Can I Resolve My Own Tax Debt?

By Greg Daer

April 7, 2025

If you follow me on LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen that I frequently advocate that many people can resolve their own tax debts without spending $$$ on a tax professional. For some people, that’s ideal. A lot of people, especially if they owe $50,000 or less and just need more time to pay back what they owe in a payment plan can easily set up their own payment plan online via their IRS Online Account.

That being said, many people can also very much benefit from hiring a good tax professional. I say ‘good’ because I have seen FAR too many tax professionals in my career make terrible, very costly mistakes that can really negatively impact their client. There is a LOT of nuance and technicality with tax debts. If certain forms aren’t filed timely or correctly, it can really jeopardize someone’s tax issues.

Owing tax debts is also VERY emotional for people. Some people can easily lose their temper, or just say the wrong thing out of fear or stress. It can really pay for itself to have a good tax professional advocate for you who knows the ins/outs of IRS procedure. If you schedule a free consultation with me, I’m very upfront with prospective clients about whether or not they would benefit from hiring a tax professional — but a lot of times, people just don’t have the patience to sit on hold with the IRS themselves, or know what to say or what to request and ask for when they finally connect with a phone rep.