What Do Tax Lawyers Do?

The laws governing taxes may seem complicated and may take you quite a lot of time to fully understand. You can make this a more straightforward process by hiring a tax lawyer. Tax lawyers are individuals who have studied law and apply legal skills in the field of tax. They have an in-depth understanding of the dos and don’ts when it comes to issues relating to tax. They are the people to go to when you need guidance on any matter in this category. As a result of their intellectual ability in the field, they can offer sound advice that can help you get out of trouble with tax authorities. With the rise of new roles in the field, such as Certified Public Accountants (CPA), many people tend to have difficulty separating some of these roles. Here are some of the things that a tax lawyer can do.

Writing Tax Opinions

One of the critical things that a tax attorney can do is writing tax opinions that may cover various tax benefits. These opinions are mostly given through written letters which advise the client or company in question about the consequences of certain tax transactions. Such concepts may brief the client of what to expect from the relevant tax authorities. At times these opinions can also come in handy during court cases. The information provided can help the client to know what to say in their defence in the event of a court trial involving a tax crime. The frequent use of tax opinions, however, consists of justifying a tax position of a target company or client.

Sorting Through Tax Returns 

This generally involves things like reading through the major tax positions that an individual or company might have. Depending on the information obtained by the tax attorney, the client can be advised on the state of their position; that is if it is strong or not. Tax attorneys will have a better understanding of tax law than regular business lawyers. The attorney can also offer other opinions on how a client should file taxes and accurately organise tax documents. This eliminates the possibility of making unintended mistakes when filing future taxes. In addition to this, it also makes the tax auditing process easier.

Stop Wage Garnishment

In the event that you fail to pay your taxes for a certain period of time, the relevant authorities may sue you in court, and a wage garnishment order may be given. This order allows your employer to divert some of your salary income to pay off your tax arrears. In such events, a client can hire a tax attorney to help out with the issue. The attorney may file an appeal that can temporarily halt the court order until the client finds a monetary solution to the problem. The attorney can also help reduce the amount of money that is garnished from the client’s wage.

Dispute Resolution

Tax lawyers can also act as mediators if a company is in conflict with the relevant tax authority. The tax attorney can carry out extensive research on the cause of conflict, after which the conflicting parties can be made to come to an agreement. This can particularly apply in cases whereby mistakes are made during the filing of taxes. If the attorney can spot the anomaly in the tax files, the conflict can be resolved without the matter going to court.

Advice on Tax Credits

As a result of their extensive understanding of how taxes are paid and the resulting credit benefits, tax lawyers can advise their clients on how to take advantage of the available tax credits. With this technique, the taxpayer will be able to deduct an amount equal to the credit when paying the tax owed.