California Tax Defense — El Cajon, San Diego County
El Cajon Tax Attorney
I represent clients from El Cajon from my office in San Diego. Tax problems — whether that’s an IRS audit notice, an FTB collection action, or a payroll tax dispute with EDD — are legal disputes, and they respond to legal representation. Brotman Law has handled over 2,500 tax matters across every major federal and California agency. If you’re dealing with something and you want a straightforward answer about where things stand, book a free 15-minute call.
Why the Right Attorney Matters for East County Tax Cases
El Cajon has a strong mix of small businesses, family-owned operations, and working families — which means the tax issues I see from this community tend to cluster around a few specific areas: payroll tax debt (particularly from businesses that ran into cash flow problems), FTB income tax disputes, and IRS collection matters that went unaddressed for too long.
Tax cases are not accounting problems. The IRS and FTB have specific procedures — CP2000 notices, 30-day letters, Form 4549 exam reports — and the responses to those procedures are legal, not mathematical. Getting the numbers right matters. Getting the legal posture right matters more.
I hold a J.D. and an LL.M. in Taxation, and I’ve been representing clients in front of the IRS, FTB, EDD, and CDTFA for years. California Bar No. 274966. More about Brotman Law’s San Diego tax practice here.
IRS Issues We Handle for El Cajon Clients
An IRS audit is a legal dispute, not a math check. Whether you received a CP2000 (automated underreporter notice), a 30-day letter proposing adjustments, or a full field examination with a revenue agent showing up at your business, the response strategy matters from day one.
We handle:
- Correspondence audits and CP2000 responses
- Field examinations (business and individual)
- Eggshell audits — where there is potential criminal exposure embedded in a civil exam
- IRS collections: liens, levies, wage garnishments, bank seizures
- Installment agreements and Offers in Compromise
- Trust fund recovery penalty (IRC § 6672) assessments and appeals
- Currently not collectible status requests
- IRS appeals (30-day letter and 90-day letter responses)
One thing I’ll say clearly: if you’ve received a 90-day letter (Notice of Deficiency), you have a hard deadline to file a Tax Court petition. That is not a deadline I can extend. If you’re in that window, call us now.
FTB and California State Tax Defense
The California Franchise Tax Board operates independently from the IRS — and its collection powers are among the most aggressive of any state tax agency in the country. California can garnish wages, levy bank accounts, suspend business licenses, and place liens on real property without going to court first.
We represent El Cajon clients in FTB audits, FTB collections, protests filed with the FTB, and formal appeals to the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA). We also handle EDD payroll tax audits — which are a real concern for any El Cajon business that uses subcontractors — and CDTFA sales tax audits and collections.
California’s residency rules are another area where we get calls. If you moved from California and the FTB is asserting that you remained a California resident, that’s a different kind of dispute — one involving domicile, the safe harbor rules, and income sourcing. We handle those too.
Criminal Tax Defense
If a special agent from IRS Criminal Investigation has contacted you, that is a different matter entirely from a civil audit. Special agents do not investigate math errors. They investigate potential criminal conduct — tax evasion, filing false returns, unreported income, offshore accounts.
The right move if you’re in that situation: speak with a tax attorney before you speak with anyone else. Not your accountant, not your bookkeeper. An attorney, so the conversation is protected by privilege. I hold an LL.M. in Taxation and have worked criminal tax defense matters. If someone from the government has reached out and you’re not sure what it means, let’s talk.
Getting Started from El Cajon
The first step is a 15-minute call. No commitment required. You tell me what’s going on, I tell you what I think it means and what the options look like. If we’re a good fit, we talk about next steps. If we’re not, I’ll tell you that too.
My office is at 12636 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92130. Phone: 619-378-3138. Most client work is handled by phone and secure document exchange, so El Cajon clients don’t need to make a trip unless they want to.