The Dreaded Letter From the IRS
by Rich Chappo
It is a part of just about all of our daily habits. We stroll out the mailbox to see what interesting bit of mail we got. As you dig through the junk mail, you see a few bills and an ominous looking letter. Egad, it is from the IRS. A dear john letter of a different sort.
The first thing you will notice about the letter is it is thin. This should worry you. If it contained forms it would be thick. As you open it, you see at first glance that it is not a form letter. This one has your name and social security number on it.
The dreaded thin letter from the IRS promises misery in all its simplicity. It is usually a one page statement, but packs the punch of a tank. Why? The IRS notice is issued under only one circumstance. The agency has found something wrong with your taxes.
Now, it can be said in truth that the ubiquitous notice sometimes is a good thing. The problem can be that you paid too much money. I had this happen once. Eighteen dollars. This is, however, admittedly a rare event and the news usually is not positive.
Audit. It is a word that can make a grown man or women weep like a small child. Well, most of these letters are notices of audits. Sorry. Ah, but the audit will rarely be the type of horrific experience you have heard of from someone who knew someone.
A vast majority of the time, the notice will be for what is known as a correspondence audit. This means the IRS is contesting something about your taxes, but is willing to give you the opportunity to deal with it by mail. That means no grilling by an agent.
With a correspondence audit, the nature of the dispute will be identified in the letter. The agency will often indicate it doesn't buy one of your deductions. It will also suggest a revised amount due on your taxes. In short, the problem and solution is provided.
At this point, you have a couple of choices. You can agree to the change by usually doing nothing. Alternatively, you can contest it by sending in a letter indicating as much and why you disagree. Finally, you can get on the phone and argue about it.
If you accept the proposed changes, the audit is over as long as you take any required action such as sending in more money. If you want to fight the agency, you can. Understand, however, you might be opening yourself up to a full audit.
If you receive the dreaded thin letter from the Internal Revenue Service, don't panic until you actually read it from beginning to end. It may be easy to resolve. If it looks ugly, get professional help or risk the IRS rolling over you like a bug.
Find tax lawyers to fight the IRS at BusinessTaxRecovery.com. This and other unique content 'audit' articles are available with free reprint rights.
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