Professional Financial Review

Understanding Your Full Picture

Before any tax resolution strategy can be properly evaluated, there must be a clear and accurate understanding of the taxpayer’s complete financial situation and the full scope of their tax liabilities. Many taxpayers do not have a precise picture of how much they owe, which years are affected, what penalties and interest have accrued, or what the IRS’s internal records show about their account.

Our Professional Financial Review is a non-representation service designed to provide exactly this clarity. We gather and analyze the information needed to assess your situation objectively and advise you on the resolution options that are realistically available — before you commit to a full representation engagement.

Pulling Your Tax Transcripts

The first step in the financial review is obtaining your IRS account transcripts and wage and income transcripts. These records reveal the IRS’s view of your tax account — including assessments, payments, penalties, interest, and collection activity. They also show whether any returns are missing, what income has been reported to the IRS by third parties, and the remaining time on the collection statute for each tax year.

These transcripts often contain critical information that is not reflected in the notices taxpayers receive. Understanding the IRS’s internal records is essential to developing an informed resolution strategy and avoiding costly missteps.

Forms 433-F, 433-A & 433-B

A critical component of the financial review is the preparation of IRS financial disclosure forms. Form 433-F is the streamlined collection information statement used for many installment agreement requests. Form 433-A provides a more detailed individual financial disclosure, and Form 433-B covers business assets, income, and expenses. The appropriate form depends on the nature and amount of the liability and the resolution path being considered.

We work with you to compile all necessary financial information — bank statements, pay stubs, mortgage statements, vehicle values, investment accounts, and monthly living expenses — and prepare these forms with the precision and completeness required by the IRS. This financial picture forms the foundation for evaluating whether you qualify for an offer in compromise, what installment payment you can sustain, or whether currently-not-collectible status may be appropriate.

Evaluating Your Options

Once we have a complete picture of your tax liabilities and financial position, we conduct a thorough analysis of the resolution options available to you. This includes calculating your reasonable collection potential to determine OIC viability, analyzing your income against allowable expenses for installment agreement purposes, reviewing penalty abatement eligibility, and assessing the collection statute expiration dates for each tax period.

This analysis is conducted with the same rigor we apply to our full representation cases. The difference is that the financial review provides you with an independent assessment and a clear recommendation before you make any commitment. You will understand not only what options are available but which option gives you the best outcome based on your specific circumstances.

One-Hour Consultation

The financial review concludes with a one-hour consultation in which we present our findings and recommendations. We walk you through your IRS records, explain the financial analysis, and discuss each available resolution option in detail — including the realistic timeline, cost, likelihood of success, and long-term implications of each path.

This consultation is designed to empower you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about how to proceed. Whether you choose to engage our firm for full representation, work with another professional, or pursue a resolution on your own, you will leave the consultation with a clear understanding of your situation and a concrete plan of action.

For clients who do retain us for full representation following the financial review, the work product from the review — the transcripts, financial forms, and analysis — carries directly into the resolution process, ensuring no time or effort is wasted.