I am always so pleased when I am able to secure a positive result for a client!
The Washington Post recently enumerated the numerous political problems facing Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative (Department of Governmental Efficiency) like how it is grappling with bad public relations and is trying have its work seen as a win for the average citizen rather than as a callous and undisciplined attack on the country’s federal agencies. Read more » Almost everyone calls me in a panic after receiving a collections notice from the IRS threatening to levy on their bank account, attach their wages, or put a lien on their house. They all think it will happen immediately: “Please call me back ASAP because the IRS gave me a deadline of tomorrow/next week/10 days!!” Um, no. Chances are, you’ve got many months, if not years, until the IRS pursues aggressive collections action. Read more » It’s election season, so Congress is on my mind. Occasionally, I have called on my client’s Representative to get what I need from the IRS. And every time, the IRS has responded to the congressmember immediately, whereas I was often ignored for months. Why and when does this work? Read more » “I thought I discharged my back taxes in bankruptcy! But the IRS just took this year’s tax refund and applied it to a year that was discharged!” is something I hear all the time. Yes, the IRS can do this, and here’s why. The good news? You’ll get that refund back next year. Read more » Many of my tax clients come to me after being scammed by a “tax relief” firm. These bottom-feeding scammers simply take the money and then do nothing: don’t return phone calls or emails, don’t do any work. The tens of thousands of dollars they take from people seems only to be invested back into the marketing and sales machinery of these scam firms: buying more radio, television and google ads, and hiring more salespeople to sign up unsuspecting consumers. Here’s what to do when you’re hood-winked by one of these “Opti-con” tax “resolution” firms. Read more » People hire me because tax lawyers are like GPS for the IRS. Think you can navigate the steps in the Taxpayer Roadmap above on your own? Good luck! Looks like the subway map for NYC, right? How easy was it for you to find your way around the NYC subway system the first time you rode it? Even with a map, I’ll bet it was a challenge. The same is true of navigating the vast, intimidating bureaucracy of the IRS depicted above. Read more » Many thanks to my seatmate on a recent flight who posed this hypothetical question, worthy of a Harvard Law School Professor: if an artist sells her painting for $1 million, can she then paint an identical copy, donate it to a charity, and claim no income for the tax year, on the assumption that the value of the copy is $1 million (because that’s what she sold the original for)? The answer is “no.” Read more » As many of you may know, I hold a Certificate of Specialization in Bankruptcy Law and in a Certificate of Specialization in Tax Law from the State Bar of California. You probably also don’t see many California attorneys advertising this. That’s because fewer than five percent of lawyers in California have taken the exam and continuing legal education courses necessary to obtain this certificate. Read more » An Offer-in-Compromise is a contract between the IRS and a taxpayer to settle a tax debt for less than what is owed. I get lots of calls from folks excited at the prospect of being able to negotiate down what they owe IRS. And then I burst their bubble with the bad news: it is very hard to get an Offer in Compromise (OIC) from the IRS. Read more »Trump and DOGE Attack on the IRS
March 25, 2025How Threatening is the IRS Collections Notice I Just Received?
March 14, 2025When Can Your Congressmember Help with the IRS?
November 7, 2024Can the IRS Take Tax Refunds For Taxes Discharged in Bankruptcy?
September 12, 2024 Scammed by a Tax Relief Firm? What to Do
November 9, 2023Tax Lawyers Are GPS For the IRS
October 13, 2023Are There Limits to Tax-Deductibility of Fine Art Donations by Artist?
July 14, 2023 California State Bar Certificates of Specialization
July 7, 2023IRS Offer in Compromise Hard to Get in Santa Barbara County
June 24, 2023
Great Review from Ventura County
