Tax Lawyer In Troy, MI

Troy tax problems split into two patterns that look almost nothing alike. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution sees corporate professionals from the Big Beaver corridor with equity compensation surprises, severance under-withholding, and multi-state allocation issues; and closely-held business owners across Troy facing 941 payroll tax debt, Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessments, and multi-year audits. Both audiences need both credentials (JD for the legal strategy, CPA for the disclosure accuracy), and we treat them as primary audiences rather than tacking one onto the other.

For Troy corporate professionals:

Equity compensation under-reporting. RSU vesting bumps push you into a higher bracket the year they hit, ESPP discounts create dual-basis tracking problems, and ISO exercises can trigger Alternative Minimum Tax exposure that doesn’t show up until the IRS sends a notice 18 months later. The IRS gets your equity comp data directly from your employer’s Form 3921 (ISO exercises) and Form 3922 (ESPP transfers), so under-reporting is one of the easier deficiencies for the IRS to identify and pursue.

Multi-state tax allocation issues. Troy professionals often work hybrid for employers headquartered in Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois, or for Michigan employers who allocate income across multiple states. Reciprocal-state rules, day-counting requirements, and apportionment formulas trip up most off-the-shelf tax software. The IRS state-allocation notice rate is meaningfully higher for these returns than for simple in-state filings.

Audit defense for high-income returns. The IRS audits high-income returns at multiples of the median rate. For Troy filers with executive compensation, business income, or substantial passive activity, we represent you at the examination and escalate unreasonable assessments to the IRS Office of Appeals.

For Troy closely-held business owners:

Unpaid 941 payroll tax. This is the case type that hurts most. Unpaid 941 carries personal liability for owners, officers, and bookkeepers through the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP). The IRS can pierce the corporate veil and pursue you individually even if the business has closed. We defend TFRP assessments and negotiate business installment agreements that keep the company operating.

Sales tax exposure. Michigan sales tax problems run through the Department of Treasury rather than the IRS, but the state’s enforcement is aggressive (license suspensions, refund interception, expedited liens). Restaurant, retail, and service businesses are the typical Troy clients here.

Mixed personal-business finances. Common in family-owned businesses where the line between personal and business accounts blurred over time. The clean-up is part accounting (CPA work) and part legal strategy (attorney work), which is where having both credentials at one firm matters.

Multi-year audits of business returns. Schedule C, Schedule E, and pass-through K-1 returns get more IRS attention than W-2-only returns. We handle the audit, not your accountant or your office manager.

What separates Austin & Larson Tax Resolution from the typical Troy SERP option is having a tax attorney and a CPA working the same case at the same firm. National chains staff Enrolled Agents and refer legal issues out. Local solo attorneys outsource the numbers. CPA-only firms can’t represent you in U.S. Tax Court. For Troy’s bimodal audience (corporate professionals on one side, closely-held business owners on the other), both credentials matter on both kinds of cases.

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 and lets attorney-client privilege protect sensitive conversations (which matters for TFRP exposure, possible fraud penalty risk, or unfiled returns going back years). The EA gives her unlimited representation rights before the IRS on collection, audit, and appeals matters.

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 matters for Troy corporate professionals with equity comp basis problems and for Troy business owners with mixed personal-business finances that need to be cleaned up before any resolution path can be opened.

Both credentials on the same case. Most tax resolution firms staff one credential or the other. Routing your case across two firms (an attorney for the legal side, a CPA for the accounting side) adds review cycles, creates information silos, and slows everything down. Same firm, same case, same data room. For complex Troy cases especially, this is the practical difference.

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.

Hiring a tax lawyer instead of negotiating with the IRS directly usually produces a better outcome for one simple reason: the IRS uses standard procedures, deadlines, and disclosure forms that reward technical accuracy and punish error. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution handles Troy cases knowing where the IRS will push, what arguments hold up, and which financial disclosure choices change the math. Most self-represented taxpayers end up paying more, agreeing to terms they didn’t have to accept, or extending the Collection Statute without realizing it.

The information asymmetry is the core problem.

The IRS Revenue Officer or Settlement Officer on the other end of your case handles tax cases full-time. You don’t. Most first-time Troy clients don’t know that:

• Form 433-A allows certain expenses and disallows others on rigid national and local standards, so listing your actual expenses (rather than the IRS-allowed amounts) almost guarantees rejection.
• Calling the IRS without representation puts everything you say into the case file, including statements that can open additional tax years to examination or accidentally extend the Collection Statute Expiration Date.
• The IRS sometimes proposes balances that don’t survive a transcript review, so paying a notice as billed is sometimes the worst response.
• Penalty abatement requires the right legal theory (first-time, reasonable cause, statutory exception) framed against IRS guidelines, not a general “please remove this” request.

What changes when a tax attorney is on the file.

Power of Attorney filing (Form 2848) shifts every IRS conversation to your representative. Collection calls stop. Notices route to us. We pull your full IRS account transcripts before negotiating, which usually surfaces errors, misapplied payments, or assessments past the Collection Statute that you’d never have known to challenge. For Troy corporate professionals, we recalculate equity compensation basis the way the IRS expects to see it. For Troy business owners, we structure the 433-B disclosure to support an Installment Agreement the company can actually pay.

The financial gap is usually meaningful.

Unrepresented taxpayers typically pay more than they would with skilled counsel, on top of the penalties and interest that accrue while the case sits. For a Troy client with a five-figure or six-figure tax balance, the gap between a self-negotiated outcome and a represented one is almost always larger than what representation costs.

I just received an IRS notice in Troy. What should I do first?

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) and some give 90 days (Notice of Deficiency, which starts the Tax Court window). 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 within 24 hours of retention.

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 documentation. 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 Troy tax lawyer stop wage garnishment?

Yes, a Tax Lawyer In Troy, 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 Troy client was facing a missed mortgage, payroll, or tuition payment. Call the moment you receive the levy notice.

Can a Troy tax lawyer help with RSU, ESPP, or stock option tax problems?

Yes, equity compensation problems are one of the most common case types we see from Troy’s corporate professional audience. RSU vesting in a high-income year can push you into a higher bracket retroactively, ESPP discounts create dual-basis tracking problems that often produce IRS notices a year or more after the sale, and ISO exercises can trigger Alternative Minimum Tax exposure that surprises the filer. The IRS receives equity comp data directly from your employer (Form 3921 for ISOs, Form 3922 for ESPP), which makes under-reporting easy for the IRS to identify. Austin & Larson Tax Resolution rebuilds the basis tracking, negotiates the resulting balance, and pursues penalty abatement where the law allows.

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

No, Austin & Larson Tax Resolution does not have a physical office in Troy. Our four Michigan offices are Brighton, Saginaw, Lansing, and Ann Arbor. The nearest to Troy is Brighton, about 45 to 50 minutes west by car via I-696 and I-96. Most Troy 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, particularly for complex cases. 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 Troy tax lawyer help with Michigan state tax debt, not just IRS problems?

Yes, a Tax Lawyer In Troy, 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 Troy tax attorney pulls your IRS account transcripts and tells you the exact expiration date for each year you owe.