Tax Relief Lawyers in North Branford

"Tax relief" in North Branford, Connecticut 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 presumably 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.

However, many people associate the phrase "tax relief" with individuals, corporations, or law firms that offer services claiming to reduce or eliminate one's tax liability - getting them out of their obligation to pay the taxes. Most of the time, they'll say that they have skilled negotiators on their staff who can negotiate with the tax collectors in Connecticut or the IRS, to lower your tax bill. Some of these businesses are honest, and have the best interests of their customers in mind. However, many of them are scams.

Tax Relief Scams in North Branford, Connecticut

It is pretty common for scammers in North Branford, Connecticut 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 North Branford, Connecticut have no actual ability to reduce your legal liability to pay your taxes. However, these scams also have many 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 unequivocal guarantee that they can lower your tax bill. While there are some legal ways to try and reduce your tax obligation, including negotiating with the IRS, there is no guarantee that they will succeed. And although the IRS does have programs to assist people who are truly unable to pay for their taxes, they are only available to very small subset of the population, and most North Branford, Connecticut taxpayers aren't eligible to participate in them.

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

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in North Branford, Connecticut 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 North Branford, Connecticut tax lawyer.

A competent and reputable tax attorney in North Branford, Connecticut will give you objective legal advice on how to handle a tax law issue. A good tax attorney delivering honest advice, however, will tell you the truth, which may not necessarily be what you want to hear. The upside, of course, is that the information they're giving you is actually useful, as opposed to the "advice" given to you by a tax relief scammer, which, if followed, would put you in a worse position than you were before. Plus, you will have a good deal of legal recourse against a tax attorney, in the unlikely event that a licensed attorney defrauds you.