Taxation & Estate Planning

20 Questions to Ask an Enrolled Agent Before You Consider Hiring Them to Solve an IRS Problem Part 4 of a 4 Part Series

By Darrin Mish

Today the gloves come off! If you have a serious IRS Problem, the last thing you should be worrying about is, "does my representative even know what he's doing?" That's a common problem that I see. I get many many cases after some other local representative (often an enrolled agent but then again sometimes an attorney or a CPA) has made a good old fashioned mess of things. This is a practice that you can't (or shouldn't) "dabble in."  IRS practice and procedure changes almost daily and certainly weekly and monthly. The way an Offer in Compromise is handled today is absolutely nothing like it was handled a year ago and odds are, next year will bring dramatic changes as well. What you should be looking for is a tax professional who does this work day in and day out. Don't let them figure this stuff out at their leisure while your financial life goes down the tubes. Look…no matter who you hire, you're spending your own hard earned cash, you might as well get the best representation money can buy. So ask the tax pro that you're thinking of hiring these questions. Not many will pass your test. How do I know? Because I'm already catching  flack from Enrolled Agents around the country for exposing these secrets. But you know what?  I'm a big boy I can take the heat. It's important that you're equipped with the tools you need to make the right decision for you and your family.

Full post as published by IRS Problem Solver Blog on November 11, 2008 (boomark / email).