Tax Relief Lawyers in Atherton

"Tax relief" in Atherton, California can refer to a wide range of subjects. However, it almost exclusively refers to lowering the tax liability, either of an individual, or a group of individuals.

When a government official or politician talks about "tax relief," they are normally talking about a tax cut, which is a reduction in a specific tax rate.

Increasingly, however, the general public is being inundated with advertisements on the Internet, the radio, and in print, from companies offering "tax relief" to consumers who owe back taxes in amounts that will be hard or impossible to pay back. These companies claim to have some exceptional technique that can get California residents out of paying their taxes, or at least negotiate their final tax bill down to a smaller amount. Some of these companies are legitimate, but many of them are total frauds.

Tax Relief Scams in Atherton, California

Some con-artists in Atherton, California say that they have some exceptional technique that authorizes you to reduce the amount of taxes you're legally obligated to pay, or that they can erase any tax debt that you have incurred.

In the majority of cases, however, tax relief scammers in Atherton, California have no actual capacity to reduce your legal liability to pay your taxes. However, these scams also have various common factors which tend to be dead giveaways of their fraudulent nature, making them fairly easy to avoid if you are extremely vigilant.

There is one warning sign that virtually guarantees that the tax relief company you're dealing with intends to defraud you: if they make an explicit guarantee that they can lower your tax bill. While there are some legal ways to try and reduce your tax requirement, including negotiating with the IRS, there is no guarantee that they will prevail. And although the IRS does have programs to help people who are absolutely unable to pay for their taxes, they are only available to very small subset of the population, and most Atherton, California taxpayers aren't qualified to participate in them.

Furthermore, you should be wary of anyone promising tax relief, but demands payment immediately, before they really do anything. Many scammers in Atherton will convince their victims to pay them upfront, and then simply take the money and run. They may even make additional, unlawful, charges to your credit card or bank account.

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in Atherton, California Help?

If you owe a large amount in back taxes, and are unable to pay them, it may well be helpful to seek the advice of an Atherton, California tax attorney.

Your tax attorney in Atherton, California will be able to give you honest advice about your tax commitments. While they may not tell you what you want to hear, unlike a scammer, they won't steal your money or put you deeper into debt. And in the off chance that you are scammed by a licensed attorney, you have considerable legal recourse.