Tax This! An Insider's Guide to Standing Up to the IRS (Self-Counsel Legal Series.) (Paperback)

~ Scott M. Estill (Author) "There has not always been an income tax in the United States, and George Washington or Thomas Jefferson could never have imagine anything remotely resembling..." (more)
Key Phrases: confidential tax information, tax court petition, nontaxable sources, United States, Installment Agreement, Internal Revenue Service (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Concise, practical, and eminently readable, Tax This! remains the resource for evening the playing field. -- Jonathan P. Decatorsmith, Adjunct Professor of Law and former IRS Senior Trial Attorney

Product Description

Every year, the IRS issues more than 34 million penalty notices to individuals and small businesses. What you may not know is that many of these notices are wrong. If you receive one, you may not have to pay it. You also don't have to hire an expensive tax professional in order to challenge these penalties and stand up to the IRS.

Written by a former IRS attorney, Tax This! is designed to give you an inside track in your negotiations with the IRS by showing you how to level the playing field and win at the tax game. This practical book covers everything you need to know about the IRS audit process, from the time your return is chosen for audit to the appeals procedure. It also includes information on some little-known tools available to every taxpayer that will help you tackle the IRS and win.

Includes current advice on: Finding out what the IRS knows about you - and what it doesn't know, abating tax penalties, making tax payments by installment, paying pennies on the dollar to resolve your tax debt, saving on taxes in small businesses, getting a Federal Tax Lien released, and surviving an IRS criminal investigation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: Self-Counsel Press; 2nd edition (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551804131
• ISBN-13: 978-1551804132
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,285,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tax This hits the mark, January 31, 2000

By	jonathan decatorsmith, esq. (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tax This!: An Insider's Guide to Standing Up to the IRS (Self-Counsel Legal Series) (Paperback)

As a former IRS trial attorney, and current adjunct professor teaching federal income tax procedures at the graduate university level, I have made it my business to read most every book written about the Internal Revenue Service. With very few exceptions, these works are either strident, reactionary diatribes rooted in paranoid, conspiracy theory or dry, academic treatises devoid of any real insight into the inner workings of the IRS. Mr. Estill's book is neither; rather,it is a refreshing departure that provides a realistic approach to dealing with the various problems that arise in our federal tax collection system. The book is eminently readable - useful for both the layperson wishing to tackle the bureaucracy him or herself, as well as the experienced practitioner who wants the insider's perspective and some valuable strategies. Mr. Estill's unique ability to explain complex processes with clarity, and his pragmatic advice for negotiating the pitfalls inherent in each of the IRS functional divisions, makes this an important addition to the field, and mandatory reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in the way our country administers tax collection.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into dealing with the IRS, April 27, 2003

By	Robert J. Nagel (Evergreen, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're faced with an encounter with the IRS, I would highly recommend getting this book for starters. Most tax experts will tend to steer you in one of two directions: knuckle under or fight the IRS up to and including jail time (for you, not the expert.) You need to understand what your options are before you seek outside help because all too often the outside help has an agenda that is not in your best interests.

This book does an outstanding job of laying out realistic stategies and options for helping you with tax issues and for working with, rather than against, the IRS to obtain the best possible outcome. It offers a refreshing change in the tax literature. By offering well-grounded, honest advice in a well-written fashion, this book should be in the hands of anyone seeking to resolve a tax problem without "giving away the farm" to the IRS.

Learn what your options are and how best to work with the IRS and you'll save yourself a lot of grief and a lot of green.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 29, 2000

By	Mark deWain (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tax This!: An Insider's Guide to Standing Up to the IRS (Self-Counsel Legal Series) (Paperback)

I found this book to be very helpful for those who are in trouble with the IRS. As a tax professional, I often am contacted by clients who receive IRS notices. Most of these cases are pretty simple matters, and could be resolved without my involvement, if only the client new a little more about the IRS, as wasn't so intimidated by them. This book helps chart a course of action to take when dealing with the Service, and shows the average taxpayer that dealing with the IRS does not have to be the nightmare that most people think it is. I highly recommend this book.