Whether you should you hire an attorney really depends on your specific situation. For instance, if you just need to file tax returns it may be that a CPA is a good idea to resolve your problem because you need to file tax returns and a lot of attorneys may not do that.

By the same token, if you really have an IRS problem and you're going to need someone to help you negotiate a resolution to that problem, a lot of times, not always but a lot of times, accountants are not interested in doing that part of the work even though they're qualified and they can practice before the IRS. Many times attorneys are better suited to handle the negotiation and settlement process. There's never a one size fits all for any situation but definitely you want to ask those questions and you want to ask the person that you're looking to work with, “How can you help me specifically”, “What is it that you can do for me,” because if you owe the IRS money you're going to want somebody who's comfortable dealing with that situation and in helping you seek resolution as opposed to just someone who's going to want to file tax returns.