The last thing anyone with a tax problem should do is go to a tax attorney. The reasons behind this are very simple and lie in Maslow’s law which is the human tendency to over-rely on what is familiar to you.

You might not know who Maslow is, but you definitely will have heard the law which he stated in 1966 as …

“if the only tool you have is a hammer, you will treat everything as if it were a nail.”

The Problem Is the Adversarial Nature of Tax Attorneys

The tool that tax attorneys are trained under is the adversarial system. The essence of this system is that attorneys for opposing parties have the responsibility to present every single piece of evidence and make every legal argument that might possibly benefit their clients.

By nature and sometimes due to financial interest all lawyers tend to exploit legal procedures to the fullest. Two attorneys in the same room together like to get into the fight and then fight as long as any hope remains even if the costs are mounting. In fact, each attorney has an obligation to be as zealous an advocate as possible. Many times this approach is to the detriment of discovering the truth and of resolving conflicts to the satisfaction of both parties. How many times have you heard about a famous lawsuit where one of the parties fully confident in his or her case ends up paying hundreds and thousands of dollars in costs?

More than 99% of tax matters can be resolved without resorting to any contentious disputes with the IRS saving you time, stress and money.

Remember, since the IRS wins over 90% of tax cases the simple fact is that if you’ve found yourself sitting in tax court with an attorney by your side, its extremely likely you’ve already lost!

Enrolled Agents Are A Far Better Option Than Tax Attorneys

Although not as well known to the public as CPAs or Tax Attorneys the 50,000 practicing Enrolled Agents across the US are the only tax professionals who get their license to practice directly from IRS and the United States Treasury. There are only two paths to becoming an EA. After working for the IRS for five years, an agent can become an EA without passing an examination. Without working for the IRS, one must pass a thorough background check and a three part exam.

Enrolled agents specialize in their knowledge of the tax code and tax matters. An EA must know all of the ins and outs of income tax, gift tax, inheritance tax, estate tax, and payroll tax to a far deeper and wider extent than any tax attorney.

Enrolled agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years. Because of the expertise necessary to become an enrolled agent and the requirements to maintain the license, there are less than 50,000 practicing enrolled agents worldwide.

Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before. Learn more about enrolled agents in Treasury Department Circular 230.

The big advantage that you get by using an EA to do your tax return is that the same team that handles the preparation of the return can represent you if you are audited. This can be a big advantage if your return is at all complicated

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