Years ago, I found myself sitting in law school in Moot Court wearing an oversized itchy blue suit. It was a horrible experience. In a desperate attempt to avoid anything like that in the future I enrolled in a tax course. I loved it. I signed up for another. Before I knew it, in addition to my JD, I had an LL.M Taxation. I needed only to don my cape… Taxgirl® was born.
While at law school, I interned at the estate & gift attorney division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). At IRS, I participated in the review and audit of federal estate tax returns. At one audit, where I was the lead, opposing counsel read my report, looked at his file, and said, “Gentlemen, she’s exactly right.” I nearly fainted.
Today, I am a managing shareholder at The Erb Law Firm, P.C., where I focus on tax law including domestic and international estate and tax planning; tax compliance and controversy matters such as tax delinquencies, offers in compromise, and audits. I am licensed to practice in PA, NJ, and in the U.S. Tax Court. I am also permitted to practice law on a pro bono basis in NC through the Legal Aid of North Carolina.
In addition to my legal practice, I write extensively about tax. I am a Senior Contributor at Forbes where I write about tax and tax policy, including tax-related security & technology issues. I also have a regular column at Bloomberg Tax – you can catch my latest post here.
I’ve written and been interviewed about taxes for CNN Money, CNBC, Reuters, Time, and US News & World. I’ve also been asked to explain taxes in plain English by media outlets like National Public Radio’s Marketplace, Esquire, CBS Radio, Inc., Martha Stewart’s Living, and Marketwatch, and a number of podcasts.
I’ve appeared in a number of books, including authoring a chapter on careers in tax law for the American Bar Association. I’ve published Ask the TaxGirl: Everything Parents Should Know About Filing Taxes and Home, Sweet, Rental: Busting the Hype of Homeownership together with Forbes, and I’ve created and co-authored 100 Things You Need To Know About Money (Forbes’ most successful e-book).
I still give interviews and speak as much as my schedule will allow. You might have seen (or heard) me recently in El Paso where I presented on Tax Tips for Freelancers and Small Businesses in the Travel Industry for SATW; in Lisbon where I spoke about tax evasion and sports (with an emphasis on soccer) for the Warwick Legal Network; or in Vegas at the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) where I opened the conference addressing challenges in the tax profession.
You can find more about what I write and what I’m doing here. (Did I mention that I drink a lot of coffee?)
And just to clarify, there are a number of folks flitting about the internet who feel that it’s okay to use my trademarks (Taxgirl®, Ask The Taxgirl® and Taxes From A To Z®). It’s not. If you find yourself a bit confused, here are a few tips:
And finally, let’s make sure we understand a couple of things, ok?
© 2020 Kelly Phillips Erb. All Rights Reserved.