Tax Relief & IRS Help in Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn residents face one of the heaviest combined tax burdens in the country: federal income tax, New York State income tax, and a separate New York City income tax that together can consume a significant share of what a working family earns. That layered obligation creates federal and state tax debt faster than most people expect. A healthcare worker in Flatbush who picks up per diem shifts at multiple hospitals owes self-employment tax on that outside income to the IRS and to New York State, with nothing automatically withheld. A financial back-office professional commuting from Crown Heights to a Manhattan firm may receive a year-end bonus that pushes the combined federal and state tax bill well above what was taken from regular paychecks. Small-business owners in Sunset Park, Borough Park, and Flatbush, from Haitian-owned car services to Orthodox-Jewish retail shops to Chinese-owned manufacturers, often fall years behind on IRS and New York State quarterly filings when revenue is thin and professional guidance is out of reach. Construction trades workers throughout the borough pick up 1099 jobs alongside their union work and owe federal and state self-employment tax on every dollar of that side income. Freelancers, designers, and tech workers in DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint juggle multiple clients without withholding, letting estimated taxes fall behind quarter after quarter. Anthem Tax Services resolves IRS and New York State tax debt for Brooklyn residents and businesses across every neighborhood. Our practice centers entirely on IRS tax debt relief, and you can learn about us before you take any step.

Get a Free Consultation

Taking On IRS and State Tax Debt in Brooklyn

A federal or New York State tax balance that goes unaddressed compounds on itself every month. Interest accrues on the original amount, penalties stack on both, and the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance work through escalating notices until they move against wages and bank accounts. Anthem stops that escalation. We file authorized representation with the agencies involved, routing every call and letter away from you, and then build a resolution grounded in your real income and real obligations, with one licensed professional owning the case from start to finish.

Warning Signs That Demand Immediate Action

Both the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance send a clear sequence of notices before they enforce. Any of the following signals that it is time to act.

• IRS notices have arrived in escalating order, from a CP14 through a CP503 and CP504 to a final LT11, each step advancing the debt toward the agency's power to seize wages and accounts.
• Your employer was served with a wage levy by the IRS or New York State and the agency is now withholding from every paycheck.
• A bank levy froze your account, with a 21-day window before the IRS transfers those funds.
• Federal or New York State taxes have been unpaid for a year or more and the compounding total rises every month.
• Returns for one or more years were never filed at the federal or state level, blocking access to most relief options.
• A federal tax lien has been placed on Brooklyn property you own, attaching that claim to your title in the public record.

What the IRS and New York State Will Not Volunteer

The notice you received from the IRS or the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance names a balance and a deadline. It says nothing about the legitimate legal mechanisms that allow you to reduce that balance, pause enforcement while your situation stabilizes, or settle the debt for substantially less. Neither agency is required to explain those options. They exist in federal law and in New York's own tax procedures. Identifying the right one for your situation and making the strongest possible case for it is exactly what Anthem's attorneys and enrolled agents do.

Brooklyn Taxpayers We Help

The IRS and state tax situations we resolve in Brooklyn come from the full range of the borough's economy. Recent clients include:

• Healthcare workers at Kings County Hospital, NYU Langone Brooklyn, and Maimonides Medical Center who supplement hospital employment with per diem or agency shifts, owing self-employment tax on that outside income to both the IRS and New York State.
• Manhattan financial back-office professionals commuting from Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Prospect Park South who receive year-end bonuses or restricted stock that push the combined federal, state, and city tax bill above what was withheld.
• Small-business owners in Sunset Park, Flatbush, Bay Ridge, and Borough Park, including restaurant operators, car services, retail shops, and contractors, who carry both IRS and New York State quarterly filing obligations they have fallen behind on.
• Construction workers and union tradespeople who take independent side jobs and owe federal and state self-employment tax on project income with nothing withheld.
• Freelancers, designers, developers, and creative professionals in DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint who bill multiple clients without withholding, letting estimated taxes slide quarter after quarter.
• Brooklyn Navy Yard tenants, film and television production workers, and artisans whose project-based income creates irregular cash flow and missed quarterly payments.
• Immigrant entrepreneurs across the borough's Caribbean, Latin American, Chinese, and South Asian communities who manage self-employment income alongside both federal and New York State filing obligations.

How Anthem Resolves Federal and State Tax Problems

Filing Every Outstanding Return

No resolution starts while returns are missing. We pull your income transcripts from the IRS, reconstruct the records that no longer exist, and file accurate returns for every year you skipped, typically the last six the IRS requires before treating an account as current, with New York State returns filed in parallel. Filing correctly tends to shrink the balance on its own, since the IRS substitute filings left out every deduction and credit that was yours. Our unfiled returns service covers both federal and New York State filings.

Pausing Collection With Currently Not Collectible Status

When paying the IRS would leave too little for housing and daily necessities in one of the costliest cities in the country, the agency may grant Currently Not Collectible status and withdraw from enforcement. Levies and garnishments are lifted and the balance is held until things improve. For a Brooklyn business owner in a slow stretch or a gig worker between contracts, this pause provides real relief. The debt stays, but collection stops. Find out if Currently Not Collectible status applies to your situation.

Paying Down the Debt Through an Installment Agreement

When paying the full balance at once is not realistic, an installment agreement converts it into monthly amounts the IRS accepts in place of a lump sum. We push the monthly figure down from the agency's opening position to one that fits your real budget, and running it on direct debit keeps the Fresh Start lien withdrawal option available. For a Brooklyn healthcare worker managing variable shift income or a small-business owner with seasonal revenue, this is usually the most sustainable approach. Look into an installment agreement.

Settling for Less: The Offer in Compromise

A qualifying taxpayer can sometimes close a federal tax balance through an Offer in Compromise for a fraction of what is owed. The IRS reviews your income against your allowable living expenses, which in New York City rank among the highest the agency uses nationally, accounts for your asset equity, and sets the ceiling of what it could realistically collect. Applications missing key documentation come back denied, so the quality of the submission is decisive. Find out if an Offer in Compromise is within reach.

Ending a Garnishment or Levy Without Delay

A wage levy or frozen bank account demands an immediate response. Once you retain Anthem, we file our authorization with the IRS, reach the agency directly, and press for a release while the longer-term resolution gets built in parallel. A bank levy must hold funds for 21 days before transferring them to the IRS. That window is your best opportunity and ours. We move to remove a wage garnishment and reverse an IRS levy.

What IRS and State Tax Help Costs in Brooklyn

A Free Consultation With No Strings

There is no charge for the first conversation. A licensed specialist reviews your balance, determines how far the IRS and New York State have advanced in their collection sequences, and tells you candidly which resolution options are genuinely on the table. You learn the likely cost and approach before spending anything, and no one pressures you toward a commitment.

One Flat Fee, Set Before We Start

A single flat fee is agreed to before the work begins and stays fixed regardless of how long the case runs or how complex it becomes. Nothing is ever billed by the hour. If covering the fee in one payment is not workable, we set up installments. Anthem's mission is to fight the battles that taxpayers shouldn't face alone, and that means serious IRS help should be available to every Brooklyn resident, not just those who can produce a large sum immediately.

Measuring the Fee Against What You Recover

The fee alone tells you nothing useful. What counts is the financial outcome when the case closes. When an $80,000 combined federal and state balance is cut to roughly $9,000, or about $25,000 in penalties is erased through abatement, the fee is a fraction of what you recover. We walk through your own numbers at the consultation so the comparison is grounded in your actual situation.

Backed by a Money-Back Guarantee

Every Anthem engagement carries a guarantee: if we don't save you money or rework your payments, you get your money back. That commitment covers the core resolution work. Bookkeeping and tax preparation services and the minimum deposit are excluded. We stand behind it because the results have earned it: Vilma L. had over $30,000 forgiven after two years of negotiations. Jeffrey Grolig saved over $90,000. Those are real outcomes, not promises, but they reflect what is possible when experienced professionals fight for you.

Brooklyn Neighborhoods and ZIP Codes We Serve

Tax situations in Brooklyn vary dramatically by neighborhood and occupation, and Anthem handles cases from every corner of the borough.

• Williamsburg, DUMBO, and Greenpoint: Brooklyn's creative and tech corridor, where freelancers, designers, and developers manage multiple income streams without withholding, making federal and state estimated taxes the most common problem we see.
• Crown Heights, Flatbush, and East Flatbush: A large Caribbean and West Indian community with many small-business owners, independent contractors, and healthcare workers who carry both IRS and New York State filing obligations.
• Sunset Park and Bay Ridge: Dense commercial and working-class neighborhoods with Latin American, Chinese, and Arab communities, where restaurant owners, garment workers, and contractors handle self-employment income alongside their state and federal obligations.
• Borough Park and Bensonhurst: A large Orthodox Jewish and Italian-American community with many small retail and service businesses where personal and business finances are closely intertwined and multi-year unfiled returns are common.
• Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Carroll Gardens: Professional and dual-income households where Manhattan commuters, attorneys, and creative professionals deal with bonus and equity income that outpaces withholding.

Find Your Brooklyn ZIP Code Page

Every Brooklyn ZIP code has its own dedicated page on our site with guidance tailored to that neighborhood's tax profile. We also serve the surrounding boroughs and communities, including Queens, Staten Island, and Nassau County. Select your ZIP below to get started.

Complete Remote Service, No Office Visit Needed

Working with Anthem from Brooklyn requires no trip to any office. Every step of the case runs by phone, email, and encrypted file transfers, managed from our Woodland Hills office. A restaurant owner in Sunset Park and a tech professional in DUMBO both receive the same level of experienced, professional handling from Anthem's licensed tax attorneys and enrolled agents, and neither has to give up a workday to access it. We deal with the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance while you focus on everything else.

Audit Defense for Brooklyn Taxpayers

An audit notice from the IRS or the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is stressful, but it comes with an important right most Brooklyn residents do not immediately claim: the right to professional representation before responding to anything. Invoking that right before the first exchange changes the entire dynamic. Anthem handles federal and state audits for Brooklyn taxpayers from the opening letter through to the final ruling.

What the Audit Process Involves

An examiner may challenge specific deductions, request documentation of self-employment or business income, or ask you to substantiate figures from one or two prior years. Most audits proceed through written correspondence and close without a face-to-face meeting. We take over the letters, organize your supporting records, and communicate with the examiner directly, keeping the scope narrow and pushing toward a fast resolution.

Your Rights at the Federal and State Level

Federal law guarantees you the right to professional representation, an explanation of every record request, and the right to appeal any finding you believe is wrong. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights sets these protections out at the federal level. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance provides equivalent taxpayer protections for state matters. Anthem enforces both sets of rights throughout the audit so you never concede more than the law requires.

Why Brooklyn Clients Work With Anthem

A Proven Record Across Tens of Thousands of Cases

Anthem has helped more than 50,000 taxpayers across the country resolve IRS back-tax problems, cutting millions from those combined balances. The outcomes are documented: Jeffrey Grolig came out over $90,000 ahead. Logan brought a $25,000 balance down to $100. Dr. Jorge Partida kept more than $25,000. Mindy settled tens of thousands for under a thousand dollars. Michel Khlaif found the results life-changing on a $35,000 balance. Vilma L. had over $30,000 forgiven after two years of negotiations. Read the full client stories.

Licensed Tax Attorneys and Enrolled Agents

Every Brooklyn file is assigned to a credentialed professional. Billy Fauller III is an Enrolled Agent, Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, and NTPI Fellow who spent eight years as an IRS Revenue Officer inside federal collections. Anna Phan is a tax attorney with over a decade of experience, including prior work as legal counsel for major banks. Ken Bruns is a tax attorney who worked at the US Treasury's Office of Chief Counsel in the IRS's TEGE Division before devoting his career to taxpayer representation. Melissa Northrup is a Licensed Enrolled Agent with more than twenty years in practice and board membership in the Orange County Chapter of the California Society of Tax Consultants. Together the team brings over 100 years of combined experience. Meet the full team.

An IRS Insider Who Knows How the Other Side Thinks

Billy Fauller III spent eight years as an IRS Revenue Officer collecting delinquent federal accounts, not reading about the process from the outside. That experience gave him a firsthand view of how the agency assembles its collection positions, what moves it toward escalation, and where the real flexibility in a negotiation actually exists. Every resolution Anthem structures for Brooklyn clients draws on that direct operational knowledge. That perspective is one very few tax firms can offer.

Federal Tax Lien Help for Brooklyn Property Owners

A federal tax lien on Brooklyn property attaches the IRS's legal claim to your title in the public record. Once filed, selling, refinancing, or borrowing against the property all become significantly harder. In a Brooklyn real estate market where even modest properties carry substantial value, a lien is not an abstract inconvenience. It is a direct financial obstacle. Several avenues exist to address one, and Anthem identifies the right path for your case.

Withdrawing the Lien Entirely

Under the IRS Fresh Start Program, the agency can fully withdraw a lien once a qualifying direct debit installment plan is active and maintained. That withdrawal removes the public Notice of Federal Tax Lien from the record entirely, a materially better result than a release that closes the account while leaving the filing visible. We set up the plan and file the withdrawal request.

What the Lien Means for Your Finances

Tax liens no longer appear in credit bureau scoring, but the underlying filing remains in the public record. Lenders, title officers, and escrow companies check those records before any real estate transaction proceeds, and a lien that surfaces can stop the deal regardless of your credit score. Clearing it provides financial flexibility no credit improvement alone can deliver, especially relevant in a borough where home values have appreciated substantially and refinancing is a common financial tool.

Selling or Refinancing While a Lien Is Active

When a real estate transaction must close before the underlying balance is paid, the IRS provides a discharge that removes the lien from a single property so the closing can proceed, and a subordination that places a refinancing lender ahead of the IRS in the repayment order. We prepare both filings and align the timing with the IRS so the lien does not block your deal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you handle both IRS debt and New York State tax debt?

Yes. Brooklyn residents frequently carry balances with the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance simultaneously, and the two agencies collect on independent timelines. Resolving the federal balance does nothing to stop state collection, and vice versa. Anthem addresses both at the same time so neither continues to grow while the other is being resolved.

What makes New York's tax situation different from other states?

Brooklyn residents are subject to three separate income taxes: federal, New York State, and New York City. That combination is among the highest total income tax burdens in the country, and it means a single year of underpaid estimated taxes can produce a combined bill from multiple agencies. Our team is experienced handling all three layers simultaneously.

I have several years of unfiled federal and state returns. Is it too late?

It is not too late, and filing those missing returns is normally the first thing we do. The IRS generally wants six years of back returns before treating an account as current, and New York State follows a similar standard. We request the transcripts, fill in the missing records, and file accurate returns at both levels, which frequently reduces the balance from what the agencies estimated using their own substitute filings.

Is everything handled without meeting in person?

Yes. The entire case runs by phone, email, and encrypted file transfers, with no office visit at any point. Brooklyn clients receive exactly the same level of professional handling they would get in person, delivered entirely at a distance. Anthem's remote model was built specifically for clients who are time-constrained or prefer to handle sensitive matters without in-person meetings.

What does it cost?

A flat fee, disclosed in full at the free consultation before you agree to anything. Installment payment options are available when a single payment is not workable. The money-back guarantee applies if we don't save you money or rework your payments, with the exception of bookkeeping, tax preparation services, and the minimum deposit.

How quickly can a garnishment or bank levy be stopped?

We act the same day you retain us. Once our authorization is on file with the IRS, we contact the agency and press for a release while the resolution plan develops in parallel. A bank levy holds funds for 21 days before they transfer. That window is critical. The day you learn of the levy is the day to call us at (888) 548-0478.

Start Your Free Brooklyn Tax Consultation Today

Every month without a resolution, the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance add to the balance and move enforcement closer. Unpaid federal taxes, unfiled returns, a wage garnishment, a lien on your Brooklyn property: whatever the situation, Anthem's licensed tax attorneys and enrolled agents can build a resolution grounded in your real income and your real obligations. A free consultation, at no cost and with no commitment, is where it starts. Call (888) 548-0478 or reach us at info@anthemtaxservices.com. Our team is ready to fight the battles that taxpayers shouldn't have to fight alone.

Call (888) 548-0478 | Mon-Fri, 9 AM to 5 PM | info@anthemtaxservices.com