Davis Tax Relief is expanding client intake capacity to meet growing demand from Missouri residents facing IRS collection actions, including liens, levies, and wage garnishments.
LOUIS, MO – August 14, 2026 – Davis Tax Relief, a St. Louis-based tax resolution firm led by Nicole Davis (Enrolled Agent, Certified Tax Resolution Specialist), is responding to a significant rise in IRS enforcement activity by increasing its capacity to serve Missouri taxpayers facing unresolved tax debt. According to the IRS Data Book for Fiscal Year 2023, the agency collected $104.1 billion through enforcement actions, the highest figure recorded in a decade. Federal tax lien filings increased year-over-year following a notable drop during the pandemic-era enforcement slowdown. For taxpayers who assumed the quiet years meant the IRS had moved on from their account, current trends suggest otherwise.
Key Takeaways The IRS Data Book FY2023 reports $104.1 billion collected through enforcement actions, the highest total in ten years Federal tax lien filings rose year-over-year in FY2023 after a significant decline during pandemic-era enforcement pauses, per IRS Data Book FY2023 The IRS Offer in Compromise program accepted 13,176 offers totaling $235.1 million in settlements during FY2023, per IRS Data Book FY2023 Qualified taxpayers may be eligible to resolve their IRS debt through programs including the Offer in Compromise, Installment Agreement, Partial Payment Installment Agreement, or Currently Not Collectible status Davis Tax Relief offers free consultations by phone, in-person, or virtually, with personalized strategies built around each client’s specific financial situation
What Does Rising IRS Enforcement Actually Mean for You?
The IRS Data Book documents what happened in FY2023. What it can’t tell you is whether your specific account is in the queue for the next collection action.
What the numbers do establish is context. Lien filings climbed. Levy actions increased. The agency that scaled back during the pandemic has fully resumed operations. Based on current IRS enforcement trends, Davis Tax Relief’s assessment is that taxpayers with unresolved balances are at a meaningfully higher risk of collection action than they were three or four years ago.
Penalties and interest compound every day a balance goes unaddressed. A tax debt that felt manageable two years ago may have grown substantially simply through accumulation. That’s not a scare tactic. It’s the arithmetic of the IRS penalty system.
Why Timing Matters More Than Most Taxpayers Realize
There’s a common assumption that reaching out to the IRS or a tax professional becomes more urgent only after something dramatic happens, such as a wage garnishment or a bank levy. That assumption has real financial consequences.
Resolution programs through the IRS have eligibility requirements tied to your current financial position at the time of application. The Offer in Compromise, for instance, is based in part on the IRS’s calculation of your reasonable collection potential, meaning what the agency determines it could recover from you given your current income, expenses, and asset equity. A taxpayer who waits until a Notice of Federal Tax Lien has already attached to their property, or until wages are being garnished, is presenting a different financial picture than one who engages the process before enforcement escalates.
That’s not a reason for panic. It is a reason to stop delaying.
According to Nicole Davis, EA, CTRS and founder of Davis Tax Relief: “Most of the people who call us have been sitting on an IRS notice for months, sometimes longer. The notice isn’t the worst part. The worst part is what compounds while they wait. The options we can evaluate for them at that point are narrower than they would have been six months earlier. Acting now, before collections escalate, is almost always the stronger position.”
What Are Your Actual Options for Resolving IRS Debt?
The IRS administers several programs designed to address taxpayers who can’t fully pay what they owe. IRS representatives apply eligibility criteria consistently across those programs. What qualified representation adds is a systematic evaluation of which programs fit your specific financial circumstances.
The main resolution pathways include:
Offer in Compromise (OIC): Allows eligible taxpayers to settle their debt for less than the total amount owed. Eligibility is determined by factors including income, expenses, asset equity, and ability to pay. The IRS accepted 13,176 offers totaling $235.1 million in FY2023, per IRS Data Book FY2023.
Installment Agreement: A structured payment plan for taxpayers who can’t pay in full immediately. Terms vary based on the amount owed and the taxpayer’s financial capacity.
Partial Payment Installment Agreement (PPIA): A payment plan structured at an amount lower than the full balance when the taxpayer’s financial situation doesn’t support full repayment. Requires documentation of financial hardship.
Currently Not Collectible (CNC) Status: A temporary designation that pauses collection activity when a taxpayer demonstrates that paying anything would prevent them from meeting basic living expenses. It doesn’t eliminate the debt, but it stops active collection while circumstances are documented.
Lien and Levy Release: Once a Notice of Federal Tax Lien is filed or a levy action begins, it’s possible to pursue release or withdrawal through the IRS, though the process requires specific documentation and compliance steps.
Wage Garnishment Stop: An IRS wage garnishment involves your employer directly and can be particularly disruptive. Stopping it typically requires either entering a resolution agreement with the IRS or demonstrating financial hardship.
A free consultation with Davis Tax Relief walks through which of these programs may apply to your situation based on your specific income, debt, and asset circumstances.
Who Faces the Highest Risk Right Now?
It isn’t only taxpayers with large balances. The IRS collection process doesn’t sort by dollar amount alone. It operates on timelines and triggers built into the notice system.
A taxpayer who received a CP2000 notice months ago and hasn’t responded has likely moved further down the collection sequence without realizing it. A taxpayer whose bank account was levied and who assumed the matter was closed may be facing a continuing balance with compounding penalties. An independent contractor with multiple years of unfiled returns is in a different and more complicated position than the original tax owed might suggest.
The people who benefit most from working with a qualified tax resolution specialist are those who are uncertain about where they stand in the IRS collection process, those who have received notices they don’t fully understand, and those who want an honest evaluation of which programs they may qualify for before they run out of time to act.
About Davis Tax Relief
Davis Tax Relief is a St. Louis-based tax resolution firm serving individuals and small business owners across Missouri. Founded and led by Nicole Davis, Enrolled Agent and Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, the firm provides hands-on IRS representation across the full range of collection resolution options, including Offer in Compromise negotiations, Installment Agreements, lien and levy releases, and wage garnishment stops. Davis Tax Relief offers free consultations by phone, in-person, or virtually.
Media ContactCompany Name: Davis Tax ReliefContact Person: Nicole DavisEmail: Send EmailPhone: +1 (314) 788-3158City: St. Louis, MissouriCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://davistaxrelief.com/
