In Case Of Audit: Do This, Don't Do That

IRS auditThe odds, the statistics and simple logic are all in your favor. Despite all of that, you might find yourself being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. If you find that you’ve beaten the odds and defied logic and become a statistical anomaly, there are some things for you to do in order to make the best of an unfortunate situation.

And there are some things for you to refrain from doing so that you don’t make the situation worse.

First of all, remember to breathe. That’s the sound advice of the folks at credit.com and a tax professional that they interviewed. Although it might be difficult to remember when you find yourself holding an audit notice in your hand, it is not the end of the world.

Audits can be scary and they can result in significant tax liabilities, but they do not result in death or disfigurement. And the reality is that even a significant tax liability can be challenged with the help of an experienced tax attorney.

So breathe and then read the audit notice line by line. A lot of people put the notice out of sight, hoping that it will also be out of mind. But the IRS invariably includes a deadline by which you must respond. So read the notice and see if you are going to be subjected to a field audit.

That’s the type of audit in which the IRS sends an agent to your home or office. In this case, it’s time to contact a tax lawyer who can represent you and protect your rights and your interests.

If you are going to have a correspondence audit – one carried out by mail – it might well be wise to contact tax professionals such as an accountant to go over the documents you have submitted to the IRS. They can look for errors and help you understand the issues that might have triggered the audit.

If you have already gone through the audit and found the findings of the IRS unsatisfactory, you can speak with a Cleveland tax lawyer who can help you appeal the decision.

Download our Tutorial on IRS Audits