*Loan,banking and credit>>>tax attorney

If I hire a tax attorney, will this delay the IRS in taking collection actions, such as placing a lien?

I owe about 8000 and can pay in a couple of months when I sell my house.

you should be able to call the IRS rep you've been speaking with an let them know about that. Let them know you're in the process of selling your house and that you will be able to pay them in X # of months. If they don't like that, find out about starting a payment plan, where you can pay something like $100 a month, and then just pay off the rest when you sell the house. If that doesn't work, then you should consider the lawyer. But just hiring one won't do much. He'll have to put in for a delay or something like that. Try directly with the IRS first though, cause you may be able to save yourself the cost of the lawyer.

If you do a crime you don't defend yourself in court. These are serious issues and a good tax attorney can do the right thing and even delay things. Don't waste too much time going back and forth with the IRS.

Excellent answer Robin...can't add much more to that except that not only is a payment plan a realistic option for you but the IRS should be then willing to help you out in arranging one. Yes, they do want their money but if you go through the process, they usually are willing to work with you.