Taxpayers often receive notices—letters from either the Internal Revenue Service or from a state agency because of a question raised by tax reporting.  Sometimes, income is erroneously reported or omitted—or the tax agency believes it to be.  Perhaps a taxpayer was unable to pay some or all of the tax due when the return was filed.  Or the tax agency is missing a return.  Occasionally, the communication notifies a taxpayer that part or all of a return—personal or business—has been selected for one of several types of examinations (audit).

Do not ignore these notices! Call your preparer immediately.  If I serve as your preparer, I will want to see the notice.  Sometimes a phone call or a letter will easily rectify the situation.  Other times, we may need to amend the return in question or file for an installment agreement (to pay your taxes over time).  Neglecting the notice, however, establishes a record of poor communication, causing penalties and interest to mount, and the issue to proceed toward collection action.  It won’t just go away!

If it’s for an examination, you are well advised to retain representation, such as an Enrolled Agent, to handle the audit.  Enrolled Agents are fully authorized to serve as taxpayer representatives before the IRS for all administrative branches.  To do so, I am required to attain a Power of Attorney from the taxpayer(s) or, for a business, an authorized officer of the entity.

I can represent you, or your business, securing a working relationship with the IRS (or state agency) employees working your case, providing the information (with your assistance) they request (and only that information) in a timely manner.  You are not required to meet with any agent (except under subpoena), thus keeping you at work or running your business.

Beware! The number of examinations are up.  Gone are the days of the kindler, gentler IRS.  The focus now is on collection.  The IRS is updating its systems to better target taxpayers not reporting all their income — and/or those reporting more deductions than entitled.  Cheating to save a few dollars now is not worth the risk of getting caught—and the additional expense of interest and penalties!  Count on professional fees, too, if you don’t know how to navigate the IRS administration.  Don’t trust IRS personnel to guide you through the process.  Their  interests are not your best interests.

Should I determine at any point that you may require legal counsel, I will recommend that course of action to you.

Whatever the scope of your representation needs, I would be happy to discuss the details and process with you.

Representing the Taxpayer