In some instances, it can take more than 2, 3, or even 4 years to get an approval on an offer in compromise. Here is one such case:
A self-employed (owned his own company) man from Texas, with a wife, owed over 100k. These taxes were for several older years, and he had previously filed an offer that was rejected because the IRS agent assigned to the case would not follow the normal rules (she made up her own). Since we had no recourse to fight her, we had to withdraw the first offer and re-submit. The taxpayer was of course protected throughout, and the taxpayer was also making sure he was paying his current taxes and staying compliant (very important). A second offer was filed, and after a lengthy review period, it was rejected by yet another IRS agent that was not following protocol. BUT WE KNEW WE WERE IN THE RIGHT. So, after her rejection, we requested an OIC Appeals. We sent the same solid proof and documentation to the Appeals agent, and we were approved. The taxpayer is paying a little over $8,000 on a $100,000 debt. So sometimes perseverance does pay off. 99% of Tax Resolution firms would have given up on this case. But not us.