WESTPORT, CT – The IRS collected $98.4 billion through enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, according to the IRS Data Book FY2023. And enforcement staffing has expanded steadily since, following years of additional IRS funding appropriations. For the millions of Americans carrying unresolved tax debt, that isn’t background noise. It’s a countdown. Rappaport Tax Relief, a Westport-based tax resolution firm led by Enrolled Agent David Rappaport, is seeing an uptick in clients coming in after collection activity has already started. Wage garnishments in motion, bank accounts frozen, penalties compounding daily. Most of them waited longer than they should have.
Key Facts: The IRS issued more than 3.7 million levies and filed over 670,000 federal tax liens in FY2023, according to the IRS Data Book FY2023 IRS enforcement staffing has grown following the Inflation Reduction Act’s multi-year IRS funding provisions, with the agency explicitly prioritizing collection capacity An Offer in Compromise. The IRS program that can settle tax debt for less than the full amount owed. Requires meeting strict eligibility criteria; the IRS acceptance rate was approximately 31% in FY2023 (IRS Data Book FY2023) Practitioners consistently report that clients who contact a resolution professional before IRS levies begin have significantly more resolution options available to them than those who wait Rappaport Tax Relief offers free consultations and a free downloadable guide to understanding IRS resolution options David Rappaport holds Enrolled Agent status, the highest credential the IRS grants to tax practitioners, with more than 30 years of hands-on resolution experience
What the Data Actually Means for People Carrying Tax Debt
The IRS doesn’t lose patience. It doesn’t forget. And it doesn’t negotiate the way most people expect. It follows a sequence of escalating collection steps that move forward on the agency’s timeline, not yours. Most individuals with unresolved tax debt aren’t aware that the resolution tools available to them. Installment agreements, Offers in Compromise, penalty abatement, Currently Not Collectible status. Carry very different outcomes depending on when you engage them.
A typical case looks like this: a self-employed professional in the New York area falls behind during a slow year, misses a filing deadline, and assumes the IRS will send a simple bill they can address later. By the time they call, there’s a federal tax lien on record, a notice of intent to levy wages, and three years of compounding penalties that have turned a manageable balance into something that feels unsurvivable. The debt itself wasn’t the crisis. The wait was.
The IRS Offer in Compromise program is real, and it works. But it isn’t a blanket solution. The IRS accepted roughly 31% of OIC applications in FY2023. Qualification depends on a precise calculation of a taxpayer’s “reasonable collection potential,” which includes income, assets, expenses, and future earning capacity. Getting that calculation wrong, or submitting without understanding how the IRS evaluates it, results in outright rejection and potentially signals to the IRS that higher collection targets are achievable. There’s a version of “trying to handle this yourself” that makes the situation measurably worse.
That’s where concierge-level representation makes the practical difference. David Rappaport handles each case personally. No handoffs to junior staff, no call center intake process. The work is reading the IRS’s actual file on a client, understanding exactly where they are in the collection sequence, identifying which resolution pathway fits, and negotiating directly with the agency from a position of credentialed authority. It’s not faster because it’s simpler. It’s more effective because it’s specific.
What David Rappaport Says
“The Offer in Compromise acceptance rate tells you something important: the IRS is not a pushover, and these programs aren’t designed to be easy to access. What the data doesn’t show is how many people submit incorrectly, miss the qualification window, or trigger more aggressive collection by attempting to negotiate without understanding what the IRS already knows about them. The worst outcomes I see aren’t from people who ignored the IRS entirely. They’re from people who tried to handle it themselves at the wrong stage.”
“Enforcement numbers are up, and they’re going to keep going up. The IRS has the staffing and the mandate. What I tell clients is simple: the options don’t disappear all at once. They narrow. An installment agreement available today may not be available after a levy. An OIC you qualify for now may not survive a change in your income. Waiting doesn’t preserve your options. It eliminates them.”
About Rappaport Tax Relief
Rappaport Tax Relief is a Westport, Connecticut-based tax resolution firm providing personalized representation for individuals and small business owners facing IRS debt, unfiled returns, wage garnishments, bank levies, and related collection actions. Founded and led by Enrolled Agent David Rappaport, the firm brings more than 30 years of hands-on IRS negotiation experience to every case. Handling past tax problems, present crises, and future compliance through a concierge approach that keeps clients directly connected to the practitioner managing their case. Free consultations and a free downloadable guide are available at rappaporttaxrelief.com.
Media ContactCompany Name: Rappaport Tax ReliefContact Person: David RappaportEmail: Send EmailCity: ConnecticutCountry: United StatesWebsite: http://rappaporttaxrelief.com/
