Revenue Officer Assistance
State
If a State Tax Authority has hired a special agent to collect your debt, you need competent legal representation. Revenue Officers are hired by state governments to aggressively collect past due debts. They have large caseloads, low morale and high turnover. If you’re not careful, Revenue Officers can and will seize your property with no remorse. If you have a Revenue Officer assigned to your case or worried an agent will be contacting you soon, don’t delay in getting our power of attorney on file for you. Schedule a consultation or call us today.
Questions?
Are State Revenue Officers just as worrisome as the Feds?
It completely depends on your state. Most State Revenue Officers are better to work with than their federal counterparts. They are likely less grizzled, more willing to help, and shy away from ‘punishing’ taxpayers. That being said, if you have an agent at the California Franchise Tax Board or the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, as well as most Southern states, then your Revenue Officer is just as or more aggressive than the Feds. Your Midwestern agents tend to be friendlier and have the highest concentration of honest tax collectors. If you are at all worried about your State Revenue Officer, contact us today for a second opinion.
I can’t get a hold of my State Revenue Officer—is that normal?
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your situation), State Revenue Officers can be notoriously difficult to reach. Since we’ve worked with the tax authorities for over a decade, it doesn’t take long for us to track down less communicative federal agents. However, States change staff frequently and do not have the same infrastructures to facilitate navigating their directories. So it’s actually fairly common (unless you owe tax in NY and CA) to rarely hear from a State Revenue Officer, and then, when you do, you might not hear back from them for several months. Whether or not that is a good thing completely depends on how much tax you owe and to which state. Please schedule a consultation if your State Revenue Officer is incommunicado.
I owe state taxes but I don’t know if I have a Revenue Officer—how do you know?
State agents may not identify as Revenue Officers per se, but they are likely acting in that capacity if they have an inventory of cases that includes yours. Some states will have a new agent reach out every time, or someone new will answer the call when you contact them to make arrangements for the debt. While the IRS has very formal collection procedures that clearly define each agent’s role in the process, states vary and so do their methods of collection. If you speak with someone new at the state each time you connect, then there is likely no designated officer who is officially working your case. If you are not sure, please reach out and we can let you know right away if your case has a specific agent assigned.