You searched for a tax attorney.
Here is what we are, and what we are not.
Ring Tax is an Enrolled Agent firm, not a law firm. An Enrolled Agent holds unlimited practice rights before the IRS in civil matters, at a published flat fee. We are in Lakeland and we represent clients in every part of Florida through a secure portal, with no office visit. If your matter is criminal, we say so and point you to counsel.
Most people searching for a tax attorney have a civil problem: a notice, an examination, a balance they cannot pay, years that never got filed. Those matters are handled in front of IRS functions where Enrolled Agents, CPAs and attorneys all have the same right to appear — and where the hourly meter, not the credential, is usually what makes the difference in cost. A small number of matters genuinely need a lawyer. Knowing which is which before you spend a retainer is the point of this page.
How we fix it.
Tell us the letter
The notice number, the date on it and the year it relates to. That is enough for us to tell you which engagement you are actually looking at and what it costs.
Transcript review
If you are not sure what is going on, $200 buys the full account and wage-and-income record and a plain-English read of it. It is credited toward whatever representation follows.
A fee before you commit
Every engagement on this page has a published flat fee, quoted and paid upfront. Nothing here is billed hourly and nothing is quoted after the work starts.
We become the contact
Form 2848 is filed for the specific tax type and years. The IRS corresponds with us, the examiner schedules with us, and you get plain-English updates instead of mail.
Why us for IRS representation.
Enrolled Agent, enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all 50 states, alongside CPAs and attorneys.
Finance training: the math behind every recommendation we make.
Enrolled Agent, attorney or CPA — the actual difference.
Circular 230 gives all three unlimited practice rights before the IRS: any matter, any office, any tax type, any year. An attorney adds attorney-client privilege and the ability to appear in court, which is what criminal exposure, Tax Court litigation and anything touching state law require. A CPA adds attest work — audited and reviewed financial statements — which we do not do and do not claim. An Enrolled Agent is enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS and tested specifically on tax law, representation and procedure. For a notice, an examination, a collection case, unfiled years or an Appeals conference, the three credentials stand in exactly the same place.
We are not a law firm, and here is what that costs you.
No attorney-client privilege. What you do get is the limited confidentiality under Internal Revenue Code section 7525 for a federally authorized tax practitioner, which covers non-criminal federal tax advice before the IRS — and which does not apply to criminal matters, to most state proceedings, or to the preparation of a return. We cannot give legal advice, cannot file in Tax Court on your behalf, and do not take criminal matters. When the facts look like they belong with a lawyer, we tell you on the first call rather than after the retainer clears.
The published fee menu — notices and examinations.
Notice response, any number, $600. Correspondence audit representation $1,500. Office or field audit $3,500. Business audit, meaning an S corp, partnership or employment tax examination, $5,000. ERC examination defense $4,000. Trust fund recovery penalty defense $3,500. Every one is flat, quoted and paid upfront, and never hourly.
Pricing, on the page.
Published prices · Quoted in writing before any work startsHow it works: one annual fee, half paid at engagement and half before your return is filed. Everything past the package baseline is a published add-on at a fixed price, so nobody counts forms. Books, payroll and sales tax are the only monthly items, because they are the only monthly work. See the full grid and every add-on or start your intake.
One practitioner. Every file, personally led.
Cody is an Enrolled Agent with an MBA, a solo practitioner with a small support team, working out of Lakeland, Florida.
Every client engagement is led by Cody personally. The firm stays deliberately small so the work stays deliberately careful. The person who filed your return is the person who handles the IRS.
Common questions.
If yours isn't here, ask it on the intake — we read every one before the first call.
Do I need a tax attorney or an Enrolled Agent?
If there is criminal exposure — a Criminal Investigation contact, a grand jury subpoena, willful conduct you are worried about — you need a lawyer, today, and we will say so and stop. If you need privilege for a strategic conversation, or the matter belongs in the United States Tax Court or a state court, you need a lawyer. An IRS summons is the case people most often get wrong here: a summons on Form 2039 compels records or testimony on a fixed return date and can be served on you or, as a third-party summons, on your bank, your payroll provider or your customers, and it is almost always a civil enforcement tool rather than a criminal one. An Enrolled Agent can respond to it and appear with you. A summons that comes from Criminal Investigation is the exception, and that one is a lawyer's call — we will tell you which you are holding before you spend anything. For everything else on this page, an Enrolled Agent stands in front of the IRS with the same rights and usually at a fraction of the fee, because the fee is flat instead of hourly.
What is an Enrolled Agent, exactly?
A tax practitioner enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS. The enrollment comes from the United States Treasury, not from a state board, and it is earned by passing a three-part examination on individual tax, business tax and representation, or by qualifying service at the IRS. It carries unlimited practice rights before the IRS under Circular 230 and it is tax-only: no audits of financial statements, no legal work, no investment advice.
Is anything I tell you confidential?
Internal Revenue Code section 7525 extends a limited confidentiality privilege to a federally authorized tax practitioner for tax advice in non-criminal federal tax matters before the IRS. It is narrower than attorney-client privilege: it does not apply to criminal matters, it generally does not apply in state proceedings, and it does not cover return preparation. If the facts you are about to describe need real privilege, stop and call a lawyer first. That is not us being modest, it is the actual law.
What does collection work cost?
Streamlined installment agreement $750. Non-streamlined agreement with the Form 433 financials $1,500. Offer in compromise $3,500, where the collection math supports one. Currently not collectible status $1,000. Levy release $1,000. Lien withdrawal, discharge or subordination $1,000. Penalty abatement is $400 first-time or $900 for a written reasonable-cause request. Every figure is published and flat.
What about appeals, unfiled years and Florida?
IRS Appeals or a CDP hearing $2,500. Innocent spouse relief on Form 8857 $2,000. Audit reconsideration $1,500. Unfiled back years are quoted at intake, paid upfront and never folded into a package. Florida Department of Revenue sales tax audit defense is $3,000 and a DOR protest is $2,000 — state practice, not IRS representation. If you have no idea which of these you need, transcript review and diagnosis is $200 and it is credited toward whatever comes next.
Where do I go for my specific problem?
Seven pages, one path each. A notice or letter: ringtaxes.com/services/irs-notice-response. An examination: ringtaxes.com/services/irs-audit-representation. A balance, a payment plan, a wage garnishment, a levy or a lien: ringtaxes.com/services/irs-collections. Years that never got filed: ringtaxes.com/services/unfiled-tax-returns. Payroll tax, trust fund recovery, a summons, worker classification or an ERC exam: ringtaxes.com/services/business-irs-representation. Appeals, a CDP hearing, innocent spouse or audit reconsideration: ringtaxes.com/services/irs-appeals. A Florida sales tax, reemployment tax or tourist tax audit: ringtaxes.com/services/florida-dor-audit. Or tell us which letter you got and let us route it for you.
Related
- IRS notice responseAny notice number answered for one flat fee of $600.
- CP2000 noticesThe IRS thinks you left income off. We check it before you pay.
- IRS audit representationMail, office and field audits handled, so you don't meet the IRS alone.
- IRS payment plans and collectionsPayment plans, hardship status and levy releases, with the option you qualify for.
- Offer in compromiseSettling for less, only when the numbers really support it.
- Wage garnishment, liens and leviesStopping a garnishment or bank levy, starting the day you call.
- IRS appealsAppeals, CDP hearings, innocent spouse relief and audit reconsideration.
- Unfiled tax returnsWe pull your IRS records and file the missing years, quoted at intake.
- Payroll tax debt and TFRP941 balances, trust fund recovery penalty and ERC examinations.
Tell us about the letter before you send a retainer. We will tell you which credential you actually need.
Civil federal and Florida tax matters at a published flat fee, from Lakeland, anywhere in the state. If yours is criminal, we say so on the first call.
Tell us what the IRS wants.
A few questions, then pick a time for a free 15-minute call with Cody. Nothing starts until you sign an engagement letter.
Prefer to talk? Call (863) 370-8115 or Book a 15-minute call.
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