Months in, and you can’t tell what’s actually happening on your case?
Here’s how to see for yourself, from the IRS’s own records, in about ten minutes. Free, and you don’t need us, or them, to do it.
01What should have happened by now
A worked case leaves a paper trail, on a schedule.
- FIRST DAYSAn authorization (Form 2848) filed, so the firm can even speak to the IRS about you.
- FIRST MONTHA compliance check, your records pulled, and if collection letters were coming, a hold requested.
- MONTH 2–3An actual resolution filed: a payment arrangement, a hardship status, an offer.
Every one of those steps leaves a mark in your IRS file.
If you’re several months in and can’t name which of these has happened, that isn’t impatience. That’s information.
02How to check, free, in ten minutes
- 1.Go to irs.gov/account and sign in, or create your account. It’s your file; you’re allowed to look.
- 2.Open the Authorizations section. Is your firm listed there at all? If nobody appears months after you paid, no one has had the ability to negotiate anything for you. That’s the whole answer in one screen.
- 3.Open your Account Transcript for the year in question and read the transaction list, bottom entries first. Payments you’ve made show up. Filings show up. Holds show up. Nothing shows up when nothing happened.
The record doesn’t argue with anyone. It just says.
03Why silence is profitable
The common industry model bills monthly while a case is “in progress.” A case that resolves stops billing; a case that sits open keeps paying. That’s not a conspiracy, it’s just the incentive, and it’s why silence is the number-one complaint category against these firms in public complaint records.
The fix isn’t calling them again. It’s reading your own file, where progress is either recorded or it isn’t.
That’s how to read the record. What the record means for you: your real deadlines, your options, what a fair fix should cost, depends on your numbers. That part takes five questions:
No signup. No SSN. About two minutes.
If your case turns out to need licensed help, this ends with one short call: with the licensed Enrolled Agent himself, not a sales floor.
Red flags vs. normal waits
Some delays are genuinely the IRS’s fault, and an honest read admits it: authorization processing can take weeks, IRS review of a filed resolution takes months, and none of that is your firm’s failure.
The difference is visible in your file: a slow IRS leaves a trail of filed things waiting. A stalled firm leaves nothing. Waiting on the IRS is normal. Waiting on nothing is not.
What firing a firm actually involves
Representation is yours to change at any time. A new authorization replaces the old one by default; the IRS honors whoever you named last.
Your contract with the firm is a separate matter: read its cancellation terms before you decide anything. And whatever you do, do it in the right order: have the next representation ready before ending the current one, so there’s never a gap with no one on your file.