If the IRS is auditing your return or your Delaware LLC, or collecting a tax debt, our Wilmington tax attorneys can represent you. We can also request innocent spouse relief when a joint return leaves you owing tax for your spouse's errors. We handle each stage, from the first IRS notice to an appeal or, if needed, a court case.
Our office is at 600 North King Street, a few blocks from the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building. The Division of Revenue's public service counter on North French Street is a short walk away.
When an IRS letter arrives, it sometimes concerns a year you believed was fully paid. Getting one does not by itself mean you are accused of a crime. We can compare the IRS's figures with your records, then tell you what the notice asks for and by when.
Get directions 600 North King Street, Suite 300 By appointment only. to the Wilmington office (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Common matters we see here
- IRS examinations of Delaware LLCs, including partnership audits under the centralized audit regime
- Innocent spouse relief and other requests for relief from joint tax liabilities
- IRS audits and examinations, including correspondence, office, and field exams
- Criminal tax investigations
- Payroll and employment tax disputes, including trust fund recovery penalty assessments
- Liens, levies, wage garnishment, and collection due process hearings
- Unfiled returns and back taxes, including substitute-for-return assessments
- Options for an IRS balance: an offer in compromise, an installment agreement, or currently not collectible status
- Assessments and refund denials from the Delaware Division of Revenue
- Residency questions for people who moved into or out of Delaware
Local regulators & venues
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
At 844 North King Street. You can file a refund suit here once you have paid the assessment in full. In return, you can ask for a jury, and the court hears all kinds of cases, not only tax cases. For the trust fund recovery penalty and other divisible taxes, you can sue after paying one employee's share for one quarter.
IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, Wilmington
The IRS's in-person office for the city sees taxpayers by appointment. The agency also runs Taxpayer Assistance Centers in Dover and Georgetown.
United States Tax Court
The Tax Court has no place of trial in Delaware and holds no sessions in the state. Petitioners here usually request Philadelphia, where the court sits in the United States Custom House on Chestnut Street.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Appeals from both courts above generally go to Philadelphia, where this court sits. Its decisions on responsible person liability under I.R.C. 6672 bind trust fund cases here. In Culp v. Commissioner, it held that the 90-day deadline for a Tax Court petition is not jurisdictional. So a late petition can be excused in narrow circumstances, under a rule known as equitable tolling. The Tax Court does not apply that rule in every circuit. It is worth knowing if you have already missed the deadline.
Communities served from the Wilmington office
The office serves New Castle County, including Newark, Bear, Middletown, Hockessin, Greenville, Claymont, Newport, Elsmere, New Castle, Glasgow, and Pike Creek. We also take matters from the rest of the state, such as Dover and Georgetown.
Paying, settling or pausing an IRS debt
If the balance is right but too large to pay at once, there are three usual paths:
- An installment agreement lets you pay over time.
- An offer in compromise can settle the debt for less than the full amount.
- Currently not collectible status pauses collection during financial hardship.
Those same steps can also reverse a passport certification for the debt.
What we handle
IRS Audits
What an IRS audit involves, why the IRS opens one, and how an attorney protects your position from the first letter.
Learn more →IRS Collections
What the IRS can do to collect a tax debt, the rights that apply at each step, and the ways to stop enforcement.
Learn more →White Collar Tax Defense
When the IRS treats a tax problem as a crime, what conduct is charged, and how a defense attorney answers it.
Learn more →A note on admissions Federal tax matters are handled nationwide, including IRS examinations, appeals, collection, and Tax Court litigation. Delaware state and local tax matters are handled together with Whiteford attorneys admitted in Delaware, or with co-counsel where a matter requires it.
Why taxpayers choose Whiteford
- More than 200 attorneys in 19 offices, spread among ten states and the District of Columbia; in Delaware, the firm practices as Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLC.
- You work directly with the attorney assigned to your matter, not with a case manager.
- Colleagues in bankruptcy, corporate governance, and employment law, for a tax problem that comes tied up with another legal issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our business is a Delaware LLC. How will the IRS audit it?
What should our LLC decide before an IRS partnership audit begins?
Do I have to travel to Philadelphia for U.S. Tax Court?
Could I qualify for relief from a spouse's tax errors?
Which ways of settling an IRS debt are open to a Wilmington household?
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