Tax Relief & Resolution Services
Tax Relief & Resolution Services
Updated
Clarity Tax Relief is a full-service tax relief and resolution agency. Whatever the IRS is doing — a balance you can't pay, a wage garnishment, a frozen bank account, years of unfiled returns — there is a resolution path, and we'll find the one that fits your facts. Representation for taxpayers in all 50 states.
Where to start: every case begins with a free consultation. From there we investigate your full IRS file, then resolve it through the right program — a settlement, a payment plan, penalty relief, or hardship status. Not sure what you need? Start with a free review or call (888) 825-7779.
Not Sure Which Service You Need?
That's exactly what the free consultation is for. Tell us what the IRS sent you, and we'll tell you the path that fits — honestly, with no pressure and no obligation.
How does the tax relief process work?
Most tax-resolution work follows the same three phases. These are the engagements that move your case from "the IRS is after me" to "this is handled."
Tax Consultation
A free, no-pressure case review with an experienced tax professional who tells you straight what you're facing, and whether you even need us.
Learn more →Tax Investigation
With power of attorney on file, we pull your complete IRS record, confirm every balance and deadline, and step between you and collections.
Learn more →Tax Resolution
We negotiate the best outcome your facts support and set you up so the problem doesn't come back.
Learn more →Clarity Tax Shield
Ongoing protection that keeps you compliant and ahead of the IRS after your case is resolved.
Learn more →Which IRS notice or letter did you receive?
Every IRS notice carries its own deadline, and the deadline is usually the part that matters most. Find the number in the top right corner of the page in front of you.
CP14 Notice Help
The first bill on a balance. What it means, the 21-day window, and the options the IRS lists on the notice itself.
Learn more →CP504 Notice Help
The urgent-sounding notice that permits a state refund levy, and what it does not yet permit. Where it sits in the sequence.
Learn more →LT11 / Letter 1058 Help
The final notice before levy, and the 30-day hearing right that comes with it. Act on it here, not on the levy after.
Learn more →CP2000 Notice Help
An income mismatch, not an audit. How to check the third-party form behind it and respond before it becomes an assessment.
Learn more →Notice of Deficiency Help
The 90-day letter. Tax Court is the only place to contest it before paying, and the clock cannot be extended.
Learn more →CP523 Notice Help
A payment plan in default, with termination and levy proposed. The 30-day window to reinstate before the plan ends.
Learn more →CP71 Notice Help
The annual reminder that a balance is open, now carrying the passport warning. Why it keeps coming and what stops it.
Learn more →What if the IRS is already collecting?
Once enforcement starts, the useful question changes from what you owe to what can be stopped and how quickly. These pages cover what the IRS can take, and the rights that survive after it acts.
Asset Seizure Defense
What a levy can take, the 21-day bank hold, the continuous wage levy, and the two grounds the IRS gives for release.
Learn more →Collection Due Process Hearing
The one hearing that puts a proposed levy or a filed lien before Appeals before it stands. The 30-day rule and what to bring.
Learn more →Passport Revocation Help
Seriously delinquent tax debt is certified to the State Department. How certification lifts and what pauses it.
Learn more →What if the tax debt belongs to my business?
Business tax problems have a personal edge that surprises owners: unpaid payroll tax can be assessed against a person, and a classification decision can be reopened years later.
941 Payroll Tax Debt Help
Unpaid 941 balances, the trust fund exposure behind them, and what a business can set up while it keeps operating.
Learn more →Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Help
When the IRS assesses a business's withheld taxes personally against an owner or officer, and the defenses that exist.
Learn more →Worker Classification Audit Help
A classification audit reclassifies contractors as employees. The tests the IRS applies and the relief programs it runs.
Learn more →ERC Claim Resolution
An Employee Retention Credit claim under exam, disallowed, or one you now doubt. The IRS's withdrawal and correction paths.
Learn more →What if my IRS record is wrong or incomplete?
Sometimes the balance itself is the thing to fix, not the payment. These pages cover reading your own IRS record, correcting what is on it, and the options when the amount is real but out of reach.
IRS Back Taxes Help
Every option the IRS lists for a balance you cannot pay, with its stated limits, in the order that costs least.
Learn more →IRS Transcript Help
The four free transcripts, what each shows, and how the account transcript reveals what a notice leaves out.
Learn more →Partial Payment Installment Agreement
A monthly plan that does not pay the balance in full before the IRS's time to collect runs out. Who it fits.
Learn more →Tax Identity Theft Help
A rejected return or a CP2000 for income you never earned. Form 14039, the IP PIN, and cleaning the account up.
Learn more →Audit Reconsideration Help
Reopen an audit you missed or disagree with when you have new information. Who qualifies and how it is presented.
Learn more →California FTB Tax Resolution
California's Franchise Tax Board collects faster with fewer options. Its plan rules, its orders, and owing both agencies.
Learn more →Which IRS resolution program could fit my situation?
These are the specific IRS programs we use to actually resolve a balance. The right one depends entirely on your numbers — which is what the consultation and investigation determine. Heard the ads about the IRS Fresh Start program? That's an umbrella term for several of the options below — here's what it really is and who qualifies.
IRS Payment Plans
Affordable monthly installment agreements that stop the pressure and fit a budget you can actually live with.
Learn more →Penalty Abatement
Remove or reduce IRS penalties through first-time abatement or reasonable cause, often a big share of the balance.
Learn more →Wage Garnishment Release
Stop the IRS from taking part of your paycheck, often within days of getting power of attorney on file.
Learn more →Bank Levy Release
Move fast to free a frozen or levied bank account before the money is gone for good.
Learn more →Innocent Spouse Relief
Separate yourself from a tax debt your spouse or ex created so you're not paying for their mistakes.
Learn more →Currently Not Collectible
Pause IRS collections entirely when you genuinely can't pay anything right now, while you get back on your feet.
Learn more →Unfiled Tax Returns
Get years of unfiled returns caught up and back into compliance, with penalties minimized wherever possible.
Learn more →IRS Audit Representation
Facing an audit? We deal with the examiner for you, protect your rights, and work to keep the outcome as small as possible.
Learn more →Federal Tax Lien Help
Get an IRS tax lien withdrawn, released, discharged, or subordinated so it stops blocking your property and credit.
Learn more →Which free tax calculator should I run first?
Run the numbers before you spend a dollar. Every calculator below is free, works instantly in your browser, and uses the same formulas the IRS and state tax agencies use.
Offer in Compromise Calculator
Estimate what the IRS might accept to settle your debt for less, using its own financial formula.
Open calculator →IRS Payment Plan Calculator
See your likely monthly installment amount and how long it would take to pay the IRS off.
Open calculator →CSED Calculator
Find the date your IRS debt legally expires — the collection statute expiration date.
Open calculator →Currently Not Collectible Calculator
Check whether your income and allowable expenses may qualify you for CNC hardship status.
Open calculator →Penalty & Interest Calculator
Estimate the failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties plus interest on a balance you owe.
Open calculator →Wage Garnishment Calculator
See how much of your paycheck the IRS can take through a wage levy, and what stays exempt.
Open calculator →California FTB Payment Plan Calculator
Estimate a California Franchise Tax Board installment plan, including its interest and setup fee.
Open calculator →Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Calculate the Social Security and Medicare self-employment tax you owe on 1099 income.
Open calculator →Quarterly Estimated Tax Calculator
Work out your four quarterly estimated payments so you don't fall behind and rack up penalties.
Open calculator →Results vary based on individual facts and circumstances. Not all taxpayers qualify for every program, and no specific outcome is guaranteed. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice.
New to this? Start with What Is Tax Relief? · How Tax Relief Works · or browse the IRS Help Center for notice-by-notice guides.
Frequently asked questions about our services
Which tax relief service do I need?
Start with the free consultation. The right service depends on facts that cannot be judged from the outside — what you owe, which years are involved, what the IRS has already filed against you, and what your finances look like. The consultation points you at the path that fits, and the investigation confirms it against your actual IRS record.
What is the difference between tax consultation, investigation and resolution?
They are three phases of the same case. The consultation is a free case review that tells you what you are facing. The investigation puts a power of attorney on file and pulls your complete IRS record, so every balance and deadline is confirmed rather than assumed. The resolution is the negotiation itself — the payment plan, settlement, penalty request or hardship status that closes the case.
Do I need a tax relief service if I can afford to pay what I owe?
Often no. If you can pay the balance in full, paying it directly is the cheapest route and stops penalties and interest from building. Representation earns its keep when you cannot pay, when years of returns are unfiled, when the IRS is already levying or garnishing, or when the amount the IRS says you owe looks wrong.
What does the free consultation cost, and am I committing to anything?
It is free and there is no obligation. Its purpose is to tell you what you are facing and whether you need representation at all — including when the honest answer is that you do not.
How do the IRS collection options compare?
| Option | What you pay | What happens to the balance | IRS cost to set up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term payment plan | Pay the amount owed in 180 days or less | Paid in full at the end | $0 setup fee |
| Long-term payment plan (installment agreement) | A monthly payment | Paid in full over time | $29 online with direct debit; $69 online without; $107 or $178 by phone, mail or in person |
| Offer in compromise | An initial payment plus the accepted offer amount | Settled for the accepted amount if the IRS accepts the offer | $205 application fee, waived under the low income certification guidelines |
| Currently not collectible | Nothing while the status holds | The full amount is still owed; it is not forgiven or cancelled | No fee |
| Penalty relief (First Time Abate) | Nothing to request it | Penalties may be removed; the tax and interest remain | No fee |
Figures from IRS, Payment plans and installment agreements · IRS, Offer in compromise · IRS, Temporarily delay the collection process · IRS, Penalty relief due to First Time Abate.
“Not paying your taxes when they are due may cause the filing of a Notice of Federal Tax Lien and/or an IRS levy action.”
— IRS, Payment plans and installment agreements
The passage quoted above is from IRS, Payment plans and installment agreements.