Lubbock Tax Debt Lawyer
When You Need a Lubbock Tax Debt Lawyer to Stop IRS Collections
Owing the IRS money changes how you sleep at night. Notices keep arriving, the balance keeps climbing with interest and penalties, and no one at the agency seems willing to slow down and listen.
For more than 11 years, David B. Coffin represented the IRS in Texas federal courts as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division. Today he runs David Coffin PLLC out of Southlake and represents Lubbock and South Plains clients by phone, video, and secure document exchange. That experience now works for you, starting with a clear look at what the IRS can do next and what you should do first.
Reach out and let’s talk through what the IRS is actually asking of you.
| TEXAS LICENSED ATTORNEY SINCE 1999 | FORMER U.S. DOJ TRIAL ATTORNEY | BEST LAW FIRMS® TIER 1, TAX LAW – DALLAS/FORT WORTH (2026) |
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Facing IRS Challenges? Get the Representation You Deserve!
IRS Problems That Come Up Often on the South Plains
Tax trouble here tends to follow the local economy. We often see:
- Farm income: a strong crop year can push a household into a much higher bracket, and farm income averaging is often missed.
- Seasonal ag payroll: harvest crews and part-time hands can leave payroll deposits short, which is how Trust Fund Recovery Penalty cases start.
- 1099 contractors: oilfield and trade workers paid on 1099s often skip estimated payments until a balance and penalties land at once.
- University side income: Texas Tech staff with consulting or rental income can see withholding fall short of what they owe.
If one of these sounds familiar, the fix usually starts with your transcripts and a plan for the year the problem began.
IRS Tax Debt Problems We Help Lubbock Clients Resolve
Tax debt rarely stays simple. It usually involves more than one problem at once, and each needs its own strategy. We work with individuals and business owners across Lubbock and the South Plains on:
- Unpaid federal income tax balances and accumulated penalties
- IRS wage garnishments and bank account levies
- Federal tax liens filed against a home or business
- Unfiled tax returns going back multiple years
- Installment agreements and offers in compromise
- Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessments against business owners and officers
Every case starts the same way: pulling your IRS transcripts to see exactly what the government has on file and what options are actually open to you.
What an Unresolved IRS Balance Can Cost You in Texas
Interest and penalties compound and add up month by month, so a balance that felt manageable last year can look impossible now. Left alone, the IRS can file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, which publicly claims the government’s interest in everything you own. After a final notice, they can then move to a levy that pulls money straight from your paycheck or bank account.
The IRS generally has 10 years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it, under 26 U.S.C. § 6502, though that clock can pause while an installment agreement or offer in compromise request is pending, during a Collection Due Process appeal, or during bankruptcy.
Business owners face an added risk: if payroll taxes go unpaid, the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty personally against anyone responsible for paying the taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks who willfully failed to do so, under 26 U.S.C. § 6672, making an owner or officer liable out of pocket even after the company closes.
How Our Lubbock Tax Debt Lawyer Approaches Your IRS Case
Before opening a private practice, Coffin spent years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, representing the government in federal tax litigation including Enbridge Energy Co. v. United States and TransCapital Leasing Associates v. United States.
That background matters: we have seen how the IRS and the Department of Justice build a case from the inside, and we use that insight to build yours. Coffin also holds a CPA license, is admitted before all four U.S. District Courts in Texas, and currently teaches Federal Tax Procedure as an Adjunct Professor at SMU Dedman School of Law.
When you work with our firm, we request your full IRS transcripts, identify every deadline already running against you, and lay out the realistic paths forward, whether that means an appeal, a payment plan, or a formal offer in compromise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where would my Tax Court case be heard if I live in Lubbock?
Lubbock is one of the cities where the U.S. Tax Court holds trials, so you can ask for your trial to be held here instead of Dallas. You make that request when the case is filed, and the Court schedules the trial here when it can.
What’s the difference between an offer in compromise and an installment agreement?
An installment agreement lets you pay your full tax debt over time in manageable monthly payments. An offer in compromise settles the debt for less than the full amount owed, but the IRS only accepts offers that reflect what it believes it could realistically collect from you. Most people qualify for one option well before they qualify for the other.
Where does the IRS handle tax matters for Lubbock taxpayers?
The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center for Lubbock sits inside the George H. Mahon Federal Building at 1205 Texas Avenue, the same building that houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Federal tax litigation involving Lubbock taxpayers is typically filed in that same courthouse.
What happens if I haven’t filed tax returns in several years?
Unfiled returns generally need to get filed before most collection options open up, including installment agreements and offers in compromise. The IRS can also file a return for you based on limited information, usually at a higher balance than you would owe if you filed it yourself. Getting current is almost always the first step toward any real resolution.
Does David Coffin PLLC offer a free consultation?
Yes. That first consultation is free, and it is where we review your IRS notices, pull your account transcripts if needed, and give you a straightforward read on your options before anything moves forward.
Should I try to negotiate with the IRS on my own?
You can, and some people resolve simple balances that way. Once wage garnishment, liens, or a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty enter the picture, though, the stakes and paperwork both get more complicated, and having someone who has represented the government’s side of these cases can change how quickly things get resolved.
Get a Lubbock Tax Debt Lawyer Working on Your IRS Case Today
The IRS does not slow down while you wait, and every week that passes narrows your options for stopping a garnishment or levy before it starts. David B. Coffin brings former U.S. Department of Justice trial experience and a CPA background to every case, working toward a resolution you can live with.
Reach out today to speak with a Lubbock tax debt lawyer about your IRS options.
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