Tax Law Attorney
An unresolved tax problem does not stay the same size — it grows every month through penalties and interest, and it can end in a lien on your property, a levy on your bank account, or a garnishment of your paycheck. At DeVore Law, PLLC, tax matters are handled exclusively by Devin S. DeVore, who represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Tennessee Department of Revenue throughout the region.
Whether the issue is unfiled returns, a mounting balance you can’t pay, or an allegation that crosses into criminal exposure, Devin builds a resolution strategy around your actual financial picture and the specific agency you’re dealing with. His goal is to stop the collection actions and get you into a resolution that holds up.
Tax Law in Tennessee — What You Need to Know
Tax problems fall into two very different categories, and mixing them up leads to bad strategy. Civil tax debt — owing money you didn’t pay — is resolved through negotiation: payment plans, settlements, or hardship status. Criminal tax exposure — evasion or fraud — requires proving intent, and the government has to show you knew what you owed and deliberately tried to avoid it.
On the civil side, the IRS generally has 10 years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it — the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). That clock sounds like relief, but it pauses any time you request an installment agreement, file an Offer in Compromise, or request a collection due process hearing, so it’s rarely as simple as waiting it out.
The Tennessee Department of Revenue runs a separate track entirely, with its own deadlines and collection procedures for sales tax, business tax, and franchise and excise tax. A client can be dealing with both agencies on different issues at the same time, and a strategy that works for one won’t necessarily satisfy the other.
Most tax problems are not fraud. An honest mistake, a bad year, or a return that never got filed doesn’t carry criminal exposure on its own — intent is what separates a civil balance from a criminal referral, and that distinction should shape how a case gets handled from the first conversation.
How DeVore Law, PLLC Can Help
A tax problem left alone doesn’t resolve itself — it escalates to liens, levies, and eventually criminal referral in the worst cases. Devin DeVore brings direct experience before both the IRS and the Tennessee Department of Revenue to every file.
