How it works
How tax resolution actually works, start to finish.
Tax resolution runs in two phases. Phase one establishes the facts: a consultation, then IRS transcripts and account records pulled under your authorization, then an analysis of which programs your verified numbers actually support. Phase two puts the chosen strategy into effect: preparing and submitting the case, representing you with the taxing authority, confirming the resolution, and keeping you compliant afterward.
Nothing is filed on your behalf until you have seen what we found and approved what we recommend. You decide, every time.
On this page
Jump to the part you need. Select any heading below and the page scrolls straight to it.
The shape of it
Two phases. Facts first, then action.
The order matters more than anything else here. Most cases that go wrong went wrong because someone chose a program before checking what the taxing authority actually shows on the account.
Phase one
Establishing where you stand
A conversation, then the records, then an honest analysis of which routes your numbers support. Nothing is filed during this phase.
- Consultation — what has happened, and what you have already tried.
- Investigation — transcripts and account records, pulled with your authorization.
- Analysis — your eligibility modelled against each program.
- Review — we walk you through it, and you decide.
Phase two
Representation and resolution
Once you approve a strategy, the work shifts to executing it with the IRS or your state agency and holding the result.
- Preparation — the filings and disclosures your program requires, assembled correctly.
- Representation — communication and negotiation handled under your authorization.
- Resolution — the outcome brought back to you for sign-off.
- Compliance — the habits that keep the resolution from unravelling.
Phase one is diagnosis. Phase two is treatment. A firm that starts selling you a program before it has seen your transcripts is skipping the only step that tells anyone whether that program is possible.
Phase one
Finding out what is actually true.
Four stages, and nothing is filed in any of them. The purpose of this phase is to replace what you think is owed with what the taxing authority shows is owed — because those two numbers are rarely the same.
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Consultation
A confidential conversation about your situation as you understand it: the notices you have received, roughly what is owed, which years may be unfiled, whether a levy or garnishment is active, and what is worrying you most. Nothing here requires your records to be in order.
What you get: an honest read on whether representation is likely to be worth its cost in your case. Sometimes the answer is that it is not.
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Investigation
With a signed Form 2848 authorization, the responsible professional obtains your IRS account transcripts and records. That establishes assessed balances by year and tax type, penalties and interest accrued, returns filed and missing, substitute returns filed on your behalf, active collection status, and the dates that govern your options.
Why this stage exists: it routinely changes the picture people arrive with — in both directions. Balances are often lower than feared, and deadlines are often closer.
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Analysis and strategy
Your verified figures are modelled against each resolution route: Offer in Compromise, installment agreement, partial-pay installments, Currently Not Collectible, penalty abatement, levy or lien relief. That means running the actual calculations — realizable asset equity, future income against allowable living expenses, and time remaining on the collection period.
The output: a short list of what is realistic for you, and a plain statement of what has been ruled out and why.
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Review and decide
Before anything is filed, we walk you through what the records show, what we recommend, what it requires from you, what it is likely to cost, how long it typically takes, and what happens if it is not accepted. Then you decide. No filing goes to the IRS on your behalf without your approval.
Your call: including the option to do nothing further, or to handle it yourself with what you now know.
Phase two
Putting the strategy into effect.
Once you approve a route, representation begins. From here the taxing authority's correspondence is directed to your representative, and the work is execution: filings prepared properly, positions argued, outcomes confirmed in writing.
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Case preparation and submission
The supporting documentation, financial disclosures, back returns and application forms your specific program requires are assembled and filed. Accuracy here is not administrative detail — incomplete financial statements and unsupported expense figures are among the most common reasons submissions are returned or rejected outright.
Typical work: preparing required prior-year returns, compiling income and expense documentation, completing collection information statements.
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Representation with the taxing authority
Your authorized representative handles agreed communication with the IRS or state agency, responds to requests for further information, and argues the positions supporting your case. Most people never speak to a revenue officer during this stage, though certain examinations or interviews may still involve you directly.
What changes for you: the calls and correspondence route through your representative instead of arriving at your kitchen table unannounced.
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Resolution and sign-off
When the taxing authority responds, the proposed outcome comes back to you before anything is accepted: the terms, the payment amount if there is one, the compliance conditions attached, and what happens if circumstances change. If a determination is unfavourable, appeal or reconsideration routes are explained at the same time.
Your call again: you have the last word on what is accepted on your behalf.
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Compliance and aftercare
A resolution holds only while you stay compliant. Most accepted offers carry a multi-year compliance condition, and installment agreements default if a later year goes unfiled or unpaid. This stage is about the practical mechanics: withholding adjusted, estimated payments set correctly, filing deadlines calendared.
Why it matters: a defaulted agreement can reinstate the original balance with collection resuming from where it left off.
Throughout both phases
What stays true from first call to last.
These are not promises about outcomes. They are descriptions of how the work is run, and you can hold us to them.
You know who has your file
You are told which professional is responsible for your matter and under what credential. Representation before the IRS is provided by our tax professionals under a signed engagement and a Form 2848 authorization.
Updates at every milestone
You hear what stage the matter is at, what we are waiting on, and what happens next. If something is not going the way we expected, you hear that from us first rather than finding out from a notice.
Correspondence routes through us
While a valid authorization is on file, routine IRS communication is directed to your representative. There are exceptions — certain examinations and interviews can still involve you, and you may always choose to participate.
Honest expectations
Realistic timelines, realistic eligibility, and a realistic range of outcomes. Where something depends on facts we do not yet have, we say so rather than guessing on your behalf.
Timing
How long each part usually takes.
Timelines vary with the route, the agency's processing times and how quickly documents come back. The ranges below are typical rather than promised, and your own estimate is given once the transcripts are in.
| Stage | Typical range | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation and authorization | Same day to a few days | How quickly the engagement and Form 2848 are signed and returned. |
| Transcript investigation | Days to a few weeks | IRS system availability and the number of years and entities involved. |
| Urgent levy or garnishment relief | Days to weeks | How fast hardship documentation is produced, and whether an arrangement can be established. |
| Filing back returns | Weeks | How many years are required and whether income records must be reconstructed. |
| Installment agreement | Weeks to a few months | Balance size, and whether financial disclosure is required at that level. |
| Offer in Compromise | Several months, sometimes beyond a year | IRS processing queues, requests for further information, and whether an appeal follows. |
Your side of it
What we need from you, and when.
Not all at once, and not before it is needed. The first conversation requires nothing but what you already know. Everything below is requested at the stage it becomes relevant.
Please do not send Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or document copies through the website form. Sensitive information is collected later through a secure portal, never as an email attachment.
- Any notices you have received — keep the envelope and the letter. The number in the corner identifies exactly which notice it is.
- A rough sense of which years are unfiled — an estimate is fine. Transcripts confirm it.
- Whether collection is active — a wage garnishment, a bank levy, or a filed lien changes what happens first.
- A signed engagement letter and Form 2848 — this is what allows anyone to obtain your records or speak to the IRS for you.
- Income and expense documentation — needed only for routes requiring financial disclosure, at the stage that route is chosen.
- Records for unfiled years — often reconstructable from wage and income transcripts if you no longer have them.
Boundaries
What this process will not include.
Anyone can describe a process. What tells you more is what a firm rules out — so here is what you will not get from ours.
- No guaranteed outcome. Eligibility is determined by the taxing authority from your facts. Any firm promising a specific reduction before seeing your transcripts is describing a sales target, not a result.
- No "pennies on the dollar" pitch. An Offer in Compromise is arithmetic, not advocacy. If the calculation does not support one, we will tell you instead of charging for a submission unlikely to be accepted.
- No filing without your approval. Nothing is submitted on your behalf until you have seen it and said yes.
- No claim that contacting us stops collection. A call or a form has no legal effect on your account. Only specific actions taken with the taxing authority affect collection.
- No legal advice or representation in court. Delta Tax Group is a tax-resolution company, not a law firm. Where a matter needs an attorney, we say so.
Questions about the process
What people ask before they start.
How long does the whole process take?
It depends almost entirely on the route. A levy release can move in days. An installment agreement is often weeks. An Offer in Compromise is typically months and can run past a year once IRS processing queues, information requests and any appeal are accounted for. Filing several years of back returns adds time at the front. You get an estimated range for your specific path once the transcripts are reviewed, and an update if it changes.
Will I have to talk to the IRS myself?
Usually not. Once a valid Form 2848 is on file, routine communication is directed to your representative. There are exceptions: certain examinations or interviews may involve you, and you can always choose to participate. Being represented does not remove you from your own case — it means you are not the one improvising answers on a recorded call.
What documents do I need to provide?
To start, nothing. The first conversation runs on what you already know. After that: any notices you have, a signed engagement letter and Form 2848, and — only for routes requiring financial disclosure — income and expense documentation. If records for unfiled years are gone, they can often be reconstructed from wage and income transcripts.
Can the IRS keep collecting while my case is being worked?
Sometimes, yes. Hiring representation does not automatically freeze collection. Certain actions do affect it — requesting a hold while a resolution is evaluated, submitting a request that suspends collection while pending, or obtaining a levy release. Whether any of those apply depends on your case, and you will be told plainly rather than left to assume you are protected.
What if I do not qualify for the program I wanted?
You find that out in phase one, before money is spent pursuing it. That is the point of running the calculations first. Most people who do not qualify for an Offer in Compromise have a realistic alternative — frequently a partial-pay installment agreement or Currently Not Collectible status, both of which are often better outcomes than a rejected offer.
What happens after my resolution is approved?
Compliance becomes the job. Accepted offers typically carry a multi-year condition requiring you to file and pay on time, and installment agreements default if a later year goes unfiled or unpaid. A default can reinstate the original balance with collection resuming. The aftercare stage exists to set withholding, estimated payments and filing deadlines so that does not happen.
Can I do this myself?
Yes, and for straightforward matters many people should. A single recent year with a manageable balance and a simple payment plan does not need a representative, and the IRS publishes its programs and forms at IRS.gov. Representation earns its cost when the financial analysis is complex, when multiple years or entities are involved, when collection is active, or when what you say can change the outcome.
What does the process cost?
Fees depend on scope: how many years are involved, whether returns need preparing, whether the matter is federal, state or both, and which resolution is pursued. Scope and fee are set out in writing before any work begins, along with what is not included.
These answers are general information, not tax or legal advice for your situation, and program rules change. Primary sources: IRS.gov and your state taxing authority. Please do your own research to verify the accuracy of content on our website.
Phase one starts with a conversation.
Tell us what has happened so far. You will get an honest read on what the records are likely to show, what it would take to resolve, and whether representation is worth its cost in your case.
Request a confidential consultation Call (747) 666-1561
Confidential. No guaranteed outcome — eligibility for any resolution program depends on the facts of your case and is determined by the taxing authority.