Becoming a specialist in any specific service offering, be it advisory, tax planning, tax resolution, or anything else, requires establishing a solid foundation of knowledge. Once you’ve established that foundation, you can then take deeper dives into specific subject areas to increase your technical competency in those areas.
To obtain that foundation, Tax Resolution Academy® is proud and delighted to announce our complete introductory tax resolution course arc is now available. This new curriculum, consisting a total of 7 hours of material, is now being presented in an ongoing rotation. Six of these tax resolution courses qualify for continuing education credit with the IRS for Enrolled Agents, NASBA for CPAs, and the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy specifically for CPAs in Texas.
We have called this basic tax resolution training program the Sweeping Overview series because each class provides exactly that: A sweeping overview of topics to help you learn more about what tax resolution actually is, what’s involved in the day-to-day client work, and broad concepts to help you evaluate tax debt cases for resolution. If you’ve ever taken a survey course in college, that would appropriately describe what we’re trying to achieve with this training program.
Since tax resolution encompasses quite a few sub-topics, we felt that this broad survey approach to teaching the basics was the appropriate way to present the foundational knowledge on which you can then build a successful career and highly profitable tax firm.
Tax Resolution Training Topics
The complete set of courses, broken into 1-hour webinars, is as follows:
- IRS Collections Representation: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- IRS Collections Financial Analysis: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- IRS Examination Representation: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- Trust Fund Recovery Penalty: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- Federal Tax Liens: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- IRS Appeals: A Sweeping Overview (1 hour CE/CPE)
- The First $2500: 3 Tax Resolution Marketing Tactics to Find Your First Clients (1 hour, no CE/CPE)
To see the current schedule of classes, and register for upcoming sessions, visit our Eventbrite page:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/live-tax-resolution-training-6598293989
What’s Covered in Each Class?
As you start your tax resolution training journey with us, you may want to know exactly what we’ll be covering.
To reiterate: These are basic, introductory level classes. They are intended mainly for those tax professionals that have very little prior exposure to IRS Collections and Examination case work. More than anything else, the goal is for you to leave these sessions with a better understanding of what tax resolution even is, and help you determine whether or not it’s a service you’re interested in offering within your practice.
Here is what we cover in each specific class…
IRS Collections Representation: A Sweeping Overview
The class that started it all! This basic-level online training will cover the origin of federal tax liabilities, the basics of tax liens and the IRS Collections process, and the basics of the major resolution options we have available to us as practitioners to help our clients.
This 1-hour webinar should be viewed as a “survey class”, and will lightly touch on a number of topics relevant to the process of resolving client tax debts. You will leave this session with an understanding of the overall IRS Collections case work process and be better positioned to evaluate client situations for appropriate resolution.
IRS Collections Financial Analysis: A Sweeping Overview
The IRS has pre-set dollar limits for the household expenses that a taxpayer is allowed credit for in determining their ability to pay back tax debts.
Join tax resolution expert Jassen Bowman, EA, CTR™ for this 1-hour CE/CPE live training that will cover the basics of these household expense items. In addition, he will cover the basics of how the IRS conducts a financial analysis for a taxpayer. Lastly, you will delve into the financial form most frequently used by IRS personnel that you’ll reach at a call center, the Form 433-F.
Understanding the allowable expenses that a 1040 debtor can claim and running the numbers to see what resolution pathway they are eligible for are two of the most critical tasks that you conduct on every individual tax debt case — regardless of how much they owe or any other factors. Literally, every case you work will require application of this critical skill.
IRS Examination Representation: A Sweeping Overview
This basic 1-hour CE/CPE course will introduce attendees to the fundamentals of IRS audit cases. Students will learn how the IRS audit process works, identify the key components of a case, learn how the IRS looks at a taxpayer’s books and records, and how to formulate a representation strategy. Presented by Dan Henn, CPA.
Course objectives:
- Understand the basic tenets of IRS Examination representation.
- Identify key components of an audit case.
- Understand how the IRS looks at financial records.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty: A Sweeping Overview
As you continue your journey toward becoming a specialist in tax resolution work, it’s inevitable that you’ll encounter numerous taxpayers with trust fund tax issues. Since payroll tax deposits are what fund the day to day operations of the federal government, these trust fund taxes are one of the highest enforcement priorities for the IRS Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) unit.
After this 1-hour live CPE webinar, tax professionals will have acquired an understanding of the fundamental processes behind the IRS investigation process into assessment of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP). You’ll also learn how to formulate defenses against assessment, how the 4180 interview process works, and how to appeal an existing TFRP assessment.
Course objectives:
- 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.
Federal Tax Liens: A Sweeping Overview
Federal tax liens can have a dramatic impact on individuals and small businesses. A filed Form 668-Y can impact a taxpayer’s credit and reputation, destroy businesses, cause individuals to lose their jobs, and prevent the purchase or sale of a home.
Join tax resolution expert Jassen Bowman, EA, CTR™ for this 1-hour CE/CPE webinar for a high level overview of federal tax liens and lien work processes. Learn how tax liens arise, what they cover, how to avoid filing of public notices, and how to deal with tax liens once they exist.
While less than 5% of tax debtors have a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) filed against them, you’re inevitably going to encounter taxpayers with as you become a specialist in tax resolution. This class will prepare you to understand NFTL issues and resolution options.
Course objectives:
- Define the statutory origin of federal tax liens.
- Explain the difference between lien withdrawal and lien release.
- Define the basic conditions for lien withdrawal.
- Recognize the role of lien certificates in the tax resolution process.
IRS Appeals: A Sweeping Overview
As a tax resolution specialist, you will spend a significant amount of your case work time interfacing with Appeals. This independent division within the IRS serves as part of the system of checks and balances to ensure that Collections personnel are following laws and regulations, as well as protecting taxpayer rights. During the course of my career, well over half my case resolutions have come from Appeals. This session will delve into how to work with Appeals, plus the specific processes for the two most common Appeals routes you’ll take when working Collections cases.
The fifth item in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights is “The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum”. This is an important aspect of handling an IRS Exam. When there are sticky issues, your Exam Representation cases will end up in the Independent Office of Appeals. It is important for taxpayers to have this right to challenge the decision that was made by IRS field employees (Tax Compliance Officers, Revenue Agents and Group Managers). Presented jointly by Jassen Bowman and Dan Henn.
Course objectives:
- Define the mission of the Independent Office of Appeals.
- Understand the role of Appeals within the IRS.
- Explain the Appeals hearing steps.
- Define Appeals outcomes.
- Describe the two primary Collections Appeals processes.
- Describe how to Appeal after an IRS Exam.
The First $2500: 3 Tax Resolution Marketing Tactics to Find Your First Clients
It’s one thing to have the technical competency to represent taxpayers in Collection or Examination situations. It can be a completely separate challenge to attract clients and actually get paid. While this is a different kind of tax resolution training, it’s still very valuable training. In this 60-minute training session, you’ll learn three highly effective, evergreen strategies for attracting new representation clients into your tax firm.
Full service representation fees for IRS Collections and Examination cases typically average $3500-$5000 nationwide. Even for smaller cases that are eligible for a Streamline IA or CNC placement with the IRS, typical case fees nationwide still start around $2000-$2500, on average.
This complimentary webinar will show you:
- How to tap into a zero-cost, minimal effort marketing tactic that is commonly overlooked by tax professionals just starting in tax resolution.
- The single most important long-term marketing strategy that all of the most successful tax resolution firms in the country utilize.
- How to jumpstart your lead generation efforts utilizing the absolute fastest (and cheapest!) method that exists for reaching tax debtors that desperately need your help.
How to Register for these Classes
To see the current schedule of classes, and register for upcoming sessions, visit our Eventbrite page:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/live-tax-resolution-training-6598293989
Benefits of Specialized Tax Training
If you’re already handling accounting, bookkeeping, or payroll for clients, pursuing tax resolution specialist training may be the next logical step, depending upon your clientele. Your clients already trust you with their financial information, so tax advocacy is a way to strengthen that trust. If they unfortunately fall into tax debt, they will be glad that they do not have to seek out another professional for tax resolution.
On a practical level, tax resolution is a service that will expand your business. This kind of work requires really does require a specialist, so clients will expect to pay extra for the service. Most tax professionals list resolution as a separate billing area at a higher rate. Clients are willing to pay more to gain freedom from IRS concerns.
Taking part in our tax resolution training will also change your position in the marketplace. You can gain a reputation as a full-service tax firm that can help clients through the full process of tax planning, returns, audits, and collection. Clients with complex tax issues will be grateful to have someone who can handle these kind of matters on their behalf.
In addition, with this specialized skill set, you may choose to focus entirely on tax resolution in your practice. There are roughly 10,000 tax professionals around the United States that focus their service offerings solely on taxpayer representation, to the exclusion of all other services. Some choose to specialize even further, and handle only the tax debts or audit cases of specific industries or occupations. This concept is explored further in the tax resolution marketing course in our Sweeping Overview series.
