Prescott, United States – ONeill Tax Resolution is expanding consultation availability for Prescott-area individuals and small business owners facing active IRS action, notices, or unresolved tax liability.
Prescott, AZ – August 14, 2026 – The IRS collected $104.1 billion through enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, according to the IRS Data Book FY2023 (Table 17), the agency’s most recent published enforcement summary. That figure climbed from $68.4 billion the prior fiscal year. For Arizona taxpayers carrying unresolved debt, unfiled returns, or active liens, earlier intervention generally provides more flexibility before IRS enforcement progresses to later collection stages. ONeill Tax Resolution, the Prescott-based CPA firm led by Patti O’Neill, is opening additional consultation capacity for individuals and small business owners who need to act before their options narrow further.
“The taxpayers I see who feel the most trapped are not the ones with the biggest balances,” said Patti O’Neill, CPA, MST, founder of ONeill Tax Resolution. “They’re the ones who waited, assumed the IRS had moved on, and then got a levy notice. At that point, the resolution conversation changes completely. There’s a version of this that goes much better, and it starts with picking up the phone before the IRS does.”
Key Takeaways The IRS collected $104.1 billion through enforcement in FY2023, up from $68.4 billion in FY2022, signaling that enforcement capacity has fully recovered from pandemic-era reductions. (IRS Data Book FY2023, Table 17) Taxpayers who delay responding to IRS notices may find fewer resolution options available as penalties, interest, and enforcement actions progress through the IRS collection sequence. The Offer in Compromise program has historically accepted roughly 30 to 40 percent of submitted applications, according to IRS Data Book FY2023 statistics, meaning documentation quality and submission strategy directly affect outcomes. ONeill Tax Resolution, led by Patti O’Neill, CPA, MST, with 35-plus years of experience, offers free consultations and serves clients in Prescott and throughout Arizona. Every resolution plan at ONeill Tax Resolution is built around the client’s specific financial situation, not a template applied uniformly across cases.
What Does the Current IRS Enforcement Landscape Actually Mean for Arizona Taxpayers?
The IRS spent several years operating below its normal enforcement capacity. Pandemic-related disruptions reduced staffing, created return processing backlogs, and slowed the pace of collections activity. That period is over.
The agency has since added thousands of employees, cleared much of its return processing backlog, and resumed standard collection timelines. Taxpayers who assumed the IRS had simply filed their situation away are now receiving CP501 notices, lien filings, and wage garnishment letters that reflect a reinstated collections sequence, not a new one. The IRS didn’t change its playbook. It just restarted it.
What makes this cycle worth paying attention to is not only the scale of collections activity but the tools behind it. Updated data-matching systems let the IRS cross-reference income sources, third-party filings, and prior-year returns in ways that accelerate the identification of discrepancies. A balance that sat quietly in a backlog two years ago may now have a notice attached to it.
Why Does Waiting Almost Always Make the Tax Problem Harder to Resolve?
If you’ve received a notice you haven’t addressed, understanding what that notice triggers is the first practical step. The IRS moves through its collection stages whether or not you respond. Responding is what changes the trajectory.
What Are the Realistic Resolution Options When You Owe the IRS?
Not every tax debt situation resolves the same way. The right path depends on what you owe, what you earn, what assets you hold, and whether your underlying compliance is current. ONeill Tax Resolution’s approach begins with that full picture before recommending anything.
The main resolution tools the IRS makes available include:
Installment agreements allow a taxpayer to pay down a balance over time in structured monthly payments. An installment agreement (a formal repayment arrangement with the IRS) keeps enforced collection actions from proceeding while payments remain current. It doesn’t eliminate the balance, but it converts an enforcement threat into a manageable payment structure.
Penalty abatement addresses the penalties layered on top of the original tax balance. The IRS applies penalties for failure to file and failure to pay, and those charges can represent a significant share of the total amount owed. First-time penalty abatement is available to taxpayers with a clean compliance history, and reasonable cause abatement applies when documented circumstances justify the late filing or payment.
Offer in Compromise allows eligible taxpayers to settle a tax balance for less than the full amount owed. The IRS evaluates these submissions based on a formula that considers income, expenses, asset equity, and future earning capacity. The program has historically accepted roughly 30 to 40 percent of applications submitted, according to IRS Data Book FY2023 statistics. Submission strategy, documentation, and the accuracy of the financial analysis submitted with the application directly affect whether the offer is accepted or returned. You can learn more about how the IRS evaluates tax relief eligibility to understand where you might stand before starting that process.
Lien and levy relief becomes the central issue once the IRS has filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien or issued a levy against a bank account or wages. These actions can be challenged, released, or subordinated under specific IRS procedures, but the window for certain appeals closes quickly. IRS bank levies and asset seizure represent the most disruptive end of the IRS collection sequence, and they’re almost always preventable if a resolution is established earlier.
Why Does the Root Cause of a Tax Problem Matter as Much as the Balance?
ONeill Tax Resolution’s approach emphasizes identifying the underlying causes of a tax problem before recommending a resolution strategy. Addressing compliance issues alongside the immediate tax liability can help reduce the likelihood of recurring IRS problems.
A tax debt that grew from years of unfiled returns isn’t the same situation as one that came from a single miscalculated estimated payment. The documentation required differs, the resolution tools available differ, and the compliance steps needed afterward differ. Treating them identically produces outcomes that don’t hold.
Patti O’Neill’s 35-plus years of CPA experience, combined with a Master’s Degree in Taxation, means the firm’s analysis draws on both the procedural knowledge of how the IRS operates and the technical depth to evaluate every available option accurately. That combination matters most in complex situations where a surface-level review would miss the structure of the problem entirely.
About ONeill Tax Resolution
Patti O’Neill is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a Master’s Degree in Taxation (MST) and more than 35 years of experience resolving complex IRS matters for individuals and small businesses. ONeill Tax Resolution assists clients with IRS tax debt, audits, installment agreements, Offer in Compromise evaluations, payroll tax matters, liens, levies, and filing compliance. The firm’s guidance is based on current IRS procedures and individualized financial analysis. All consultations are free, and every resolution plan is built around the client’s specific circumstances.
ONeill Tax Resolution serves clients in Prescott and throughout Arizona.
Media ContactCompany Name: ONeill Tax ResolutionContact Person: Patti ONeillEmail: Send EmailPhone: +1 (928) 378-8490City: Prescott, ArizonaCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://oneilltaxresolution.com/
