Circular 230 covers all matters relating to any of the following.
Communicating with the IRS on behalf of a taxpayer regarding the taxpayer's rights, privileges, or liabilities under laws and regulations administered by the IRS.

Representing a taxpayer at conferences, hearings, or meetings with the IRS.

Preparing, filing or submitting documents, or advising on the preparation, filing or submission of documents, including tax returns, with the IRS on behalf of a taxpayer.

Providing a client with written tax advice on one or more Federal tax matters.

Any individual may for compensation prepare or assist with the preparation of a tax return or claim for refund, appear as a witness for a taxpayer before the IRS, or furnish information at the request of the IRS or any of its officers or employees.

The following individuals are subject to the Regulations contained in Circular 230. However, any individual who is authorized generally to practice (a recognized representative) must be designated as the taxpayer's representative and file a written declaration with the IRS stating that he or she is authorized and qualified to represent a particular taxpayer. Form 2848 can be used for this purpose.
Attorneys.
Any attorney who is not currently under suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS and who is a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any U.S. state, possession, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia may practice before the IRS.

Certified public accountants (CPAs).
Any CPA who is not currently under suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS and who is duly qualified to practice as a CPA in any U.S. state, possession, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia may practice before the IRS.

Enrolled agents.
Any enrolled agent in active status who is not currently under suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS may practice before the IRS.
Enrolled retirement plan agents.

On February 27th, 2019, the IRS published a press release warning taxpayers who owe more than $52,000 (updated annually – in 2020, the amount is $53,000) and are not in an agreement to pay the IRS (called taxpayers with “seriously delinquent tax debt” or “SDTD”), to be on the lookout for passport restrictions.

To be clear, the IRS does not actually restrict the passport- that is done by the State Department.  However, the IRS initiates the warning to taxpayers who have SDTD by issuing Letter CP 508C, Notice of certification of your seriously delinquent federal tax debt to the State Department, which warns that the taxpayer that they are being referred to the State Department for possible passport restrictions.  The IRS started issuing these letters in January, 2018, to 362,000 taxpayers, 2 years after the passport restriction law had been passed by Congress.  Since 2018, the IRS has been vigilant on issuing CP 508C letters to taxpayers who meet the SDTD criteria.

If the taxpayer does not heed the 508C letter’s warning and get into an agreement to pay the IRS, the State Department can restrict the SDTD taxpayer’s passport.   Restrictions include renewal or issuance denial or even revoking an existing passport.

Yes, when you do not file and pay your taxes on time, you will be charged interest on any unpaid balance, and you may also be subject to penalties, such as the failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties.

Interest charged on any unpaid tax compounds daily from the due date of the return (without regard to any extension of time to file) until the date you pay in full.

The federal short-term rate is determined every three months.

For current interest rates, visit the News Release and Fact Sheet Archive and look for the most recent Internal Revenue release about interest rates or search “quarterly interest rates” on IRS.gov; the relevant interest rate is the rate for underpayments.

If you did not pay your tax on time, you will generally have to pay a late-payment penalty, which is also called a failure-to-pay penalty.

The late-payment penalty is 0.5% of the tax owed for each month or part of a month that the tax remains unpaid after the due date, up to 25%.

You will not have to pay the penalty if you can show reasonable cause for the failure to pay on time.

The 0.5% rate increases to 1% per month if the tax remains unpaid after several notices and 10 days after the IRS issues a final notice of intent to levy or seize property.

If your return was filed timely and you are paying your tax via an installment agreement, the penalty is 0.25% for each month or part of a month that the installment agreement is in effect.

No. IRS will make you file all tax returns. They will not give you an Installment Agreement until all returns are current

The IRS usually files a Federal Tax Lien on every case that there is a balance due. There are times when they can withhold the filing of the Federal Tax Lien. A professional should be consulted on these cases.

Yes, the installment agreement will release your Wage Garnishment or Bank Levy immediately.

This is an Installment Agreement for people who owe under $50,000 in back taxes. You must have all your tax returns filed to qualify for this. Under the Streamline Installment Agreement you are not required to file a financial statement.