Law Firm Overview

About the Brager Tax Law Group, A Professional Corporation

Dennis Brager is a California State Bar Certified Tax Specialist, who acquired in-depth knowledge of law as a Senior Trial Attorney for the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel. In addition to representing the IRS in court, he advised the Service on complex civil and criminal tax issues.

Having worked for the IRS for six years, he gained valuable insight into the inner workings of that organization. This not only helps in developing the right strategies, but facilitates working with the system quickly and efficiently. Ultimately this saves his clients time, money and stress.

Recognizing the importance of specialization in an era of constantly changing tax laws, Mr. Brager has limited his practice to representing clients having disputes with the IRS, the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization and the Employment Development Department--both at trial and administrative levels.

He has spoken before the California Continuing Education of the Bar, the California Society of CPAs, the California Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, and the National Association of Enrolled Agents. He has been an instructor at Golden Gate University's Masters in Taxation Program and a guest speaker at the University of Southern California. Mr. Brager has testified as an expert witness on Federal tax matters before the California Franchise Tax Board. His articles have appeared in California Lawyer, the Daily Journal, Taxation for Lawyers, the Los Angeles Lawyer, Family Law News, California Tax lawyer, and the Journal of Taxation of Investments. The most recent ones include, "Tax Collection Techniques," "Circular 230: An Overview," "The Impact of the New Bankruptcy Law on Tax Debtors: A First Impression," "Tax Issues: Damages, Rescission and Debt Cancellations as Client Income," "Prevailing Party-Recovering Attorneys Fees From the IRS," "Bankruptcy: The Silver Bullet of Tax Defense," "The Taxpayer Bill of Rights--A Small Step Toward Reining in the IRS," "Challenging the IRS Requires a Cohesive Strategy," "The Innocent Spouse Defense," "IRS Guidelines for Installment-Payment Agreements," "Expert Advice: New Rules on 1099 Forms." "Tax Brakes: The Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2," "IRS Innocent-Spouse Rules Have Been Liberalized," and "Expert Advice: Avoiding Payroll Taxes."

Mr. Brager received his undergraduate degree from Pace University (B.B.A., magna cum laude, 1975, Accounting/Finance), and his law degree from New York University (J.D., 1978). He is a former chair of the Tax Compliance, Procedure and Litigation Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and chair of the California State Bar, Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Claims Court, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

A Brief Non-exclusive Listing of Our Services Include:

We have clients nationally although the majority of our clients reside in Northern and Southern California. A small sampling of the counties and cities we serve are Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and Ventura Counties and the cities of Agoura, Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Malibu, Newport Beach, Pacific Palisades, Palm Springs, Palmdale, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Tarzana, Van Nuys, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles and Woodland Hills.

Areas of Practice

• Tax Law
• Tax Litigation
• Tax Controversy
• Tax Collection
• Tax Appeals
• Payroll Tax
• Sales and Use Taxes
• Income Taxation
• Corporate Taxation

Honors and Awards

• AV Rated

Published Works

• The Tax Gap and Voluntary Disclosure, Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure, December 2007 - January 2008, 2008
• Tax Collection Techniques, Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure, October-November, 2006
• Circular 230: An Overview, Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure, December, 2005
• The Impact of the New Bankruptcy Law on Tax Debtors: A First Impression, Tax Network, June, 2005
• Tax Issues: Damages, Rescission and Debt Cancellations as Client Income, The Consumer Advocate, April, 2004
• IRS Innocent-Spouse Rules Have Been Liberalized, The Daily Journal, March 8, 1999
• Prevailing Party - Recovering Attorneys Fees from the IRS, The Daily Journal, October 20, 1998
• Expert Advice: New Rules on 1099 Forms, California Lawyer, June, 1998
• Bankruptcy: The Silver Bullet of Tax Defense, California Tax Lawyer, Winter, 1997
• Expert Advice: Avoiding Payroll Taxes, California Lawyer, May, 1997
• Tax Breaks: The Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, Los Angeles Lawyer, November, 1996
• IRS Guidelines for Installment-Payment Agreements, Los Angeles Lawyer, March, 1996
• The Innocent Spouse Defense, Los Angeles Lawyer, December, 1995
• Challenging the IRS Requires a Cohesive Strategy, Taxation for Lawyers, July/August, 1991
• The Taxpayer Bill of Rights--A Small Step Toward Reining in the IRS, Los Angeles Lawyer, May, 1989

Classes and Seminars

• Sales and Use Tax Audits: A Guide for Tax Professionals, Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar and California Tax Policy Conference, November 6, 2008 - November 8, 2008
• Taxpayer Advocate: Who, When, and How They Can Help, UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, October 28, 2008
• Trasferre Liability, Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar & California Tax Policy Conference, November 4, 2007
• Voluntary Disclosure: The Basics, UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, October 31, 2007
• Federal Tax Collection Update -- The Rules Have Changed, California Society CPA, June 22, 2007
• Appeal of EDD Audits, 2006 Annual Meeting of the CA Tax Bar, November 3, 2006
• Tax Collection Techniques: Money Talks!, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 23, 2006
• Innocent Spouse: Urban Legend or Viable Option?, 79th Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, Taxation Section, October 8, 2006
• New Circular 230 Regulations - Finally, Some Practical Advice, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 31, 2005
• Handling Estate Tax Audits and Appeals Without Getting Sued, 78th Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, Taxation Section, September 11, 2005
• Recent Developments in Tax Procedure: What You Don't Know May Be Malpractice, Tax Night 2004, November 9, 2004
• Handling a Sales Tax Audit, 2004 Annual Meeting of the CA Tax Bar, November 5, 2004
• What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Divorce and Taxation, CA State Bar, October 9, 2004
• Divorce Taxation, Annual Spring Tax Conference at California State University Northridge, May 22, 2004
• Tax Collection Update: 2003 Tax Update and Planning Conference, CA CPA Education Foundation, November 19, 2003 - November 20, 2003
• Ethics Inspection: A Look at Tax Practitioner Ethics, Particularly Comparing State Bar, CPA and Circular 230, 2003 Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bars, November 8, 2003
• Tax Issues: Damages, Rescission and Debt Cancellation as Client Income, Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, October 26, 2003
• What to Do When the Audit Goes South, Warner Center CPA Club, May 29, 2003
• Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Offers and Compromise and Finally Get a Chance to Ask, CA State Bar Taxation Section, Tax Procedure & Litigation Committee, May 16, 2003
• Discharge or Death - Making Taxes Disappear in Bankruptcy, Beverly Hills Bar Association - Bankruptcy Law Section, May 6, 2003
• Enhanced IRS Collection in the New Millennium: Is IRS Prepared to Destroy the Village?, Beverly Hills Bar Association - Taxation Law Section, March 13, 2003
• Latest Developments in IRS Offers, Statute Waivers & Fast Track Mediation, Tax Night 2002, November 12, 2002
• Compliance: Recent Trends in SB/SE Exam Collection, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 17, 2002
• What to do When the Audit Goes South, CA Society of Enrolled Agents, Los Angeles Chapter, October 8, 2002
• What to do When the IRS Says No, CA Society of Enrolled Agents, San Fernando Valley Chapter, June 10, 2002
• Legislative & Judicial Changes in Bankruptcy Taxation, CA State Bar: 2001 Annual Meeting of the CA Tax Bars, November 9, 2001
• Tax Collection Roundtable, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 25, 2001
• Bankruptcy and Taxes - An Update!, CA Society of CPAs, Hollywood/Beverly Hills Discussion Group, June 8, 2001
• CA State Law Innocent Spouse Update, LACBA Family Law & Taxation Sections, April 25, 2001
• Collection, Due Process - Fact or Fiction, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 26, 1999
• Bankruptcy Basics, Los Angeles County Bar Association, July 31, 1999
• Recent Changes in hte Innocent Spouse Doctrine, Beverly Hills Family Law Study Group, February 9, 1999
• Ethical Dilemmas Facing Lawyers Practicing at CPA Firms, Los Angeles County Bar Association, February 5, 1999
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights III, CPA/Business Managers Committee, November 18, 1998
• Tax Collection After the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act, Los Angeles County Bar Association, November 17, 1998
• The Taxpayer's Last Resort: The Basic Rules for Eliminating Federal and State Taxes in Bankruptcy, California State Bar, November 14, 1998
• Surviving an IRS Audit, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, January 23, 1998
• Independent Contractor Status Update, The CPA Club, December 4, 1997
• Use of the Freedom of Information Act in Tax Cases, UCLA Extension: Annual Tax Controversy Institute, October 22, 1997

West Practice Categories

Taxation Law, Corporate Taxation, Estate & Gift Taxation, Excise Taxes, Income Taxation, Payroll Taxes, Sales & Use Taxes