Questions about tax problems

Open it, find the response date and keep the envelope. Then call. Most letters have a deadline, and some protect rights you can't get back once it passes.

Almost never. The great majority of tax problems are civil: money, penalties and paperwork. If anything in your situation worries you on that score, say so in our first meeting, which is confidential.

No. With a power of attorney, I take over the calls, letters and meetings.

Coming forward on your own is far better than waiting to be found. We file the missing years, usually the last six, and then deal with what's owed.

Penalties often can be. The tax itself only through an offer in compromise, when your finances show you can't pay it in full. I'll tell you which is realistic.

It's rare. A lien can attach to property, but taking a home you live in needs a court's approval, and the IRS seldom pursues a car you need for work.

If you signed a joint return, usually yes, but there are forms of relief for a spouse who didn't know, or who is now separated or divorced.

State tax agencies follow their own rules. I look at state notices alongside federal ones, so the plans fit together.

After a first meeting you get a written quote. Most matters are a set fee for each stage; you'll know the next stage's fee before it starts.

No. We can meet at the office on L Street, by phone or on video, and sign everything electronically.