The IRS loves to send audit letters that say “Come on down to see us or we’ll be by to see you, and oh by the way bring every piece of paper you have for the last three years.” The time away from your job and family is considerable when dealing with an IRS audit. The worst part is that if you don’t comply, the cost of any changes by the Auditor can be more than your annual income with all the Penalties and Interest they charge. The IRS Auditors are trained to get more information out of you than you are required to provide. Many times I see taxpayers attempting to handle their IRS examination alone and end up digging themselves deeper into trouble by speaking with an IRS Auditor. Remember, the job of the IRS Auditor is to find mistakes and errors, not to be your friend.

The first thing we recommend is not to speak with the Auditor. Have an independent CPA or tax pro handling all meetings and correspondence with the IRS. This puts the IRS on notice that you are seriuos about winning your audit. The preparation before the audit is also extremely important.

Our firm handles IRS audits by actually performing an audit of your records in our office before the scheduled Audit date. This way we can uncover any areas where your documentation is not adequate before the IRS auditor looks at your records.

IRS audits usually start with one year and then expand to other years as the auditor makes changes. Your goal must be “to stop the Auditors int heir tracks on their first year being audited in order to prevent any additional changes in other years.”

Our firm meets with the IRS Auditor in either their office or our office, but not in your home or office. Our methods allow you to continure on doing business without intrustive interruptions.