Seeking referral to paid (cash up front) debt and IRS negotiator
I'm seeking a referral to a cash up front (no hidden agenda) negotiator for debts. This is in service of a trust set up to pay the debts of an individual. There's not quite enough money to cover everything, so there needs to be some negotiation and seeking of letters in compromise. About half the debt is to the IRS. I am aware of https://www.nfcc.org/ , but suspicious of "free" services, and also this situation is different from the usual bad debt case: here there is a one time windfall available to pay down debt.
Jun 20, 2017
Parent Replies
Please, please contact the IRS first. They will negotiate with you for payment. Many of these services do nothing more than contact the IRS as you could do on your own. The IRS wants payment and if you can only pay a certain amount to extinguish the debt, they will work with you. If you really want someone to represent you, find a CPA with experience working with the IRS.
Start with NFCC. You are likely to do better with them than with a low-cost private negotiator; they are a nonprofit with a well-established history. (Their services are also not necessarily free, but the counseling agencies that work with them follow a fixed fee schedule to keep costs affordable to consumers.) You can also negotiate with the IRS directly; there are instructions on their website to pursue that. At the end of the day, they are just looking to get paid, and are generally amenable to working out plans for unique circumstances.