Tax Relief Lawyers in Clayton County

"Tax relief" in Clayton County, Georgia can refer to a wide range of subjects. However, it almost always refers to lowering the tax liability, either of an individual, or a group of people.

When you hear the term "tax relief" used by an elected official, or someone running for office, they're almost always talking about tax cuts, which would likely apply to the speaker's target audience. A tax cut is simply a reduction in the percentage of one's income (or whatever else is being taxed) that they have to pay in taxes.

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 difficult or impossible to pay back. These companies claim to have some exceptional technique that can get Georgia 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 Clayton County, Georgia

It is pretty common for scammers in Clayton County, Georgia to claim that, for a relatively small fee, they will help you get out of paying all of your taxes.

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

One of the strongest indications that you're dealing with a scammer is if they guarantee that they can deliver a particular result. When it comes to negotiating with the IRS or state tax authorities, there are simply no guarantees, and a competent and ethical tax relief professional will know this, and tell you as much. The unfortunate fact is that, while the IRS does have programs allowing people to negotiate a lower tax bill, they only apply to people in extreme examples, who are unable to pay their taxes through no fault of their own. Most Clayton County, Georgia residents will not be eligible.

And if a tax relief organization demands up-front payment, this should raise a big red flag for you. Many scammers in Clayton County, whether they're pledging tax relief, or anything else, will take your money, and then disappear, without even pretending to try to help you. The worst of the worst will also take the money you agreed to pay them, and then make unapproved charges to your credit card, or withdrawals from your bank account.

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in Clayton County, Georgia Help?

If you find that you are unable to pay your taxes, through no fault of your own, you may be tempted to answer an advertisement for a "tax relief" company. Before that, you should speak with a Clayton County, Georgia tax lawyer.

A good Clayton County, Georgia tax attorney can give you honest, unbiased legal advice that will be useful in handling any problem you have with your taxes. Of course, as you probably know, honest advice is, more often than not, the opposite of what one wants to hear, even if it is more useful than whatever puffery you'll hear from a scammer. Plus, in the extremely unlikely event that your tax attorney defrauds you, it will be much easier to seek legal action against a licensed attorney than against some scammer who probably doesn't use his or her real name.