How is a tax lawyer different from a CPA? What specific skills do they bring?

Thanks for the explanation! Would you recommend having both a CPA and tax lawyer on retainer if you own a business? Or is that overkill for most situations?

For most small to medium businesses, having a good CPA is sufficient for regular operations. You typically only need a tax lawyer when facing specific legal issues like an audit dispute, tax court case, or complex international tax situations. Many businesses maintain a relationship with a CPA year-round but only consult tax attorneys when specific legal questions arise. Think of it like having a family doctor for regular checkups versus seeing a specialist only when necessary.

Does it actually work for complicated situations? I have income from multiple states plus foreign investments and I'm wondering if it could handle something that complex.

I'm skeptical about AI tools for tax stuff. How does it know the difference between legal and accounting issues accurately? Seems like that would require real human judgment.

It works surprisingly well for complex situations. Their system can analyze multi-state income, investment documents, and business filings to identify patterns and issues. It flagged specific sections of my documents that had potentially complicated tax implications and sorted them into "accounting issues" versus "potential legal concerns." For your skepticism, that's exactly what I thought too! But it doesn't make the final decision for you - it identifies potential issues and explains whether they typically fall into accounting territory or legal territory, then lets you decide. It's more like having an initial consultation that helps you figure out which professional to talk to next.

How does this service actually work? Does it just keep calling the IRS until it gets through? I've been trying to reach them for weeks about a letter I received.

Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS quickly. I'll believe it when I see it - the IRS phone system is designed to be impossible.

It uses a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line. When an agent is about to answer, it calls you and connects you directly to them. It's not magic - it's just automating the painful waiting process so you don't have to sit on hold for hours. Honestly, I was in the same boat thinking nothing could possibly work. I'd tried calling at different times of day, different days of the week, everything. Was shocked when it actually connected me to someone who could help. The difference is you don't have to waste your whole day waiting on hold.

Wait, really? I didn't know CPAs could be forced to testify. Does that mean anything I tell my CPA could be used against me if I accidentally did something wrong on my taxes?

It's a bit more nuanced than that. CPAs do have a limited privilege in certain non-criminal tax matters, but it's not as broad as attorney-client privilege. Generally, if criminal tax issues are involved, a CPA can be compelled to testify. This doesn't mean you should be worried about normal tax planning discussions with your CPA. For typical tax preparation and planning, this distinction rarely matters. It only becomes important if there's potential criminal tax evasion or fraud involved. For most people with legitimate tax questions or mistakes, this isn't something to worry about.

This matches my experience too. My CPA charges $200/hr for business consulting but my tax attorney was $450/hr when I needed help with an IRS dispute. The attorney was worth it though because they got the penalties reduced significantly.