Michigan Best Tax Attorney

At Austin & Larson Tax Resolution, we excel in navigating intricate tax challenges across multiple jurisdictions. Our goal is to streamline the process and alleviate your stress. Whether you’re dealing with state tax issues in Michigan or facing IRS difficulties, our dedicated team is here to assist you, regardless of the extent of your tax debt. We are committed to offering cost-effective tax resolution solutions. Reach out to us today for a complimentary consultation and take your first step toward resolving your tax concerns.

The best tax attorney in Michigan for your case is the one who can do four things: verify as a licensed Michigan attorney, handle the IRS and the Michigan Department of Treasury as two separate collectors, protect what you tell them under attorney-client privilege, and put a flat fee in writing before any work begins. Most national “tax relief” companies that advertise in Michigan fail at least two of these. Here is how to check any firm you call.

Start with the license. A Michigan attorney has a P-number on file with the State Bar of Michigan, and you can look up any lawyer by name in the Bar’s public member directory in about a minute. Confirm two things: that the person is actually licensed, and that the licensed attorney, not a salesperson working on commission, is the one who will run your file.

Then ask who handles the State side. The IRS and the Michigan Department of Treasury are separate agencies with separate rules, separate payment plans, and separate collection clocks. A firm that only talks about the IRS will leave your Michigan balance to grow. More on that split below.

Ask what stays protected. When you tell a tax attorney about years of unfiled returns or income you never reported, attorney-client privilege generally keeps the government from forcing your representative to repeat it. A CPA or enrolled agent has only a narrow federal privilege that does not cover criminal matters. If there is any chance your case turns criminal, that difference is what protects you.

Last, get the fee in writing. A straight answer sounds like a flat number for a defined scope. A warning sign sounds like a large retainer collected before anyone has pulled your IRS transcripts or read your Treasury notices. Nobody can price a resolution they have not looked at yet.

Those four checks, license, dual-agency competence, privilege, and a written fee, are the fastest way to tell a real Michigan tax firm from a lead-generation ad.

In Michigan you can be chased by two tax collectors at once, and they do not play by the same rules. The IRS generally has ten years to collect a tax debt from the date it was assessed, and then it has to stop. That is the federal collection statute of limitations, 26 U.S.C. 6502. The State of Michigan has no equivalent hard deadline. The Michigan Department of Treasury can keep collecting a valid tax debt through liens, levies, and refund interception with no ten-year cliff, a fact that surprises most people who assume state debt expires the way federal debt does.

Michigan’s six-year civil-suit window (MCL 600.5813) limits when the state can take you to court, but the Michigan Court of Appeals confirmed in Nagle v. Department of Treasury that missing that window does not erase the debt or stop administrative collection. Partial payments and signed acknowledgments can even reset that six-year clock. In practice, a Michigan tax balance does not age out on its own the way an IRS balance can.

Michigan does run its own settlement program. A Michigan offer in compromise uses Form 5181 and qualifies on three grounds: doubt as to liability, doubt as to collectibility, or an offer the IRS already accepted on the same debt under Internal Revenue Code section 7122. It takes a down payment of $100 or 20% of your offer, whichever is greater, and interest and penalties keep running while Treasury reviews it. It is a separate filing from any federal offer, with its own math.

One current wrinkle worth knowing in 2026: Michigan moved its tax accounts onto a new platform (GenTax) and the rollout went badly. In spring 2026 the Department of Treasury sent roughly 27,000 incorrect “Notice of Adjustment” letters, refund delays ran into the summer, and Treasury officials were called in front of state lawmakers in June 2026. The practical takeaway: if you received a Michigan adjustment notice this year, do not assume the number is right, and do not assume it is wrong either. Get the account detail and check it before you pay or panic.

And if you are owed a refund while you carry a balance, the state can take it. Michigan applies refunds to what you owe, and a federal refund can be intercepted through the Treasury Offset Program. Being on a payment plan does not always stop an offset. Whether the IRS will take your refund on a payment plan is a separate question worth asking your representative directly.

Who is the best tax attorney in Michigan?

There is no single best tax attorney for everyone, and any firm that claims the title outright is selling, not answering. The best choice for your case is a licensed Michigan attorney who can handle both your IRS and your Michigan Treasury debt, protects your communications under attorney-client privilege, and quotes a flat fee in writing. Austin & Larson fits that description: a licensed tax attorney working alongside IRS enrolled agents and CPAs. Use the four checks earlier on this page to compare any firm you call.

Do I need a tax attorney, or is a CPA enough?

For a balance you can pay within a few years with no legal exposure, a CPA or an enrolled agent can usually handle it for less. Bring in an attorney when there is criminal risk, a Tax Court petition, a large or contested debt, or when privilege matters.

Will the State of Michigan ever stop trying to collect my tax debt?

Not on a fixed clock the way the IRS does. The IRS generally has ten years to collect and then must stop. Michigan has no hard collection deadline, so the Department of Treasury can keep collecting a valid debt through liens, levies, and refund offsets. That is why letting a Michigan balance sit and hoping it expires rarely works.

Can the IRS take my passport over tax debt?

Yes. If your federal tax debt is seriously delinquent, which for 2026 means more than $66,000 including penalties and interest, the IRS can certify it to the State Department, which can deny a passport application or revoke a current passport. Resolving the debt or getting it into a formal agreement reverses the certification.

I got a Michigan “Notice of Adjustment” in 2026. Is it real?

Maybe not. Michigan’s new GenTax system generated roughly 27,000 incorrect adjustment notices in spring 2026. Do not pay it on faith, and do not ignore it. Pull the account detail and confirm the number before you respond.

Can you handle both my IRS and my State of Michigan debt?

Yes. We work both together, because a plan that fixes only the federal side leaves the state balance growing. Call (866) 668-2953.