With nearly 15 million taxpayers owing the IRS money in unpaid back taxes, it’s surprising that more tax accountants aren’t up to speed on IRS Collections offers. More than 40 percent of offers are rejected outright by the IRS, and most of them have been prepared professionally by CPAs, EAs, and attorneys.
So why are tax professionals so bad at getting offers accepted? There are several reasons:
- They assume they know the process – most don’t, but it’s not hard to learn a solid 8-step process that works
- They are making basic budgeting mistakes with the client’s financial records
- They don’t have advanced training on strategies that can be applied in this area
- They don’t know how to deal with a cranky or undereducated IRS officer
- They are not asking the right questions
- They don’t know the practice management side of how to handle these engagements
The good news is that all of these mistakes are simple to remedy with strong training and a desire to add a new lucrative revenue stream to your tax practice.
That’s why we’ve made our Offers Masterclass available outside of the Tax Rep Network for the very first time. Taught by nationally recognized tax rep attorney Eric Green who sports a 93 percent offer acceptance rate in his firm, this course is designed specifically for tax professionals so they can learn fast and help their clients more effectively.
The Masterclass consists of 8 videos (total time 4 hours 15 minutes) with slide deck handouts plus 19 exhibits. Here are the topics you’ll learn.
- The offer process, how to do an offer, and why you want this to be a cornerstone of your practice
- Which IRS rules are considered law and which are considered advisory
- IRS guidelines for when an offer should be considered
- Three types of offers, and pros and cons of each of them
- The type of offer that’s similar to audit reconsideration
- What form you need to fill out to submit a Doubt-as-to-Liability offer
- The difference between a lump sum and a deferred offer
- The 8-step offer in compromise process
- IRS terminology
- How to charge for an initial consultation and how to explain to the clients why it’s beneficial
- Who is eligible for an offer
- Considerations as to what impacts the strategy to use when designing and offer
- What being in compliance means
- What the formula and components of reasonable collection potential (RCP) are
- What the difference between allowable and actual expenses are
- What the IRS can make a client do and what they can’t
- How to answer client questions about what the IRS might make them do
- What loose ends need to be cleaned up when dealing with current financials
- How to create a cash flow statement for offer purposes
- What the national standards are for allowable expenses
- A key strategy in determining RCP
- What an Effective Tax Administration Offer is and when it’s appropriate
- What is the Doubt as to Collections with Special Circumstances Offer is and when to use it
- How to handle allocations when only one of the spouses is liable
- How to handle allocations in community property states
- 4 strategies to advise clients on the best approach to getting an offer accepted
- 4 things that causes an offer to be considered defaulted
- Strategies to consider when an offer is defaulted to try to keep it from defaulting
- What goes into the offer package
- How to bring it all together in 5 case studies for various client situations
