Why work with a CPA instead of a tax relief company
A fair number of the people who call Katherine have already paid someone else. This page is about why that keeps happening. Learn more about Katherine's credentials or read what clients say.
If you've searched for help with an IRS problem in the last month, you've seen the ads. Settle for a fraction of what you owe. New federal forgiveness program. Call now before the window closes.
Some of the firms behind those ads do real work. Others have been the subject of significant regulatory and consumer complaints, and the industry's reputation reflects it.
This isn't a page about which companies are bad.
It's about the structural differences between how a large tax relief company operates and how a licensed CPA in a small practice operates — because those differences explain most of what goes wrong, and they're visible before you sign anything if you know what to look at.
The difference is the business model, not the intentions
Most large tax relief companies are built on advertising. Television, radio, paid search — a great deal of it. That spending has to be recovered from the fees, which requires volume, and volume requires a particular structure.
So the first person you speak with is generally a salesperson, often working on commission and often not a licensed tax professional. Their job is to close the engagement, not to evaluate your case.
Once you've signed, the file moves to a processing department, and the person you liked on the phone is no longer involved.
None of that requires anyone to be dishonest. It's simply what the model demands. But it produces predictable results: optimism on the first call that doesn't survive contact with the actual facts.
A small practice has the opposite constraint. Katherine can't take on cases she can't personally work, which means the assessment on the first call has to be accurate. That includes IRS collection defense, tax debt resolution, and audit representation — every case, personally.
What "tax professional" actually means
Only three categories of professional have unlimited rights to represent you before the IRS: Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, and attorneys. All three are subject to Circular 230, the Treasury regulations governing practice before the IRS, and all three answer to a licensing body that can discipline them.
Everyone else — "tax consultant," "tax specialist," "case manager," "resolution officer" — holds a job title, not a credential. Those titles are unregulated. Anyone can use them.
This matters for a practical reason: when there's a licensed individual attached to your case, there's someone with something to lose. Katherine's CPA license is answerable to the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy. That's a meaningful form of accountability, and it's one a marketing entity simply doesn't carry.
Worth knowing about the CTRS as well: the Certified Tax Resolution Specialist designation, from the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers, is specific to resolution work rather than tax preparation. It isn't a substitute for a license — it's an additional qualification on top of one. Katherine holds both.
And to hold ourselves to the same standard: Katherine has a team of three in the Georgetown office. They aren't licensed, and we won't call them tax professionals, because that's the exact practice this page is criticizing. What they do is gather documents, request transcripts, chase what's missing and assemble your file — which is real work and makes everything faster. What they don't do is decide your strategy or speak to the IRS for you. Katherine does that, on every case.
What we won't do
Being licensed isn't only a matter of what you're permitted to do. It also carries an obligation not to take on work you shouldn't. Three things follow from that.
We won't take a case that belongs with a different specialist.
Criminal exposure, Tax Court litigation, a bankruptcy filing — those need a tax attorney. Katherine will tell you that in the first conversation and point you toward someone who handles it, rather than discovering it after you've paid. Competence has boundaries, and under Circular 230 knowing yours isn't optional.
We won't sell you something you don't need.
Some situations are straightforward enough to handle directly with the IRS — a modest balance, a clean filing history, a simple payment plan. When that's the case, she says so on the first call. It costs us a client. It's still the right answer, and it's why a fair number of people come back later with something that genuinely does need a CPA.
We won't give you a number we can't stand behind.
No settlement estimate before your transcripts have been read. No fee quoted before the scope is actually clear. If that's less satisfying than a confident figure on a first call, it's also the reason our figures hold.
Twelve questions worth asking anyone
Ask these of any firm you're considering, including this one. The answers tell you most of what you need to know.
| # | Ask | A good answer sounds like | Be careful if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who will actually work on my case? | A named, licensed individual | "Our team of experts" with no names |
| 2 | Are you a CPA, EA, or attorney? | A direct yes and a license you can verify | A job title instead of a credential |
| 3 | Can I verify your license? | Immediately, and they tell you where | Deflection |
| 4 | Who makes the decisions on my case, and can I reach them? | A named licensed person, reachable directly | "Your case manager will keep you updated" |
| 5 | What can you tell me about my case today? | Honestly, not much before seeing transcripts | A confident settlement estimate |
| 6 | Do you guarantee an outcome? | No, and here's why nobody can | Any form of guarantee |
| 7 | What's the fee and what does it cover? | A specific number and a defined scope | An upfront fee with vague "phases" |
| 8 | Are there additional fees later? | A clear answer either way | "It depends on how it goes" |
| 9 | Do you need my credit card before reviewing my case? | No | Yes |
| 10 | How long will this take? | A range, with the reasons it varies | A short, confident number |
| 11 | What happens if I'm not satisfied? | A stated process | Nothing in writing |
| 12 | Is there anything you can't help with? | A straight list | "We handle everything" |
Question 12 is the most revealing one. A firm that claims to handle everything is telling you something about how carefully it assesses cases. Ours is answered above.
The specific claims worth walking away from
"You qualify — we can settle for pennies on the dollar."
Whether an Offer in Compromise is realistic depends on figures that come out of your IRS transcripts and a full financial statement. Nobody can know on a first call. This particular phrase has drawn sustained regulatory attention for a reason.
"There's a new federal forgiveness program."
There isn't one. The Fresh Start changes are a set of policy adjustments dating from 2011–2012 — real, useful, and not an application you submit. Any firm presenting it as a limited-time program is describing something that doesn't exist. Read what Fresh Start actually is →
"You have to decide today."
The IRS has genuine deadlines and they matter. But a firm's own enrollment deadline is a sales device. Real deadlines are printed on your notice, and a legitimate practitioner will point you to the date rather than invent one.
A guaranteed result.
No practitioner controls what the IRS accepts. A guarantee is either meaningless or hedged into meaninglessness in the contract.
Nobody licensed is named anywhere on the site.
If you can't find a single individual with a verifiable credential, ask why accountability is missing from their process.
They called you first.
Legitimate firms don't cold-call people about their tax debt. Lien filings are public record, and that record is worked hard by people you don't want to hear from. If someone contacted you out of the blue, be extremely careful.
Ask her the twelve questions
The consultation is free, and it's a conversation rather than a sales call. Bring the list above. If the answers don't satisfy you, that's useful information too.