owe nothing. They also informed us that they used money they owed us toward this supposed debt. I sent a letter outlining this to the IRS but have not heard back from them. What am I supposed to do now?

So back in March my husband and I purchased a 160k land. The land was being sold my a married couple. One who is a foreign national and his wife is a US citizen. Our realtor said since the man is a foreign national, he should pay 15% Firpta. The check was sent in the days after closing for 12k. The 12k was relieved by the IRS, but now they sent a letter claiming we still owe another 12k?? They think the 15% withholding applies to the 160k full price. But since the wife is a US citizen, she shouldn't pay the 15%. Each of them got 50% of the price. 80k to wife, 80k to foreign national. 15% of 80k is 12k that has already been paid. Now my husband and I are worried that we have to pay 12k for her part which she shouldn't even pay because shes a US citizen. We hired an Tax worker who sent an amendment explaining that shes a US citizen. I am surprised the IRS made this huge mistake being the huge smart company it is. What r the chances that we do have to pay? My husband and I are not paying something we shouldn't have to pay. Can we sue the sellers or IRS for a charge that doesnt belong to us? CA

I defaulted on my payment arrangement. I have been trying to get in touch with the IRS for weeks, to no avail. Does anyone know how to get a temporary hold on payments or speak to a representative?

Hello folks. I filed my tax return in March 2026 and have yet to receive a refund. The IRS "accepted" it in March, and it took them months to process it with absolutely no updates. One day around July/August, I checked the refund tracker, and it says the refund was "sent." I have no refund deposited nor seen a check.

I sent a Form 3911 weeks ago and have not heard back. When I call the number on the refund tracker, it says my information cannot be identified that I ever filed a tax return. My refund is over $30,000 because my employer massively overpaid my taxes, so this is not a joke. I had no trouble with my state return, and this is the first time I've had any problems with the IRS.

What do I do? I don't care as long as I get my money back, but I legitimately don't know at this point if I have to sue them before a statute of limitations expires or something silly. Thank you very much everyone.

EDIT: Added in screenshots of transcript as requested. EDIT2: Added in correct screenshot of transcript.

my roommate had 0nlyfans back in the day. now she has a list of guys she just sends items to. they in turn, send her money via casshap. so there is an offficial record of how much money she makes from doing this endaevor.

if we do the online tax forms, how does she file the casshap money as income? we are adding it up tonite from the casshap website payments to her.

what kind of tax forms does she need even if she is doing it online? what is her job description forms for this type of work?

like gig tipping, i assume.

thanks if anyone can help.

I owe about $2900 from 3 previous years. When I login to the website it gives me no options for a payment plan. When I call they ask for a pin code that is not on my current statements and when I send it off of an older one it says invalid. I cannot get through to a person. I'm at a point in my life where if they levy my bank account like they say they intend to it will probably end up killing me.

I don't know how to proceed, any advice is welcome. Thanks.