The IRS collected $104.1 billion through enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, according to the IRS Data Book FY2023. The highest enforcement total in recent years, driven by expanded collection staffing and renewed agency funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. With the IRS workforce rebuilding and automated collection systems running continuously, tax attorneys at McCauley Law Offices are seeing more taxpayers receive simultaneous lien filings, wage garnishment notices, and bank levy threats. Often with little warning. For anyone carrying unresolved tax debt right now, the collection machinery is not slowing down.
KEY FACTS: The IRS collected $104.1 billion through enforcement in FY2023, up from prior-year totals, per the IRS Data Book FY2023 The IRS filed 668,477 federal tax liens in FY2023, a figure that directly damages credit and restricts asset transfers – IRS Data Book FY2023 The National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2024 Annual Report to Congress found that unrepresented taxpayers were significantly less likely to receive favorable outcomes in IRS collection proceedings than those with qualified representation McCauley Law Offices has resolved cases involving debts over $1 million. Including one in which a $1.2M liability was reduced to $27,000 The firm represents clients in all 50 states and has handled more than 1,000 IRS dispute and tax resolution matters McCauley Law Offices offers a free, no-obligation case evaluation for taxpayers facing IRS collection actions
The IRS Data Book numbers tell a straightforward story: the agency is collecting more, filing more liens, and issuing more levies than it was five years ago. That’s not opinion. It’s the agency’s own published record. What the data doesn’t capture is the human side of what happens when a taxpayer gets a CP504 notice on a Friday afternoon, can’t reach anyone who knows the Collection Due Process rules, and misses the 30-day window to request a hearing. That window closes whether or not the taxpayer understood it was open. The Offer in Compromise program, one of the IRS’s primary debt-reduction tools, accepted approximately 13,179 offers in FY2023, representing roughly $275.2 million in total accepted offers, per the IRS Data Book FY2023. Those numbers look encouraging in isolation. What they don’t show is the acceptance rate: historically under 40%, and in many years closer to 30%. An Offer in Compromise works when it’s built correctly. With supporting financials that match IRS Form 433-A or 433-B standards, a realistic Reasonable Collection Potential calculation, and a submission strategy timed to the right stage of collection. Built incorrectly, it gets rejected, restarts the clock, and costs the taxpayer months. “The IRS collected over $100 billion through enforcement last year,” said Greg McCauley Jr., Esq., Tax Attorney at McCauley Law Offices. “That number reflects a fully operational collection machine that doesn’t distinguish between a taxpayer who just fell behind and one who’s been ignoring notices for three years. What we see consistently is that taxpayers who engage early, before a levy hits, have the most options. Once a levy is executed, you’re negotiating from a much weaker position. The IRS doesn’t have to give those options back.” The Collection Due Process framework gives taxpayers specific rights. The right to a hearing, the right to appeal, the right to challenge proposed collection actions before they’re carried out. Those rights are time-limited. A taxpayer who receives a Notice of Intent to Levy has 30 days to request a CDP hearing under Internal Revenue Code Section 6330. Miss it, and the appeal option shifts to an Equivalent Hearing. Which doesn’t suspend collection. “Most people facing IRS enforcement don’t know the procedural difference between a CDP hearing and an Equivalent Hearing,” McCauley said. “That distinction can mean the difference between stopping a levy and watching it happen while your appeal is still pending.” McCauley Law Offices uses a 4-step resolution process: immediate contact with the IRS to stop active collection actions, full financial and case analysis, negotiation of the appropriate resolution path (installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status, or penalty abatement), and confirmed resolution with documentation. The firm does not promise specific outcomes. Tax resolution depends on the taxpayer’s financial profile, the type of tax owed, and the stage of collection. But the process is designed to restore the taxpayer’s legal standing with the IRS as quickly as possible.
About McCauley Law Offices
McCauley Law Offices is a tax law firm providing IRS defense and tax resolution services to individuals and small business owners across all 50 states. The firm’s attorneys and CPAs handle IRS audits, federal tax liens, wage garnishment, bank levies, and debt negotiation, including Offers in Compromise and Collection Due Process hearings.
To request a free case evaluation, visit https://mlotax.com.
Media ContactCompany Name: McCauley Law OfficesContact Person: Gregory McCauleyEmail: Send EmailCity: Chadds FordCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://mlotax.com/
