Already Paying a Tax Relief Company? How to Get a Second Opinion

Signs a tax relief case has stalled

IRS cases take time, and a quiet month is not proof that nothing is happening. A pattern is. These are the signs worth checking:

• No named representative. You have talked only to salespeople or “case managers” and nobody can tell you which enrolled agent, CPA or attorney signed your Form 2848, Power of Attorney.
• No copy of anything filed. You have never seen the Form 2848, a financial statement, a payment plan request, an offer or a hearing request with your name on it.
• No transcripts reviewed. No one has walked you through your IRS account transcripts or explained the balance by tax year.
• The IRS letters keep escalating. You went from a reminder such as a CP503 to a CP504 or a final notice like the LT11, and nobody responded to them.
• Fees continue, milestones don’t. Monthly charges keep coming but you can’t name the next step or its date.
• You were told to ignore IRS mail or to stop calling the IRS, or you were quoted a settlement figure before anyone pulled your transcripts.

The Federal Trade Commission describes the same problem in its advice on tax relief companies: “Some don’t even send your paperwork to the IRS to apply for programs to help you,” and “some companies may intentionally draw out the process for as long as possible to keep collecting fees.” Not every slow case is one of these, which is why the next step is to check the IRS side yourself.

How to check your IRS account yourself

You don’t need your current company’s permission to look at your own IRS account. Per IRS.gov, your IRS Individual Online Account shows amounts owed by tax year, up to five years of payment history, existing payment plans and digital IRS notices, and lets you download transcripts. It is also where you can approve and electronically sign a power of attorney request from a tax professional.

Our guide to reading an IRS account transcript explains the entries. If you can’t use the online account, the Get Transcript page lets you order tax return and tax account transcripts by mail, or by calling 800-908-9946; they arrive in 5 to 10 calendar days. You can also call the IRS at 800-829-1040 (IRS.gov, 2026) or the number printed on your latest notice.

IRS deadlines keep running while you decide

Hiring, firing or switching a tax relief company does not pause anything at the IRS. Interest keeps accruing, and notice deadlines keep counting from the date on the letter.

If a deadline is close, deal with it first and the company question second. The final notice action plan covers the 30-day steps, and how to pause IRS collection explains which requests actually hold off a levy.

Upfront fees and refunds: what the FTC says

The FTC’s consumer advice on tax relief companies is direct: “Don’t do business with anyone that tells you to pay their whole fee upfront. If they say that, walk away.” It also warns about “pricey monthly” fees that “add up quickly,” and suggests asking how a company will bill you and “whether they offer refunds for fees if you don’t get the promised service.”

Does the federal advance-fee ban apply to tax relief?

The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule bans advance fees for “debt relief services” sold by phone: per the FTC’s business guide, a provider can collect a fee only after it has settled or changed at least one debt, the creditor has agreed in writing, and the customer has made at least one payment under that agreement. The rule’s definition (16 CFR 310.2(o)) covers debts owed to “unsecured creditors or debt collectors,” and the FTC guide does not say whether it reaches IRS balances. It also generally exempts providers who meet customers face to face before enrolling them. So don’t assume the rule covers your contract; read the contract itself.

Asking for a refund

• Find the refund and cancellation terms in your written agreement before you call.
• Ask in writing, list what you paid and what was promised, and keep a copy.
• If the company refuses and you believe it misled you, the complaint routes below exist for exactly that.

Getting your file back

If the person handling your case is an enrolled agent, CPA or attorney, Treasury Circular 230 sets a records rule. Under 31 CFR 10.28, a practitioner “must, at the request of a client, promptly return any and all records of the client that are necessary for the client to comply with his or her Federal tax obligations.” The practitioner may keep copies.

• A fee dispute is generally no excuse. The rule says a dispute over fees “generally does not relieve the practitioner” of this duty. Where state law lets a practitioner hold records during a fee dispute, the practitioner must still return records that must be attached to your return and give you reasonable access to review and copy the rest.
• What counts as your records: documents you provided, documents the practitioner obtained during the representation that existed before you hired them, and materials prepared by you or third parties about the matter. Documents the practitioner prepared (such as a return or claim) can be withheld while you have not paid the fee owed for that document.

Ask in writing for: the signed Form 2848; every form and letter sent to the IRS (for example Form 9465, Form 433-A or 433-F, Form 656, Form 12153); every IRS letter the company received; the transcripts it pulled; and the financial documents you supplied.

How to switch representatives without losing ground

1. Check your IRS account. Balance by year, payment plans and recent notices in your Online Account, or transcripts by mail.
2. List your deadlines. Note the date and number of every recent IRS letter, especially any final notice of intent to levy.
3. Request your file in writing. Ask for the Form 2848 and copies of everything filed with or received from the IRS.
4. Get a second opinion. Show a licensed professional, a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic or the Taxpayer Advocate Service what you found.
5. Replace or revoke the old authorization. A new Form 2848 recorded on the IRS Centralized Authorization File generally revokes an earlier one for the same matters, unless you check line 6 to keep it. To end it yourself, use the revocation steps below.
6. Report problems. If you were misled or overcharged, file a complaint with the right agency.

Revoking a Form 2848 yourself

Per the IRS Instructions for Form 2848, write “REVOKE” across the top of the first page of a copy of the power of attorney, sign and date it below that, and mail or fax it to the IRS using the instructions’ Where To File chart (or to the IRS office handling a specific matter). If you don’t have a copy, send a signed and dated statement saying the authority is revoked, listing the matters and years or periods (or “revoke all years/periods”) and the name and address of each representative. Filing a new Form 2848 does not revoke a Form 8821 tax information authorization. Our Form 2848 guide explains the form itself.

Where to complain about a tax relief company

The IRS says that, in general, it can’t act on complaints about federal tax matters that are over 3 years old, so don’t wait. The FTC also says to report problems with a tax preparer to your state comptroller or treasurer.

For warning signs before you sign with anyone new, see how to spot a tax relief scam and questions to ask a tax relief company.

What a second opinion from Global Gate looks like

Global Gate Tax Relief offers a free consultation with no obligation, and a second opinion works the same way. Bring your agreement with the current company, any Form 2848, copies of anything it filed, and your IRS letters. The conversation covers where your IRS account stands, what deadlines are running and whether you can handle the rest yourself.

• If the firm takes the case, it quotes a flat fee upfront before any work begins. It does not bill hourly, does not add fees mid-case and does not use long-term contracts.
• It files its own Form 2848, pulls your IRS transcripts and builds a strategy from them. It will not quote a settlement figure before reviewing transcripts and does not guarantee outcomes.
• It declines cases where it can’t add value beyond its fee, and tells callers with small balances how to resolve the matter themselves.
• In urgent levy cases it can often act within 24 to 72 hours of engagement; when a levy is released depends on the IRS.

A second opinion doesn’t have to come from a firm. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is “always free” and helps when an IRS problem is causing financial difficulty or normal IRS channels have failed (877-777-4778 (IRS.gov, 2026)). Low Income Taxpayer Clinics represent eligible taxpayers for free or a small fee. To compare credentials, see enrolled agent, CPA or tax attorney; to see what the call covers, read what happens in a free consultation. You can request a free second opinion online or call 1-877-800-8180, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading in the Tax Liability Guide

• Request your case fileTemplate letter to get your records back
• Enrolled agent, CPA or tax attorney?Who can represent you and how to check a license.
• What happens in a free consultationWhat to bring and what a first call can't tell you.
• Handle it yourself or hire a firm?DIY, free help and paid help compared.
• Questions to ask a tax relief companyAsk these before you sign anything.
• Form 2848, Power of AttorneyWhat the form authorizes and how it works.