<prompt> Human: My mom had a licensed tax professional do her and her husbands taxes. They both have railroad retirement. The tax guy filled out her taxes wrong and now they owe 5000 in back taxes to IRS. They are both 65 years old if that helps any. The tax guy has been dragging them along for months now with no end in sight. Basically telling them they have to pay it. Is there any advice you all have that may help either reduce the amount owed or force the tax professional who messed up their taxes to have to pay it? Thanks for your help.  <response>: i would personally suggest looking over the tax returns to ensure everything was submitted and entered correctly. If it wasnt, file an amended tax return right away to have the correct amount on file. Since your parents likely signed the tax return as well, the tax preparer can be blamed but doesnt bear any responsibility if Ive read articles correctly Ive personally never had someone else do my taxes so Im not sure. I also want to make sure they received a letter in the mail directly from the IRS. There are a lot of scams out there that, sadly, target the elderly. These can include emails, phone calls, and text messages. The IRS will NEVER send out anything other than a written notice via USPS. If all else fails and this amount is legitimately owed, you may want to see if the IRS will settle on an amount or find one of those professionals you hear about on the radio that can negotiate the IRS on your behalf. I dont know the credibility of those said professionals but it might be worth a chance? If someone else wants to weigh in on that, Im all ears. I hope this helps and you can help your parents resolve this issue. 