Most people assume that when they owe back taxes to the IRS, they have to pay the full amount or risk the IRS either garnishing their wages or putting a lien against their personal property. In many cases this may be true, but under the right circumstances you can work out an agreement, know as an offer in compromise to help you pay a significantly reduced amount compared to what you actually owe. While the circumstances that will allow a taxpayer to use this option are very limited, they exist and with the right help can get you out of debt to the IRS.

You will find that there are plenty of places that you can turn to for offer in compromise help such as tax lawyers, online companies and dozens of books on the subject. What you do need to realize is that less than 20% of all applications for an offer in compromise deal are ever accepted. You should also know that the entire process can take up to two years to complete from the date you make your application to the IRS. If you are looking for offer in compromise help you should be very careful about who you turn to. There are a lot of companies that offer this kind of settlement program at steeply discounted price.

The only problem you are likely to find with these companies is that they use standardized forms and are not there to do the back ground work that is really needed to give you the highest chance of success. Also you will find that they are not able to actually represent you and negotiate on your behalf with the IRS. What you should be looking for when it comes to offer in compromise help is a tax lawyer, Certified Public Accountant or an Enrolled Agent. While their fees are likely to be substantially higher they are more equipped to provide you with the detailed help you are going to need if you want to have the highest possible chance of success. You should carefully research anyone you are considering hiring to make sure that they have the experience necessary working with the IRS and the tax laws.

The professional that you hire to provide you with offer in compromise help should be able to prove that they have plenty of experience in IRS collection matters, and have a thorough working knowledge of the appropriate IRS debt collection laws as well as the evaluation methods they use to make their determination as whether or not you will get to participate in the program. You may also want to talk to some of their former clients to see what they have to say about their experience with the company. If you are looking for a team of experienced professionals that offer the best in offer in compromise help, you can turn to the Certified Tax Group. This company consists of tax lawyers, CPAs and EAs that all have vast experience in dealing with the IRS and are ready to help you settle your debt for an amount you can afford to pay or at least make payments on.