Frequently Asked Questions
Get Your Tax Questions Answered By Dutton Legal Group
FEES
What do you charge?
It depends. The consultation with our attorney is free. Our attorney will go over your particular situation with you in detail, advise you of your options, and inform you of our proposed fee by determining the work that we will need to do to help resolve your tax problem.
Do you charge hourly rates?
No, unless we’re representing you in US Tax Court. Otherwise, we charge a flat fee instead of charging hourly rates. You hire us to do a job, we tell you the fee, and that’s how much it’ll cost. No surprises.
Do you do payment plans for fees?
Yes, we do. And unlike a lot of other firms, we start work as soon as we receive your first payment.
Do you require money up front?
The consultation with our attorney is free. Our payment plans usually split fees evenly over a period of months, so you don’t have to come up with a large amount of money to get us started working on your case. We start work as soon as we receive your first monthly payment.
Can you get me a “deal?” Like “pennies on the dollar?”
That depends on your situation. Schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys and we’ll go over your particular situation with you in detail amd advise you of your options.
Do you take pro bono cases?
Yes, we do. If you’d like us to consider taking your case pro-bono, send an email with all of the details of your case to: help@duttonlegalgroup.com. Sending the email doesn’t mean you’ve hired us or we’ve agreed to take your case, though. You’ll get an answer from us within 2 weeks, telling you if we will agree to represent you, pro-bono.
What Can Dutton Legal Group Help With?
Do you prepare tax returns?
Yes, we do. The fee to prepare the return depends on the complexity of the return, so you’d need to speak with our attorney about fees.
Can you tell me when I will get my refund?
No, not unless you hire us to find out. But the IRS can tell you. You can call the IRS at 800.829.1040 or visit them at www.irs.gov.
Do you deal with property tax cases?
No, not at this time.
Do you take audit (examination) cases?
Yes, we’ve helped a lot of people through audits.
Do you help with state taxes?
Yes. We’re very experienced in that area.
Do you help with bankruptcy?
No, sorry, we focus on tax work at this time.
Do you handle child custody cases?
No, sorry, we focus on tax work at this time.
Can you reduce my tax debt?
That depends on your situation. Schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys and we’ll go over your particular situation with you in detail amd advise you of your options.
Can you get the interest or penalties to go away [be abated]?
That depends on your situation. Schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys and we’ll go over your particular situation with you in detail and advise you if a request to make penalties/interest go away is likely to succeed.
Can you get rid of my tax lien?
That depends on your situation. Schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys and we’ll go over your particular situation with you in detail and advise you of your options to deal with your tax lien.
Can you tell me if somebody claimed my kids on their tax return?
No. You can call the IRS at 800.829.1040 or visit them at www.irs.gov.. They can tell you.
IRS Questions
Why does it matter how much I owe the IRS or the state?
If you owe less than $9,000 & you have less than 2 unfiled tax returns, you might be better off paying the IRS or trying to solve your problem yourself rather than paying our fees to help resolve your problem. One of our attorneys will be happy to talk with you either way, but just understand that if you don’t owe that much, and still want to hire us, the cure might end costing you more than your problem itself.
What can I do if the IRS denied my dependent claim?
If you haven’t done so already, contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service division of the IRS to help you. Visit: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate
What is the number/website for the IRS?
You can call the IRS at 800.829.1040 or visit them at www.irs.gov..
Confidentiality
Is my contact information confidential?
Yes.
My spouse doesn’t know about this tax problem, can you represent me without him or her knowing about it?
We can’t represent you without your spouse knowing about our representation if the issue involves a “married filing joint” tax return filed with your spouse.
Miscellaneous
How long have you been doing this kind of work?
We’ve been handling tax cases since 2007.
Do you have the number or can you refer me to someone who does legal work in any area other than tax?
Your county’s local bar association can certainly refer you to someone who can help you.
Am I going to jail over this tax problem?
Without knowing more about your case, I can’t tell you that. The most important thing is to do something to get the problem solved. Schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys and we’ll put your mind at ease.
What do I do if somebody else claimed my kids on their tax return?
If you haven’t done so already, contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service division of the IRS to help you. Visit: https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate
My tax preparer caused my tax liability or audit. Are they responsible for paying my tax liability?
No. If you owe taxes, you’re responsible for paying the taxes. That’s not stopping you from suing your tax preparer or making a claim on their insurance for repayment, however. We don’t do that type of work, though. We recommend that you contact a law firm that does general litigation to handle your lawsuit/insurance claim.
Will you sue [another tax resolution company/law firm/accountant] because they screwed up my IRS case, didn’t do anything for me or screwed up my return?
No. We recommend that you contact a law firm that does general litigation to handle your lawsuit/insurance claim.
I've set-up a payment plan with the IRS. Will they still take my tax refund?
Yes. If you owe a balance to the IRS, they will offset any tax refund to which you’re entitled, up to the amount you owe.
Contact Us
