CHADDS FORD, PA – October 03, 2026 – McCauley Law Offices, P.C., a tax law firm with offices in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Haddonfield, New Jersey and Westminster, Maryland, says taxpayers contacted by a special agent of IRS Criminal Investigation should treat the first 48 hours as the period that shapes the rest of the matter. The firm has set out what a taxpayer should and should not do in that window.

How a Criminal Tax Investigation Reaches the Taxpayer IRS Criminal Investigation is the law enforcement arm of the Internal Revenue Service. According to the agency’s 2025 annual report, it employs roughly 2,000 special agents who are sworn federal law enforcement officers, and in fiscal year 2025 it referred 2,043 cases for prosecution with a conviction rate of 89%.

The IRS states that criminal investigations can begin with information from within the agency, when an auditor, a revenue officer or an investigative analyst detects possible fraud, as well as from the public and from other law enforcement agencies. Once a case is opened, the IRS describes techniques that include interviews of third-party witnesses, surveillance, search warrants and subpoenas for bank records. By the time a special agent contacts the taxpayer, the investigation may already be well developed.

What a Taxpayer Should and Should Not Do The firm’s guidance on its criminal tax defense page is direct. A taxpayer contacted by a special agent, whether directly or through a spouse, an accountant or an employee, should say nothing beyond a name and a request for counsel, and then call a lawyer immediately. The firm’s income tax evasion page gives the same instruction for anyone under investigation, which is not to speak to investigators without an attorney present.

“A special agent’s visit is not the moment to explain a return,” said Gregory McCauley Jr., Esquire, a tax attorney at McCauley Law Offices, P.C. who defends taxpayers under investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation. “Give your name, say you want a lawyer, and make the call that day. Whatever is said in those first conversations goes into the government’s file, and it cannot be taken back. The same caution applies to a taxpayer’s accountant, because those conversations are not protected in a criminal matter unless a lawyer has arranged it.”

Why the Choice of Adviser Matters in a Criminal Matter Communications between a taxpayer and a lawyer are covered by attorney-client privilege. The separate federal privilege for other authorized tax practitioners is narrower. Under section 7525 of the Internal Revenue Code, it applies only to noncriminal tax matters before the IRS and noncriminal tax proceedings in federal court. For that reason, the firm puts a Kovel arrangement in place when a client’s accountant is involved, so that the accountant’s work for the defense falls under the lawyer’s privilege.

Criminal and Civil Exposure Handled Together A criminal investigation rarely stands alone. The firm reviews criminal exposure alongside the civil side of the same facts, such as an examination, the trust fund recovery penalty or the civil fraud penalty, because the government coordinates the two. Taxpayers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland who have been contacted by a special agent, or whose accountant has received a grand jury subpoena, can arrange a confidential consultation through the firm’s contact page.

About McCauley Law Offices, P.C.

McCauley Law Offices, P.C. is a tax law firm founded in 1991 by Gregory M. McCauley, Esquire, with offices in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Haddonfield, New Jersey and Westminster, Maryland. The firm handles IRS audits and appeals, federal tax liens and levies, payroll tax matters, criminal tax defense and collection alternatives. Its attorneys are licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, and are admitted before the United States Tax Court, enabling nationwide representation in federal tax matters. Attorney biographies are available on the firm’s attorney biographies page.

Media Contact
Company Name: McCauley Law Offices, P.C.
Contact Person: Greg McCauley
Email: Send Email
Phone: (877) 829-5267
City: Chadds Ford
Country: United States
Website: https://mlotax.com/

Media gallery

About The Author
McCauley Law Offices, P.C.