Tax Relief Lawyers in Brighton

"Tax relief" is a term used to describe a few different concepts in Brighton, New York. It sometimes refers to actions that lower the tax rate that some taxpayers are obliged to pay.

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 New York or the IRS, to lower your tax bill. Some of these businesses are forthright, and have the best interests of their customers in mind. However, many of them are scams.

Tax Relief Scams in Brighton, New York

Scammers in Brighton, New York often claim that they can employ some special method enabling you pay the IRS less than you truly owe, or even erase your tax debt.

But buyer beware: these scammers in Brighton, New York, and elsewhere, cannot possibly deliver on their promises, and they know it. Thankfully, most tax relief scams have a few common factors that can give them away to vigilant consumers.

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 advise people who are really unable to pay for their taxes, they are only available to very small subset of the population, and most Brighton, New York taxpayers aren't suitable to participate in them.

Another red flag to look for is a demand of a large up-front payment. Many tax relief scammers in Brighton will not even pretend to try and advise you. Alternatively, they simply take the money and disappear, sometimes after making additional, and unauthorized, charges to your credit card or withdrawals from your bank account.

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in Brighton, New York Help?

If you find that you can't pay your taxes, and this is not a result of any fault or irresponsibility on your part, a tax attorney in Brighton, New York may well be able to advise you.

A skilled and reputable tax attorney in Brighton, New York will give you objective legal advice on how to handle a tax law issue. A knowledgeable 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.