Who is contacting you matters
Within the IRS, different employees do very different jobs. A revenue agent or tax compliance officer examines returns to decide whether more tax is owed. A revenue officer collects balances that have already been assessed and can pursue liens and levies. A special agent works for IRS Criminal Investigation and is a federal law enforcement officer. New York State's tax department draws a similar line between audit, collection, and criminal investigation work. Read the title on the letter or business card carefully, because it tells you a good deal about the stakes.
Problems that overlap
Many tax matters run on more than one track at once. An audit of recent years can surface unfiled returns from earlier ones, a collection case can stall because the balance itself is wrong, and questions about cash or foreign accounts can raise exposure that changes the whole approach. Unpaid payroll taxes from a business can also lead the IRS to pursue owners or managers personally. Keep every notice from each agency in date order, along with copies of the returns at issue and any record of calls you have already had. Do not throw away envelopes, since the mailing date can control a deadline. If more than one agency is involved, a response to one can affect the others, so the replies should be coordinated.
Setting the order of work
The first decisions are usually about sequence and about who speaks for you. Returns that have not been filed often need to be prepared, but in some situations the content of a late return needs legal review before it goes in. If there is any chance of criminal exposure, the order of steps and the choice of professionals change, because communications with an accountant do not carry the privilege people often assume. We begin by sorting your situation into these tracks, identifying the nearest deadline, and deciding what can safely be said or filed now and what should wait.
