Tax Relief Lawyers in North Berwick

The term "tax relief" can refer to several different things in North Berwick, Maine. But, it is typically used to refer to some action that reduces the tax liability of an individual, corporation, or a certain category of individuals.

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 hypothetically 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 unique technique that can get Maine 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 North Berwick, Maine

It is pretty common for scammers in North Berwick, Maine 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 Berwick, Maine 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.

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 indisputable 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 Berwick, Maine taxpayers aren't eligible to participate in them.

Furthermore, you need to know that anyone demanding payment before they perform any services in North Berwick probably doesn't have your interests in mind. If you pay a scammer up front, they'll probably just run off with your money, and you'll never hear from them again.

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in North Berwick, Maine 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 Berwick, Maine tax lawyer.

Your tax lawyer in North Berwick, Maine will be able to give you real, useful advice about your tax situation. Just be prepared: your tax attorney will give you honest advice, whether or not that's what you want to hear. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that a licensed tax attorney defrauds you (or attempts to defraud you), you will have significant legal recourse against that attorney through your state bar association.