27 Sep What does it cost to get help with an IRS letter?

Q. How much would it cost to hire a CPA or tax attorney to deal with an IRS letter saying you owe back taxes?
— Need help

A. It depends on your relationship with the tax professional and how complex your situation turns out to be.

There’s no way to give you an estimate.

“If our firm were the tax preparer for that return, we would look at the correspondence and determine the cause,” said Michael Karu, a certified public accountant with Levine, Jacobs & Co. in Livingston. “If we did not prepare the return, we would need all of the backup information plus the tax return in order to determine the problem.

The amount of information that the taxpayer is able to find and the speed with which the taxpayer can find it what’s needed will dictate the overall cost in dealing with the IRS, he said.

Email your questions to .

This story was originally published on Sept. 27, 2019.

NJMoneyHelp.com presents certain general financial planning principles and advice, but should never be viewed as a substitute for obtaining advice from a personal professional advisor who understands your unique individual circumstances.