Tax Attorney in Houston, TX

No. Federal IRS practice is governed by 31 CFR Part 10 (Treasury Circular 230). Any attorney admitted to practice in any U.S. jurisdiction may represent any taxpayer before the IRS in any state, including Houston, through a Form 2848 Power of Attorney. The U.S. Tax Court admits attorneys on a national basis and holds trial sessions in Houston at the Bob Casey U.S. Courthouse. Texas-bar admission is required for Texas state-court litigation, which is uncommon in tax-resolution work because most federal tax cases never reach Texas state court.

No. Texas is one of nine states with no personal income tax. The Texas Constitution prohibits a state income tax on individuals without a statewide voter referendum. However, Texas does impose franchise tax on most business entities with annualized revenue over the no-tax-due threshold (currently $2.47 million) under Tex. Tax Code Chapter 171, sales-and-use tax under Chapter 151, and Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax on employers. So Houston individuals deal with federal IRS issues; Houston businesses deal with both federal IRS and state Comptroller exposure.

The U.S. Tax Court holds Houston trial sessions at the Bob Casey U.S. Courthouse, 515 Rusk Street, Houston, TX 77002. The Tax Court calendars Houston sessions throughout the year; specific session dates appear on the Court's published calendar at ustaxcourt.gov. A petitioner designates Houston as the preferred place of trial on the petition under Tax Court Rule 140. The Court also holds sessions in Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, and Lubbock for Texas petitioners closer to those metros.

Continuous absence from the United States for six months or more tolls the IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date under IRC §6503(c). For Houston oilfield consultants on long rotations in West Africa, the Middle East, or offshore drilling assignments, this can extend the 10-year federal collection window substantially. We pull the IRS CC ACTRA transcript to read the exact CSED the Service has on file, then map your travel history against it. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion under IRC §911 is a separate question that often comes up in the same conversation.

Yes — they audit different taxes. The IRS examines federal income tax, federal employment tax, and federal excise tax. The Texas Comptroller examines state franchise tax, sales-and-use tax, and crude-oil severance tax. A Houston business can simultaneously face an IRS Form 941 payroll audit and a Comptroller sales-tax audit on Ship Channel logistics revenue sourcing. The two agencies share information through information-exchange agreements, and an adjustment in one forum often triggers a second look in the other.

Yes. Personal-use casualty losses are deductible under IRC §165(h) only when attributable to a federally declared disaster. Hurricane Harvey (FEMA-4332-DR-TX in 2017) and Hurricane Beryl (FEMA-4798-DR-TX in 2024) both qualify, as do the February 2021 Texas winter storm and Tropical Storm Imelda 2019. The deduction is the lesser of basis or fair-market-value decline, reduced by insurance and other recoveries, then by the $100 per casualty floor and the 10% of AGI floor. Some Houston filers can still amend prior-year returns under IRC §165(i) to claim the loss in the disaster year. The choice between disaster-year and following-year reporting changes the tax outcome materially.

Probably yes, for the federal trust-fund portion. IRC §6672 assesses a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any "responsible person" who "willfully" failed to pay over withheld taxes — the FICA and federal income-tax withholding portion of Form 941, not the employer's matching share. The IRS conducts a Form 4180 interview to identify responsible persons. Anyone with check-signing authority, payroll-decision authority, or knowledge of the unpaid taxes can be assessed personally. On the state side, Texas Comptroller sales-tax responsible-person liability operates under similar principles for entities that collected sales tax in trust and failed to remit.

Yes. IRC §7345 authorizes the IRS to certify "seriously delinquent" tax debt — currently $62,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation — to the U.S. State Department, which may then deny passport renewal or revoke an active passport. The certification reverses when the debt is paid, an Installment Agreement is in place, an accepted Offer in Compromise is in force, an active CDP hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. For Houston international consultants, NASA Johnson Space Center personnel with travel obligations, and energy-sector workers who shuttle between Houston and overseas projects, decertification is often the most urgent step in the engagement.

Almost certainly yes. If the aggregate balance of all foreign financial accounts you own or have signature authority over exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR). If the year-end balance exceeds $50,000 for single filers or $100,000 for joint filers (higher thresholds for filers living abroad), you also file Form 8938 with your federal tax return under IRC §6038D. Inherited accounts are reportable from the moment ownership transfers. Houston heirs of Mexican, Central American, or Colombian family accounts make up a steady share of our FBAR practice. Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures or Voluntary Disclosure Practice resolve non-willful and willful prior failures, respectively.

For a Texas Medical Center attending physician with a 1099-NEC contract at MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann, Baylor College of Medicine, or Texas Children's, the tax stack is: federal income tax at progressive rates topping out at 37% (plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax on wages and SE income above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint), plus 15.3% self-employment tax under IRC §1401 on the first $168,600 of net SE earnings (2024 figure; indexed), plus the 2.9% Medicare portion above that. Net effective rate frequently exceeds 40% before deductions. Quarterly estimates under IRC §6654 are mandatory; missing them triggers underpayment penalties. We routinely set up retirement-plan strategies (solo 401(k), defined-benefit plans) and qualified-business-income deductions under IRC §199A where the specified-service-trade-or-business limits permit.

Federal tax-resolution fees vary by matter complexity. A straightforward Installment Agreement typically falls between $1,500 and $3,500. A full Offer in Compromise with Form 433 financial analysis runs $4,000 to $7,500. Audit defense depends on the audit type and number of issues. A U.S. Tax Court petition with case workup and trial preparation generally starts at $6,000 and rises with complexity. We provide a written fee quote after the free consultation. Cal Bar Rule 7.1 prohibits price comparisons unless backed by verifiable substantiation, so we do not market on price — we market on the work product and the case files behind it.

Yes. Communications between you and a licensed attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice are protected by federal common-law attorney-client privilege, subject to the usual exceptions (crime-fraud, waiver, etc.). The narrower federally-authorized tax practitioner privilege under IRC §7525 applies to non-attorney CPAs and EAs but does not extend to criminal-tax matters. An attorney handling your Houston tax case retains the broader privilege that survives criminal investigation — a meaningful difference if the audit develops fraud indicators.

Yes, generally. IRC §6331(k)(1) suspends levy action while a processable Offer is pending and for 30 days after a rejection, and during any timely-filed Appeals review of a rejection. The IRS will not levy your Houston bank account or wages while the Offer is being evaluated. However, the IRS may still file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien during the OIC pendency to protect its position in your Harris County real estate or other assets. The CSED is also tolled during the pendency. A poorly-prepared OIC that gets returned (not rejected) does not provide the same protection — processability is the key threshold.

For administrative redetermination at the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, taxpayers may represent themselves or be represented by an attorney, a CPA, or another authorized representative under Texas Comptroller rules. For judicial review proceeding in Travis County district court in Austin, an attorney admitted in Texas is required. VTL handles the federal side of overlapping Houston matters and coordinates with Texas counsel where state-court litigation is necessary. Most Comptroller disputes resolve at the SOAH stage without ever reaching state court.

A Houston Tax Court trial is a bench trial — no jury — before a Judge or Special Trial Judge of the U.S. Tax Court. The session opens with calendar call where the Court hears scheduling issues. Most cases on the calendar settle before trial; the IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorney for the case meets with petitioner's counsel during the days before trial. If trial proceeds, the petitioner bears the burden of proof on most issues, presents evidence and witness testimony, and the Court issues a written opinion typically within several months of trial. Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 applies to deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year and uses simplified evidentiary standards.