Taxpayers of Atlanta Can Get Tax Attorney Consultation for Help with All Serious Tax Problems
You will need a tax attorney to audit your business or personal financial details. They can also help you settle IRS disputes, prepare business tax documents, get tax relief, and offer guidance and help you understand tax laws.
Finding the right attorney is vital to your business as they can save you from additional fees, taxes, interests, and penalties. But how do you find one in Atlanta?
To find an Atlanta, GA tax attorney, first, determine why you need one. Then, you can ask around or research. After which, you can interview your options and make a choice.
However, the process is a bit tricky. So, we will provide some details below about how you can find an attorney in four steps.
Four Steps to Find a Tax Attorney in Atlanta GA
If you are in Atlanta and looking for a reliable attorney to help with your tax reports and financial audits, these four steps should walk you through getting one.
- Understand your goals
- Do preliminary research
- Interview your candidates
- Make your pick
Step 1: Understand Your Goals
While you can get an attorney to help you in any tax situation, choosing one with experience in what you need is best. But how can you find one? Here is how you can do it.
Start by stating your expectations or difficulties that need a legal representative. Also, identify situations that might not require an attorney but other professionals.
For instance, you can hire a legal representative to provide professional guidance on the taxation implications of your estate or business plan. However, it is better to ask a certified public accountant (CPA) question instead of an attorney in the case of tax returns. And this is because a CPA has more background knowledge about it than a lawyer.
Also, a public accountant can represent you in a case where you need a representative before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But you are better off with an attorney if you need representation, like during an audit. This is because they provide more confidentiality than CPAs. You can click on https://www.thebalancecareers.com/ to read more about the roles of a CPA
Furthermore, hiring a lawyer will be best if the situation seems more like a court battle. An example of this will be if the IRS threatens to take legal actions against you.
So, choosing the right lawyer or any other professional to help you depends on what you are looking to achieve. And picking the wrong person for your situation can mean spending money in the wrong direction.
Step 2: Do a Preliminary Research
Several professionals are offering the services you want. So, finding the right one for you might be tasking. However, researching can make it easier.
There are generally two ways you can research. You can ask around or search online.
Asking Around
You might have people around like friends, family members, business partners, professionals, or neighbors who have been in the same or similar situations. Asking them is a better way to start.
These close contacts will not only provide you with the details of the legal representative they used, but they will also tell you about the quality of their service. And with this, you can make a list of services for your next step.
Searching Online
The internet has an archive of databases that contains information on almost anything. So searching here provides more results than asking people.
Google –a popular search engine –crawls over a billion pages per second. This means you can find at least a hundred thousand results when searching a keyword.
So, think through what you need and enter it in the search bar. But try to be as specific as possible – so you do not get general results. You can watch this video to learn how to search the internet more effectively.
An example will be searching for IRS tax attorneys in Atlanta, GA, instead of Tax attorneys. The first search will not only show results for tax attorneys; it will show only those who are in Atlanta, GA and specialize in handling IRS issues.
However, the second search will return millions of results and might show only definitions of the term on the first page. So, a concise search query can help you find what you need fast. There are a few things to check during your search. We will highlight two of them below.
- Check Their Bar Records: The last lawyer you want to hire is the one facing disciplinary actions or scandals. Choose a lawyer with clean records and more success.
- Check for Board Certification: Certified tax lawyers will have at least five years of experience practicing as licensed professionals and would have taken advanced lawcourses. Also, they have more experience handling tax matters and likely a situation like yours. Several programs offer certification to experienced lawyers to prove their expertise in a field like tax laws. The Florida Bar is an example.
Step 3: Interview Your Candidates
Think of this like a job role where you are hiring a manager. The lawyers can save you money if they are the right ones. So, a thorough assessment is vital.
Start by scheduling an appointment with at least four attorneys. Lawyers are busier during tax seasons. So, you want to book appointments during the summer.
Also, prepare all documents that are relevant to your case, like your previous tax reports. They may also need a copy of the notice you received from the IRS.
Observe the attorney’s expertise in your situation during your appointment. You can ask them if they have any previous experience handling cases like yours and the outcome.
You want to check their attitude towards clients. So, you can ask several questions concerning your situation and observe how they respond.
A good lawyer will try to explain things to you in a very basic manner, show more concern, and listen to you patiently. They will offer some form of guidance to help you navigate through the challenge.
Finally, compare your options. If you are interested in two lawyers, you can choose the one you are more comfortable with and who shares your values. You can also go for the one that charges less but can offer a good service.
Step 4: Make Your Pick
Think thoroughly about your choices. You can take a day or even a week to choose. And if it demands, do more background research about your options.
Look for other qualities but do not discriminate. For instance, you can look for a good lawyer with empathy. But do not choose based on gender.
Conclusion
Choosing a tax lawyer is a stepwise process that requires patience and carefulness. And if you are stuck in picking between two good options, you can ask someone you trust for their opinion. However, ensure you inform the other attorneys of your decision to proceed with someone else.
