Tax Lawyer In Royal Oak, MI

The first 72 hours after an IRS notice arrives are about not making the situation worse. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution tells every Royal Oak client the same thing: don’t ignore it, don’t call the IRS yourself, don’t pay anything blindly, and don’t sign anything without a representative reviewing it. Then we pull your IRS transcripts, file Power of Attorney (Form 2848), and put a real plan in place before the next deadline runs.

Most Royal Oak IRS notices give you 30 days to respond. Some give 90 (a Notice of Deficiency starts the 90-day Tax Court window). A few give 10 days (Letter 1058 / LT11, final notice of intent to levy). Missing a deadline almost always makes the case worse, sometimes irreversibly. Here’s the order of operations:

Step 1: Don’t ignore it

Notices that get filed in a drawer become wage garnishments, bank levies, and federal tax liens. The IRS computer system is automated. It will keep escalating until somebody intervenes.

Step 2: Don’t call the IRS yourself

When you call the IRS, anything you say goes into the case file. Most people calling for the first time don’t know which questions are dangerous to answer. Common mistakes include volunteering information that opens new tax years to examination, agreeing to payment terms that aren’t sustainable, and accidentally extending the Collection Statute Expiration Date.

Step 3: Don’t pay anything blindly

Some notices ask for a payment that wouldn’t survive a transcript review. The IRS makes errors, and paying a bill in full is sometimes the worst response.

Step 4: Pull your IRS account transcripts

Account Transcripts, Records of Account, and Wage & Income Transcripts for every year you owe. We pull these for every Royal Oak client at the start of the engagement. They almost always reveal something the client didn’t know was on file.

Step 5: File Power of Attorney

Form 2848 goes to the IRS within 24 hours of retention. From that moment, the IRS contacts us, not you.

Step 6: Build a real plan

Once we know what’s on the transcripts, we pick the resolution path that costs you the least and start the negotiation.

Royal Oak tax problems look different from the suburbs further north. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution sees more freelancers and gig workers with self-employment tax problems, more small business owners with 941 payroll tax debt, more dual-income households where one spouse’s 1099 income blew up the joint return, and more first-time IRS problem havers who’d never opened a CP2000 notice before. The case patterns below are what Royal Oak actually looks like in our practice.

Self-employment tax deficiencies

 This is the most common Royal Oak case we see, and most clients are surprised by how exposed they are. When you earn 1099 income, the payer files a 1099-NEC or 1099-K with the IRS. The IRS computer matches that against your Schedule SE filing. If you didn’t pay self-employment tax on the income, or paid it on less than the third-party data shows, the IRS can prove the deficiency without you saying a word. Schedule SE deficiencies are among the easiest cases the IRS works because they’re built entirely from data the IRS already has. A W-2 audit needs to evaluate deductions, basis, and business purpose. A Schedule SE deficiency just needs a calculator.

Missed quarterly estimated tax payments

Self-employed Royal Oak residents are supposed to pay estimated tax quarterly. Most don’t, or pay too little, and the underpayment penalty plus the year-end balance creates a cash flow problem at filing time. We negotiate the resulting balance, file penalty abatement where the law allows, and set up an Installment Agreement when the year-end number can’t be paid in full.

CP2000 underreporter notices

The IRS sends a CP2000 when third-party data (1099s, brokerage 1099-B, bank interest 1099-INT, retirement distributions 1099-R) doesn’t match the return as filed. Royal Oak residents with multiple income streams (W-2 plus side gigs, or 1099-K from food delivery and rideshare on top of a regular job) get these often. Most CP2000 notices can be negotiated down significantly if responded to properly, and most should not be paid as billed.

Unpaid 941 payroll tax for small businesses

Royal Oak’s food, beverage, and small retail concentration produces real 941 problems. Unpaid 941 carries personal liability for owners, officers, and bookkeepers through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. The IRS can come after you individually even if the business closes. We defend TFRP assessments and negotiate business installment agreements that keep the company operating.

Joint returns where one spouse created the debt

Common in Royal Oak’s dual-income households. If your spouse’s self-employment income or under-withholding created the tax debt and you didn’t know, you may qualify for Innocent Spouse Relief and not be liable for the resulting balance.

Wage garnishments and bank levies already in progress

When the IRS is already taking money, we file for immediate release. Typical release timeline is 24 to 72 hours after Power of Attorney is filed.

When you hire Austin & Larson Tax Resolution, two practitioners work your file: Bridgette Austin, JD, EA (Vice President) and Dustin Larson, EA, CPA. The pairing matters for Royal Oak cases because tax law and accounting are different jobs, and most resolution firms staff one or the other. Solo tax attorneys outsource the numbers. CPA-only firms can’t represent you in Tax Court if a case escalates. We do both in-house.

Bridgette Austin, JD, EA, Vice President. Bridgette is a licensed attorney and IRS Enrolled Agent. The JD lets her represent clients in U.S. Tax Court when a case can’t be resolved administratively. The EA designation means she has unlimited representation rights before the IRS on collection, audit, and appeals matters. For Royal Oak clients with TFRP exposure, possible fraud penalty risk, or unfiled returns going back years, the attorney credential and attorney-client privilege matter from the first call.

Dustin Larson, EA, CPA. Dustin holds the IRS Enrolled Agent credential and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. He came up through the accounting program at Ferris State University before moving into tax resolution. The CPA credential brings the precision the IRS financial disclosures require, which is where most Offers in Compromise actually live or die. For Royal Oak’s self-employed and small business clients, having a CPA build the Schedule C reconstruction and the 433-A financials is a meaningful advantage.

Same people start to finish. The attorney and accountant you meet at the consultation work your file until the IRS issues written closure. No hand-off to junior staff after the contract signs. The credentials you hired are the credentials doing the work.

Federal IRS and Michigan state under one engagement. Most national chains handle IRS cases only and refer Michigan Department of Treasury problems to a separate firm. We handle both authorities in parallel, with one project plan, which is faster and less duplicative.

I just got an IRS notice. What should I do first in Royal Oak?

Don’t ignore it, don’t call the IRS yourself, don’t pay anything blindly, and don’t sign anything without representation. Most IRS notices give you 30 days to respond. Some give 10 days (Letter 1058 / LT11, final notice of intent to levy). Missing the deadline usually makes the case worse. The right first move is to pull your IRS account transcripts to see what’s actually on file, then file Power of Attorney so the IRS contacts your representative instead of you. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution handles both in the first 24 hours of every Royal Oak engagement.

How long does it take to resolve IRS tax debt?

Resolution timelines range from 60 days to 12 months, depending on the path. A straightforward Installment Agreement can be set up in two to three months. Currently Not Collectible status takes 60 to 90 days once financial disclosures are filed. An Offer in Compromise typically takes 6 to 9 months for IRS review, sometimes longer if the IRS requests additional information. The IRS pauses most collection action once your representative files Form 2848, so the financial pressure usually lifts within the first 30 days, well before the case is fully resolved.

Can a Royal Oak tax lawyer stop wage garnishment?

Yes, a Tax Lawyer In Royal Oak, MI can typically stop IRS wage garnishment within 24 to 72 hours. The process: your attorney files Power of Attorney (Form 2848), contacts the IRS levy unit, demonstrates that the garnishment causes financial hardship under IRS standards, and proposes an alternative resolution such as an Installment Agreement or CNC status. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution has handled emergency levy releases the same business day when a Royal Oak client was about to miss rent, payroll, or a mortgage payment. Call the moment you receive the levy notice.

Are self-employed Royal Oak residents more likely to get audited?

Yes, self-employed filers face higher audit and notice exposure than W-2-only filers, in part because Schedule SE deficiencies are easy for the IRS to identify. When you earn 1099 income, the payer files third-party documentation with the IRS, and the IRS computer matches that against your Schedule SE. If the numbers don’t match, you’ll get a CP2000 notice or a full examination, sometimes years after the return was filed. The IRS doesn’t need to evaluate your deductions to prove an SE deficiency. It just needs a calculator and the 1099 data already on file.

Does Austin & Larson Tax Resolution have a Royal Oak, MI office?

No, Austin & Larson Tax Resolution does not have a physical office in Royal Oak. Our four Michigan offices are Brighton, Saginaw, Lansing, and Ann Arbor. The nearest to Royal Oak is Brighton, about 45 minutes west by car via I-696 and I-96. Most Royal Oak clients work with us fully remotely because tax resolution is document-heavy and time-sensitive, and same-day digital exchange usually beats scheduled in-person meetings. Some clients drive out for an initial consultation. We represent Michigan clients regardless of where you physically meet.

What happens if I haven’t filed tax returns in years?

You’ll need to file before the IRS will negotiate. No resolution path (Offer in Compromise, Installment Agreement, CNC) is available to a non-filer. The IRS sometimes files a Substitute for Return on your behalf, which is almost always worse than what you’d file yourself (no deductions, married-filing-separately rates, no credits). Austin & Larson Tax Resolution prepares the back returns first, gets you into compliance, then opens the resolution conversation. Six years of unfiled returns is the typical IRS minimum to come into compliance.

Can a Royal Oak tax lawyer help with Michigan state tax debt, not just IRS problems?

Yes, a Tax Lawyer In Royal Oak, MI handles Michigan Department of Treasury cases alongside federal IRS problems. State collection in Michigan can be more aggressive than federal in some respects. The state can intercept your refund, suspend professional and driver licenses for unpaid tax debt, and place liens on Michigan property faster than the IRS in many cases. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution files Michigan Form 151 (the state Power of Attorney), negotiates payment plans with the Treasury’s Collections Bureau, and pursues Offer in Compromise equivalents under Michigan tax law. Most clients owe both authorities.

Does the IRS just forgive old tax debt automatically?

The IRS does not forgive tax debt automatically, but tax debt does expire. Each tax year carries a 10-year Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). After 10 years from the date the tax was assessed, the IRS can no longer collect on that year. Certain events pause the clock: bankruptcy filings, Offers in Compromise under review, certain appeals, and time out of the country. A Royal Oak tax attorney pulls your IRS account transcripts and tells you the exact expiration date for each year you owe.