Medusa

How To Survive An IRS Audit

<p>With tax season finally coming to a close&comma; the dreaded IRS audit season is about to commence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center"><img class&equals;"aligncenter" style&equals;"width&colon; auto" alt&equals;"" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;myblogguest&period;com&sol;forum&sol;uploads&sol;articles&sol;2013&sol;5&sol;audit&lowbar;image&lowbar;1&period;png" width&equals;"540" height&equals;"375" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While many people have that nagging fear they will be audited&comma; the chances of being audited is fairly low&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Only About 1 out of 100 people that file taxes are actually audited&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"alignright" style&equals;"width&colon; auto" alt&equals;"" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;myblogguest&period;com&sol;forum&sol;uploads&sol;articles&sol;2013&sol;5&sol;audit&lowbar;image&lowbar;2&period;jpg" width&equals;"326" height&equals;"462" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; if you do happen to be one of the unlucky people selected by the IRS for an audit&comma; here are a few easy steps to take to make the process go as smoothly as possible&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Don’t Ignore Mail From the IRS<&sol;strong> &&num;8211&semi; It may be frightening&comma; but you simply must open all mail from the IRS&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>The IRS typically provides taxpayers with about 30 days to respond to letters and demands and it is best to face the problem head on and resolve the issue&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If you decide to ignore the letter&comma; the problem will continue to grow as the IRS adds penalties to your taxpayer account&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Contact a Tax Professional &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>When you receive official communications from the IRS&comma; it is important to consider hiring a tax professional to represent you and communicate directly with the IRS&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>Since the tax code and tax laws are very complicated&comma; hiring a tax professional who is knowledgeable to handle your IRS audit is advisable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In addition&comma; it can save you money in the long run&period; The IRS professionals you interview should have broad experience related to IRS audit defense and representation and be licensed as a CPA or tax professional&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Get All Records and Documentation in Order &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>Normally&comma; the IRS audit will be focused on a small portion of your overall tax return&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>It is important to find out what parts of your tax return are in question and have the necessary paperwork and documentation to prove your case&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Since the IRS can audit up to three years prior&comma; it is wise to retain all tax documentation for at least three years&period; However&comma; if you are missing a file or receipt&comma; don’t stress out&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>You can easily get copies of previous tax returns and lost receipts can normally be replaced as well&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For example&comma; most non-profits keep good records and will be able to supply you with a copy of your giving receipt even if you neglected to keep the evidence of a charitable contribution&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Remain Calm &&num;8211&semi;<&sol;strong> The best advice for an audit is to be respectful and kind to your assigned IRS agent&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>Do not begin the process being rude and difficult&period; It will serve you to be kind and you will see the agent is just doing their job and the process will be much smoother&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Also&comma; no matter what you do&comma; <em>do not hide or cover anything up&period; <&sol;em>As long as you are honest and upfront with the auditor&comma; the IRS agents are normally reasonable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is important to note that tax returns are selected for audit in a variety of different ways including random sampling&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is important not to panic and to realize that&comma; if handled correctly&semi; many IRS audits can result in an acceptance of return without change or even perhaps a refund&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When faced with an IRS audit selecting a qualified Certified Public Accountant to provide IRS audit defense is well worth the investment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h5>Featured images&colon;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p><span class&equals;"license">License&colon; Royalty Free or iStock<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span class&equals;"source">source&colon; http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;istockphoto&period;com&sol;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span class&equals;"license">License&colon; Royalty Free or iStock<&sol;span> <span class&equals;"source">source&colon; http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;istockphoto&period;com&sol;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Brian Hill&comma; the Founder and President of Professional Tax Resolution&comma; has helped hundreds of individuals and businesses with tax issues&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His firm specializes in representing individuals that owe back taxes and want to reach a settlement with the IRS&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Exit mobile version