I’m Tom Strauss, founder of Prime Accounting Services and Tax Help Now. My desire is to help people who are feeling strangled by IRS collection issues.
Many of us conduct a large percentage of our personal business online these days. Some feel completely safe, while others are hesitant. I’ve been in both camps at various times. So setting up an online account with the IRS could seem like a good idea to you, or a very bad idea. Let me talk briefly about the benefits.
With an IRS online account, you can accomplish several things that will otherwise take days, weeks, or even months. You can:
- View your current account balance
- Make payments
- Access your tax records
- Update your personal information
- Learn about payment plan options
But in my line of work, the best reason for you to set up an online account with the IRS is so that you can quickly and easily authorize people (like a tax professional) to represent you and to view your tax records. Currently it’s taking anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months for a faxed authorization to get processed. That’s a lot of wasted time when you’re trying to get help in resolving a tax issue. The IRS won’t let me (or any other tax pro) access your IRS file without that authorization.
So if you feel the benefits outweigh the potential risks of having an IRS online account, download this document for more details and instructions on how to get started setting up your online account with the IRS.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
