Although you should contact a tax attorney as soon as you receive ANY contact from the IRS, it is vitally important that you CALL A TAX ATTORNEY AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE, A NOTICE OF LIEN, A NOTICE OF LEVY, A NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY, A NOTICE OF CHANGE IN YOUR ACCOUNT, A NOTICE OF AUDIT. All of these notices have time sensitive remedies that must be dealt with immediately to avoid losing your rights and defenses under the law!
Time is of the essence when dealing with the IRS more so than in any other legal issue. Not only will your penalties and interest increase, but many of your legitimate defenses and options become more difficult to persue. When you get a proposed adjustment to your taxes, you have a limited time to file a legal memorandum called an abatement letter. If this time passes, you will get a decision by the IRS and you will have a limited time to file for an appeals conference with accompanying legal memorandum. If this time passes without action, you will receive a “Deficiency Notice”. Time again moves rapidly forward, this time toward Tax Court or final assessment. If you do not take action quickly, the IRS’s decision may become final. All of this is true even if you are completely in the right, you don’t owe anything, and the IRS is wrong.