How To Find The Best Las Vegas Tax Attorney and Get The Best Tax Help 1

You may have come across this site looking for a tax attorney to help you with a tax resolution problem in the Las Vegas area. Well, you have found the right place as this guide will tell you everything you need to know when selecting a tax attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is helpful in other areas as well.

This guide not only applies to tax attorneys, but any tax resolution services firm you may be looking to hire.

The main items you should consider are:

Firm Operated by Licensed Practitioners

You will come across many tax resolution services firms that are not owned by people licensed to work on your case. This means two important things:

1) They can close the company and not finish your case if they face financial difficulty as there is no professional obligation to complete it. (See: American Tax Relief, Nationwide Tax Relief)

2) The persons you talk to in your consultation are not licensed to work on your case and do not understand how the IRS tax systems work, so they cannot give you an accurate outlook on your case.

It is essential that whatever tax attorney or other tax relief firm you hire, the company is owned and operated by either an Attorney, CPA, or Enrolled Agent. An attorney is preferred for the reason discussed below.

Hiring a Tax Attorney Instead of a CPA or EA

You might be looking for a tax attorney in Las Vegas but have talked to firms that use Enrolled Agents or Certified Public Accountants and have no attorneys. They claim that they can offer you the same service, but they can’t. The fact is you only have attorney-client privilege in tax matters when you hire a tax attorney. Although CPAs and EA’s can complete many of the same tasks as tax attorneys unless they work for a law firm they cannot offer you attorney-client privilege. If they work under a lawyer in a law firm as our CPA does here at TRP, the attorney-client privilege does apply.

Strong Track Record

If you are considering more than one tax attorney or tax relief firm, take a look on the internet for complaints and reviews. Not all complaints are legitimate, and not all reviews are real either. I had seen another tax attorney in San Diego who had 25 reviews all placed on the same day. Google removed them about two years later and he was left with a single one-star review from an observer stating “this guy has a bunch of fake reviews.” On the converse of this, do look at Yelp’s not recommended reviews. Often there are real complaints in there that the owner was able to get off. In our case we had a client leave us a review and it was later marked as not recommended, even though that client literally paid $100 on a $120,000 debt. I guess the result was so good Yelp did not believe it. I tend to trust Google when it comes to reviews more than Yelp based on my experience, but it’s best to check both on any potential company.

Also, be sure to run a “complaints search.” For example “Tax Resolution Services Complaints” would be a search for complaints from Tax Resolution Services. Based on my knowledge in the industry and BBB, I put no faith at all in BBB rankings, unless it is less than a B. Anything B+ or higher is very arbitrary if there are 0 complaints unresolved and BBB seems to actually base this on how long you have been paying them.

Check The Licensing of the Tax Attorney, CPA, or EA

When it comes to finding a tax attorney, most of us are licensed all over the country. Since tax representation only requires you to be licensed in one jurisdiction in the United States, there is no need to be admitted to another bar even if you move. The same thing goes with CPAs. They only need to be licensed in one state to practice anywhere since it’s federal. For example, I am a tax lawyer helping clients in Las Vegas and San Diego, I am licensed in California. EA’s are admitted federally before the US Treasury and can practice nationwide as well.

Whoever consults you regarding your tax issue, ask them what their licensing is (Attorney, CPA, or EA), and if an attorney or CPA, what state are they licensed in. The easiest way to find the licensing of an attorney is the state bar webpage. For CPA’s the accountancy board of their state. Let’s do me as an example to find my own licensure:

1) Google “CA Bar”

2) Click Attorney Search

3) Type in Robert Kayvon

Then you will see my name pop up, and it will take you to this page: http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/250283 showing my admission date. The most important part to look at here is “Actions Affecting Eligibility to Practice Law.” Other states will have the equivalent of this on the bottom of their page. Here you want to find out of the tax attorney was found of any wrongdoing in their profession before. As you will see, I have a clean record. You should review the attorney’s record prior to hiring.

Avoid High Upfront Fees

When trying to find a tax lawyer, don’t give in to high upfront fees. Also, be aware that the unlicensed professionals that own of 90% of tax relief companies love to charge high upfront fees. This allows them to over-promise unrealistic results, charge you in full, then have the poor assigned representative later tell you that you do not qualify for what they gave you. Even worse, these companies can take your money then close their doors the next day with no legal obligation. Only licensed attorneys are obligated to complete your case. At TRP we can’t just shut our doors, it’s our professional obligation as a law firm to complete your case.

Many tax relief companies only survive on the existing month’s sales and must charge high upfront fees to keep the doors open. This is how Nationwide Tax Relief, American Tax Relief, and JK Harris all collapsed. They had such high client acquisition costs through television and radio they had already spent the money given to work on existing cases for new ads. The month the sales drop, the company collapses. Most law firms including ours are not run that way. Our clients come mostly from referrals and things our clients have written about us online. Some even come from reading blog posts like this. We also charge small monthly fees that are affordable and substantially lower than any of our competitors.

In Conclusion

When you are looking for a tax attorney in Las Vegas, seek out an actual law firm. Make sure there are no high upfront fees. If you heard about them from a TV or Radio ad, you are probably paying too much. If you want a free consultation from a licensed tax attorney with no obligation, fill in our tax help contact form or call us at (888) 515-4829. We can help you whether it be with settling your tax debt or just pointing you in the right direction!