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Seattle tax attorney
King County tax problems have a distinct shape. A large share of them begin with equity compensation, and most of the rest begin with an account somewhere outside the United States.
Rice Tax Law PLLC represents Seattle-area taxpayers in federal tax disputes: examinations, CP2000 notices, Notices of Deficiency, collection matters, and litigation before the United States Tax Court. Representation can be handled entirely remotely, so there is no downtown office to reach or billable time spent on parking — though in-person meetings are available when that works better.
Where Seattle tax problems actually come from
Equity compensation
Restricted stock units vest and the flat supplemental withholding rate falls well short of the actual marginal rate, producing a balance due months later. Incentive stock options trigger alternative minimum tax in a year with no cash to pay it. The pattern repeats across every large employer in the region.
Cost basis reporting
ESPP and option shares reported to the IRS without the amount already taxed through payroll, so the same income gets counted twice. This is the single most common cause of a wildly overstated CP2000.
Foreign accounts
A globally mobile professional workforce means unfiled FBARs and information returns, where the penalties are measured against balances rather than against tax and can exceed the amount ever owed.
Founders and early employees
Qualified small business stock questions, elections that were never made within the window, and the timing of exercises and sales.
A CP2000 built on a stock sale is usually wrong. Where a broker reported gross proceeds without cost basis, the matching program treats the cost as zero and proposes tax on the entire sale. Supplying purchase records frequently reduces the amount to a fraction of what the notice claims. How CP2000 notices work.
Also common here
- Independent contractors and consultants facing self-employment tax and Schedule C examinations
- Estimated payment shortfalls after a year with unusual income
- Cryptocurrency disposals reported without basis, or not reported at all
- High-value residence sales and exclusion questions
- Collection matters where a balance built quietly across several years
How the firm works with Seattle clients
Remotely, throughout King County — Ballard, Capitol Hill, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Renton and Kent. The attorney handling your matter spent more than thirteen years inside the IRS, and admission to the United States Tax Court means a case can be carried through litigation rather than referred out.
What to do now
Find the notice number in the upper right corner of the letter and the date printed on it. The notice tool will tell you which deadline governs before you decide whether to hire anyone.
Equity compensation notice?
Send the notice number and the date printed on it. These are frequently overstated, and the fix is documentary. No charge for the first conversation.
If your notice has a date on it, start now.
Send a general description of your situation. Please do not include Social Security numbers, account numbers, or documents in a first message.