Worksheets
Tool 10: Professional Selection Questionnaire
Use a questionnaire to compare tax professionals, ask about credentials and fees, clarify scope and spot warning signs before signing an engagement.
Book by Justus D Eapen · The IRS Is Not the End of the World · professional review pendingThis page’s Source Notes and review status1 min read
Review status: book guide, pending professional review. This text has not yet been reviewed by an enrolled agent, CPA, or attorney. It is general education, not advice for your situation. Figures, forms, and thresholds change; verify them on IRS.gov.
Take this to any consultation.
- What is your credential (enrolled agent, CPA, attorney) and license number? (Verify afterward in the IRS directory, state bar, or state board.)
- Who will work my case, and will that person sign the Form 2848?
- How many collection cases like mine have you handled in the last year?
- What will you do first, and what will the investigation phase cost?
- Based on what I have told you, what are my realistic options, and what do you not yet know?
- How do you charge, and what happens to the fee if the IRS rejects what we submit?
- How and how often will you communicate with me?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- Will you tell me if you think I do not need you?
Walk away if: a result is promised; a fee is quoted before transcripts are reviewed; the person you are speaking with is a salesperson and cannot name the credentialed representative; the whole fee is demanded up front with urgency; "Fresh Start program" is used as if it were a door; the collection statute and the five-year offer rule are never mentioned.
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