When do you need to hire a tax attorney? Tax attorneys are needed when you are in any of these following situations:

•    When you have disputes and are planning on filing a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
•    When you are seeking an independent review of your case in the United States Tax Court.
•    When you get involved in a case of tax fraud. You need a tax attorney for protection and privilege.
•    When you engage in an international business. You need a tax attorney to help you with the tax treatments, contracts, and other legal matters.
•    When you are under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. You need a tax attorney to defend yourself.
•    When you have a property or an estate and you need to strategize on how to pay the complex estate tax  your property or when you need to submit an estate tax return.
•    When you are about to start a business. You need a tax attorney to give you legal advice on the structure and plans on how your company will pay the taxes.

What are the characteristics of a good tax relief attorney? Aside from the general fact that he/she should be knowledgeable of the complex field and laws of United States Taxation, you must also look for these minimum qualifications: he/she must have a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree and must be licensed to practice law by being admitted to the state bar. Tax attorneys should also have advanced training in tax laws. You can be more assured if you get to find an attorney with LL.M degree or a master of laws degree in taxation.
If you are also having a complex accounting case aside from your legal tax case, it would be better to hire a tax attorney who has experience working as a Certified Public Accountant.

Hiring a tax attorney to solve your tax problems and issues may give you added cost but imagine the huge amount that you may have to pay if you get tangled up in the complicated field of tax laws. You might lose more money if you don’t get things straightened up with the help of a tax attorney.

But over and beyond tax planning, my father is also an expert in helping people or companies who are being investigated by the IRS for either tax evasion or fraud or both. And when his client is found guilty, he works things out with the IRS in settling for a reduction in penalties, or come up with an out of court settlement agreeable to all parties concerned.
So now you ask what about accountants and tax advisors. To that I say consulting with a tax attorney like my father is a better option because if worse comes to worst, the court cannot mandate my father to appear in court as witness against you and all of your correspondence with him shall remain confidential. Unfortunately, I cannot the say same things for accountants or advisors.
So there, I think I have more or less aptly described what my father does as a tax relief attorney. And it gives me a sense of pride that he’s all that and more.