How to Deal with IRS Correspondence and Office Audit

Did you receive notice from IRS? Are you ready for the audit? Correspondence audit is one of the kinds of IRS audit and is the simplest one. In this, you (taxpayer) would receive a letter from IRS requesting a proof a particular exemption or deduction availed by you. Most of the times, you’d need to show them documents that can prove that you are eligible for that particular tax relief. In order to prove that, you would need to submit photocopies of your financial records or file special forms provided by the IRS. If you’ve not played any game with the IRS, you’re more likely to clear the audit.

If you want clear the audit, first thing that you need you to take care of is to not get panic. Correspondence audit is one of the least threatening audits and every year IRS conduct similar type of hundreds of audits. Most of the taxpayers send out check immediately after receiving the correspondence from the IRS. However, you should first research then pay whatever IRS is asking for. It does not mean that you should ignore the letter completely. Don’t panic, its just a letter from IRS, even they make mistakes. You should first thoroughly review the letter and then compare it with your return that you’ve filed with the IRS.

Are you confident that you didn’t make any mistake in filing tax return? If yes, even then you should not ignore the correspondence from the IRS. It will not solve the problem rather make it big issue in the future. If you fail to response to the IRS in the given timeline, due to lack of response, you are likely to be audited on your previous filings and other taxes you owe to the IRS. If you want to appeal against IRS correspondent audit notice, you would need to send a written explanation to the IRS within 30 days of receiving the audit notice. In order to make your appeal strong, don’t forget to include supporting tax documents with your explanation letter.

If your appeal is strong, no audit will happen. However, in case, decision of the appeal goes in the favor of IRS, audit will happen in IRS office. You’d need to reach there at the scheduled time with all your documents that would prove that all your filings were correct. Generally, these kinds of audits are carried out by IRS agents with less experience. If you have already gone through an IRS correspondence audit, don’t get carried away by its easy process because IRS office visit is more complex. In IRS office audits are usually related to tax credit, relieves, exemptions and expenses. The letter you are going to receive from the IRS will notify what information is required by the IRS. Remember! Always give only that information which has been asked by the IRS. In case, you’re finding it hard to plan the audit and/or are not confident enough to face IRS, go for a tax attorney.