Civil Tax Litigation
If you are like most of our civil tax litigation clients, you are a good citizen that needs an attorney to help you get out of a horrible situation. You want your life back.
You have probably been unfairly targeted by the IRS. You might have used a tax plan . . . and later learned that the IRS classifies it as a fraudulent tax shelter. You might have been unable to pay your taxes for a period of time because of a serious medical problem. Or, maybe you lost your job and had to decide between feeding your family or the government. You could have gotten so overwhelmed with the enormous amount that the IRS is demanding that you simply gave up for a while. In addition, you might have been too embarrassed to ask your friends or family for advice or help.
Civil Tax Litigation: Keeping It “Civil”
At the Rain Minns Law Firm, our first priority is to work to keep a civil tax matter from turning into a criminal tax “persecution.” Freedom is priceless. When a tax matter becomes criminal, you are facing the possibility of becoming a felon in federal prison. To learn more about criminal tax prosecution, see criminal tax evasion/fraud. Typically, the sooner the tax matter is cleared up, less chance you have of criminal tax prosecution.
Civil Tax Litigation: Pre-Court Solutions
When your freedom is not at stake, the Rain Minns Law Firm will focus on keeping your money in your pocket. Court can be expensive and time consuming. And, for civil tax issues, it is often unnecessary. Depending upon your circumstances, there are a number of legal strategies to resolve your tax dispute without engaging in civil tax litigation (i.e. going to court). These are a few examples:
- Payment installation plan
- Offer-in-compromise tax settlement
- Negotiate a reduced tax
- Need-based short term tax deferral
- Innocent spouse relief
- Interest and penalty abatement
Civil Tax Litigation: When Court is Necessary
If they are handled quickly and properly, most civil tax issues can be resolved even before the litigation process, which means that you keep more of your own money rather than paying it to the IRS (in the form of penalties and interest) or attorneys’ fees. If the IRS is not willing to be reasonable, you may need to seek justice in court. When that happens, there are four different courts where federal civil tax litigation occurs: U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. District Court, and Federal Claims Court.
If you think you might need legal representation in a tax matter, contact us.