Back taxes are a compounding problem: failure-to-pay penalties plus interest, charged on a balance that includes earlier penalties and interest. Amounts that started manageable double and triple. The way out is not to out-wait them — it's to pick a resolution and execute it.
Your realistic options
- Full payment with penalty abatement — sometimes the cheapest path is paying the tax while we argue the penalties away for reasonable cause.
- An installment agreement — a monthly number engineered around the IRS's own allowable-expense rules, not around fear. See Payment Plans.
- An Offer in Compromise — settling for less than you owe, when your finances genuinely qualify. See Offer In Compromise.
- Currently-not-collectible status — collection paused while your situation is hardship-level.
- The statute clock — IRS collection generally expires ten years from assessment; sometimes the calendar is part of the strategy.
Why representation changes the outcome
The IRS's first proposal is built for the IRS. Every rule that works in your favor — allowable living expenses, penalty relief, statute dates — must be claimed, documented, and defended. That's the job. It's been our job for decades.