Tax Defense ✦ Appeals
Most Tax Cases Are Won in Appeals, Not in Court.
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals exists to settle disputes on the hazards of litigation, and a collection due process hearing is the one request that freezes a levy while your case is heard. North Star Law Firm files the protests, prepares the hearings, and negotiates the settlements for Colorado taxpayers, by phone and correspondence, with the Colorado Department of Revenue protest managed alongside.
Overview
Two doors to the same office
An examination that ends in disagreement, a penalty you shouldn’t owe, a levy notice, a lien filing, a rejected offer in compromise: each of these can be taken to Appeals, an office that is independent of the examiner and the collection officer and whose job is to close cases. The first door is a written protest of a 30-day letter. The second is a collection due process request under I.R.C. § 6330, which must be filed within 30 days of a final levy notice and which suspends the levy while the hearing is pending. We handle both, and we prepare them the way Appeals reads them: facts, law, and the hazards the government faces if the case goes to the Tax Court.
- Written protests of examination reports and penalty assessments
- CDP and equivalent hearing requests filed on time (Form 12153)
- Levy stayed while the CDP hearing is pending
- Collection alternatives proposed and negotiated at the hearing
- Underlying liability challenged where no prior opportunity existed
- Hazards-of-litigation analysis written for the Appeals officer
- Tax Court review of an adverse CDP determination
- Colorado protest to the Executive Director filed in parallel
Timeline
The deadlines that decide whether you get a hearing
| Notice | Your window | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day letter (examination report) | 30 days | Protest to the Independent Office of Appeals before assessment |
| Notice of deficiency (90-day letter) | 90 days | Petition to the U.S. Tax Court; Appeals usually gets the case first (docketed Appeals) |
| Final notice of intent to levy (LT11 / Letter 1058) | 30 days | CDP hearing under § 6330 with levy stayed and Tax Court review |
| Notice of federal tax lien filing (Letter 3172) | 30 days | CDP hearing under § 6320 on the lien |
| Colorado notice of deficiency | 30 days | Written protest to the DOR Executive Director; collection stayed; de novo appeal to district court after final determination |
The Attorney-CPA Difference
A protest is a brief with a spreadsheet attached.
Appeals officers settle on the numbers as much as the law. A protest that quantifies each adjustment, shows the records behind the taxpayer’s figure, and prices the hazards on both sides gives the officer a basis to close the case. We write the legal argument and build the schedules ourselves, and when the settlement involves a collection alternative, the financial statement behind it is prepared by a CPA the way the IRS manual expects.
- Protest drafted with the law and the numbers in one document
- Financial statements for collection alternatives prepared in-house
- Settlement modeled before the conference so you know the range
- Tax Court petition ready if Appeals won’t move
- Colorado protest and conference handled in parallel
Questions & Answers
IRS Appeals & CDP Hearings questions, answered
What is the difference between Appeals and a CDP hearing?
Appeals is the IRS’s independent settlement office, and any examination result can be taken there with a timely protest. A collection due process hearing under I.R.C. §§ 6320 and 6330 is a specific right that arises when the IRS files a lien or sends a final notice of intent to levy; it is also heard by Appeals, but it stops the levy while it is pending and it can be reviewed by the Tax Court. Both are handled by phone or correspondence for Colorado taxpayers.
How long do I have to request a CDP hearing?
Thirty days from the date of the Letter 1058 or LT11 (final notice of intent to levy) or the lien notice. A request within 30 days gives you a full CDP hearing with Tax Court review. A request after 30 days but within a year gets an equivalent hearing with no court review and no automatic levy stay. The difference matters, so the date on the notice matters.
Can I raise collection alternatives at the hearing?
Yes, and that is usually the point. An installment agreement, an offer in compromise, currently-not-collectible status, or lien withdrawal can all be proposed, and the settlement officer must consider them. You can also challenge the underlying tax if you never had a prior opportunity to dispute it.
Does Colorado have an Appeals process?
Colorado’s version is the written protest to the Executive Director within 30 days of a notice of deficiency, followed by review with the Tax Conferee section, an optional conference, and a formal hearing in Denver if the matter isn’t resolved. An adverse final determination can be appealed de novo to district court within 30 days under C.R.S. § 39-21-105. Filing the protest also stays collection while it is pending.
What does Appeals consider that the examiner didn’t?
Hazards of litigation. An examiner applies the rules; an Appeals officer weighs how a case would come out in court and can settle on a percentage basis. That is why a well-documented protest with the legal arguments laid out often resolves for far less than the report, without a trial.
Talk to an attorney-CPA before you talk to the IRS.
A free consultation, a plain-English assessment, and a flat fee in writing if you decide to move forward.