With the 1040 filing season peak upon you, it’s time to consider how you’re going to continue serving clients and generating revenue into the late spring and summer.
One option, which still presents a growing revenue opportunity for your tax firm, is my good friend tax resolution. While 941 Collections representation isn’t seasonal, the 1040 side most certainly is, and the time to start preparing for that season is right now, not June.
Normally, June is when the IRS starts sending out Collections notices for 1040 returns that were timely filed. Given the current issues at the Service, we may see a delay in the issuance of those notices, but it’s not something that I would bank on. Plus, it’s your business, so run it by your schedule, instead of letting the government dictate the annual pace and progress of business development. Thus, I think it’s best to “act as if” the normal Collections cycle will start on time.
With that in mind, some tips to help you get ready:
- If you have little or no experience with IRS Collections and Examination representation, now is a good time to start filling in your skills gap with appropriate CPE. Don’t wait until a representation case lands in your lap, start skilling up now to avoid the mad dash later. If you’re already an experienced representation practitioner, it’s time to get up to speed on any recent changes in IRS policy and procedure on this front.
- On the marketing side of the house, start lining up your late spring/early summer public speaking opportunities now at appropriate organizations where people with tax debts are disproportionately present. Delivering Tax Talks to such orgs is, hands down, one of the best ways to get representation clients.
- Revisit professional referral partners. During filing season, it’s easy to ignore joint venture and referral partners. Don’t wait until the end of filing season to let other tax professionals, attorneys, financial planners, mortgage loan officers, and the like to know that you are available, ready, and willing to help their clients with tax debt or audit issues.
By doing these most basic things, you’ll be well positioned to seamlessly transition from filing season to resolution season here in a few weeks.
To help you on both the technical side of representation, as well as the marketing and practice management side of the house, I’d encourage you to check out the Tax Resolution Academy. Inside the Academy, you’ll find over 100 hours of taxpayer representation CPE, extensive practice management advice, and swipe & deploy marketing campaigns to start attracting high-fee representation clients right away.
There are several different membership levels available for you to choose from, depending on where you are in your practice journey. Click here to review plans.
