Expand Your Practice by Becoming a Certified Taxpayer Representative™

Until recently, it has been difficult for tax professionals to enter into the tax resolution world. Many have been put off by the idea of having to learn a completely new area of practice and procedure, let alone having to delve into the gory morass of the Internal Revenue Manual. However, new training options have put tax resolution certification within reach of more  tax professionals. This means that there are more ways to expand your practice.

What Is a Tax Resolution Specialist?

A tax resolution specialist is someone who helps people resolve any open debt that they may owe to the IRS. Along with tax resolution specialists, those who receive this type of training are also referred to as:

• Taxpayer representatives
• Tax relief specialists
• Tax controversy professionals
• Tax problem recovery experts

More tax professionals are starting to offer tax resolution services. If you decide to expand into tax assistance, it will give you a way to increase your income, as these cases tend to pay well. They also give you greater flexibility in how you run your business. This makes it a service that you can offer your clients year-round, giving you a way to earn a steady income instead of focusing on making most of your income when tax season rolls around.

Tax Resolution Services

Tax resolution training includes teaching you how to deal with tax issues such as:

• Examination representation
• Offers in Compromise
• Liens and levies
• Installment Agreements
• Innocent and injured spouse relief
• Penalty abatements
• Trust Fund Recovery Penalties

…and, of course, the proverbial “much, much more!”

Examination Representation

If you decide to offer examination representation services, then you’ll be standing in for a client during a tax audit performed by state officials or the IRS.

Offers in Compromise

During your taxpayer representation program, you’ll learn how to submit an offer in compromise to the IRS when it is appropriate to do so. This is the area of the tax law that allows your clients to settle their tax debt for a lower amount than what is owed. During your training course, you’ll learn when this is the best option for your clients, who qualifies, and how to get the best possible “deal” for your client.

Liens and Levies

When one of your clients owes unpaid taxes, the IRS may issue a levy. This will allow the agency to seize your client’s … Continue reading

IRS Announces 2021 PTIN Renewal Requirements & Fees

The IRS has announced that the 2021 PTIN renewal window is now open. All current PTINs will expire on December 31, 2020.

All tax professionals, regardless of licensure, must renew their PTIN if they prepare any return or claim for refund in 2021. The total renewal fee is $35.95, of which $21 goes to the IRS and $14.95 goes to the federal contractor administering the PTIN registration program. Once paid, nobody can receive a refund on these fees.

All Enrolled Agents must also renew their PTINs, regardless of whether or not they prepare tax returns, and without regard to your normal EA renewal year. In other words, all EAs, including those only offering taxpayer representation services, must hold a valid PTIN at all times. This requirement does not apply to CPAs and attorneys engaged in taxpayer representation if they are not also preparing tax returns for a fee.

To renew your PTIN for 2021, or to apply for your first PTIN if you are a new tax practitioner, simply visit the IRS PTIN system here: https://rpr.irs.gov/datamart/mainMenuUSIRS.do

 … Continue reading

2021 Will Almost Surely See a Spike in TFRP Cases

One of my favorite things about taxpayer representation is that it is a recession-proof business.

In fact, on the IRS Collections representation side of things, it’s a business that booms during a recession. Despite the ’07-’08 recession throwing me into bankruptcy, I was incredibly fortunate to then stumble into an industry that was poised to take off like a rocket.

In much the same way as back in 2008, small businesses today are suffering. Hundreds of thousands of small business owners are being forced to make painful decisions, right now, about what to do with their limited capital. Since they often fail to understand the long-term consequences, they frequently opt to stop paying their payroll taxes during times like this, to instead pay suppliers and employees. That’s just the reality of the situation for them to continue operating right now.

But, of course, today’s missed Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) is tomorrow’s Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) assessment.

Most of the new 941 tax debt cases being created right now won’t really start being worked by SB/SE Collections until mid to late 2021. That’s just another reality of the current situation. By then, those tax debtors will have accumulated 4 to 6 quarters of 941 liability.

Are you going to be ready and able to represent such tax debtors next year?

To help you get started in this arena, on Dec. 10 at 10am PST I’ll be presenting the next installment in our Sweeping Overview series of CPE classes, covering the TFRP. This class will be a 1-hour, big picture overview of a variety of TFRP representation concepts. To create this class, I’m literally extracting specific slides from the PowerPoint decks that make up the much deeper 8-hour TFRP arc contained within our CTR™ curriculum. So, just like the rest of our Sweeping Overview courses, this class is exactly that: A sweeping overview of basic, high level concepts. These classes are really intended for those tax professionals that have zero prior exposure to the topic, but they’re also a good “knowledge check” class for experienced taxpayer representatives.

Course objectives for this class are:

  • Recognize the role of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty in the IRS Collection process.
  • Describe the IRS trust fund investigation process.
  • Identify the most common defenses against TFRP personal assessment.
  • List the steps in the TFRP appeals process.

Registration for this class is only $10, and seating is limited to the … Continue reading