How it works
Four steps, in the same order every time. You know the price before each one begins and what you will hear from us while it runs.
1. Diagnostic
$1,697credited to your case
About two weeks. Most of it is waiting for the IRS to process the authorization.
What happens
- Signed Form 8821 and 2848 so we can speak to the IRS for you
- Full transcript pull: account, wage and income, and return transcripts for every open year
- Collection statute and assessment statute check for every balance
- Review of any notices, liens, levies, and prior agreements
- A written plan: what has to be filed, every collection alternative you qualify for, ranked, and the fixed fee for each
What you get
A written plan. It lists every year that has to be filed, every collection alternative you qualify for, ranked by outcome, and the fixed fee for each. It also says what we think the IRS will accept and why. Sometimes the plan is "you qualify for hardship status, there is nothing more to pay us." We write that one too.
2. Compliance
$997per individual year
The IRS will not negotiate a balance with someone who is not current. This step gets you current.
What happens
The transcripts tell us which years the IRS is actually waiting on. Where the IRS filed a substitute return for you, we usually replace it, because substitute returns give you no deductions and inflate the balance. Where a year is past the refund statute and the IRS has not assessed, we tell you whether it is worth filing at all.
What you hear from us
A short document list, a draft of each return to review, and confirmation when each one is accepted.
3. Resolution
flatquoted in the plan
The option you chose, submitted and carried through to acceptance.
What happens
For an installment agreement, we negotiate terms and set up direct debit. For a partial-pay agreement, hardship status, or an Offer, we build and document your financial statement, calculate what the IRS can reasonably collect, and submit. Then we handle every follow-up request, every call, every letter.
What you hear from us
A note at each milestone: submitted, assigned, information requested, accepted. If the IRS pushes back, you hear about it the same day with our recommendation.
4. Stay on course
$29per month, optional
Agreements default for small reasons. Someone should be watching.
What happens
- Monthly transcript check on every year and balance
- Alert when a new notice, balance change, or compliance flag appears
- Annual reminder before the IRS reviews your agreement
- Priority scheduling if a new problem shows up
If you are self-employed, the single biggest risk to your agreement is a missed estimated payment. Our sister practice, Thrive Tax Solutions, manages estimates and bookkeeping for business owners who want that handled for good.
Ready to find out where you actually stand?
Start the diagnostic. Two weeks from now you will have the transcripts, the statutes, and a plan with the price on it.
Process questions
- What is an IRS transcript and why does it matter?
- A transcript is the IRS record of your account: what was filed, what was assessed, every payment, penalty, and notice, and the statute dates. The letter you received is a summary. The transcript is the truth. We will not quote a case until we have read it.
- What is a collection statute, and why do you check it first?
- The IRS generally has ten years from assessment to collect a balance. Events like an Offer, a bankruptcy, or time outside the country extend it. Knowing exactly when each year expires changes the strategy. Sometimes the right move is a modest agreement that runs the clock out.
- Will I ever talk to the IRS myself?
- Not unless you want to. With a signed Form 2848 we are your representative. IRS notices get copied to us, and collection calls come to us.
- How long does a case take?
- A diagnostic takes about two weeks, most of it waiting for transcript access. An installment agreement can be in place within a month after that. An Offer in Compromise typically takes six to twelve months because the IRS has to review it. We tell you the expected timeline in the written plan.
- What do you need from me?
- Signed authorizations at the start, your side of the financial picture when we build a Form 433, and copies of any IRS mail you receive during the case. We give you a short list, not a shoebox request.