The IRS will send you a letter, if it needs more information. You can hire an attorney, certified public accountant (CPA), or enrolled agent to represent you before the IRS. You may be eligible for free representation (or representation for a nominal fee) through a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. At Taxfyle, we connect small businesses with licensed, experienced CPAs or EAs in the US. Organizing the records you bring or send us will speed the process and prevent errors or misunderstandings. Organize them by year and type of income or expense, and include a summary of transactions.

Sample Certified IRS Audit Letters: How to Decipher an Audit Letter

• You can connect with a licensed CPA or EA who can file your business tax returns.
• It will also generate a good set of financial records for you in case the IRS wants to see some proof.
• The IRS might need more details to understand your tax situation better.
• It also gives the IRS time to complete the audit and provides time to process the audit results.
• But remember that the auditor doesn’t have the final say.

You may also forfeit your ability to contest the charges the IRS believes you balance sheet owe. It could also escalate matters and result in a legal case. There’s no standard length of time an audit takes, the IRS says. That’s because it depends on the complexity of the return and the factors that may have triggered the audit.

Initial Contact for Correspondence Cases

• You can continue to work with us by providing the requested information to resolve your examination, or you can follow the instructions in the letter to petition tax court.
• Most are conducted entirely by mail — you’ll essentially send a series of letters back and forth.
• They might say you forgot to include certain tax credits or income.
• If the IRS requests more info or if the letter may suggest you owe more taxes, a professional can help you respond.
• You can avoid going to the audit by hiring someone to go in your place.

When you receive an audit letter from the IRS, remember, irs audit you have the right to understand everything about your taxes. You can ask questions if something doesn’t make sense, just like in class. The lookback period is the time during which the IRS can audit your tax returns. Generally, the IRS has three years to initiate an audit from the date the return was filed.

Seeking Assistance from a Tax Professional

It also gives the IRS time to complete the audit and https://www.bookstime.com/articles/accounting-for-photographers provides time to process the audit results. You are receiving a 30-day letter because the IRS completed an examination of your tax return, after reviewing the information you provided. The examiner’s proposed changes will affect the amount of tax you owe or, perhaps, the credits you claimed. The 30-day letter is your opportunity to review these changes and determine if you agree or disagree with the changes proposed.

The content on this website is provided “as is;” no representations are made that the content is error-free. Follow the instructions in the notice to dispute what it says. Include information and copies of documents for us to review when we consider your dispute. This notice or letter may include additional topics that have not yet been covered here. That’s because, without your input, the IRS will only be working with the information it has.

• If you can’t meet this deadline, you can request an extension by mailing or faxing us your request, or by calling the number on the letter to ask for additional time.
• There’s still a chance you won’t owe any additional money on your taxes.
• The IRS conducts audits to verify income, deductions, expenses, and credits claimed on tax returns.
• This might mean showing the IRS records for your write-offs, for example.
• When you’re a Pro, you’re able to pick up tax filing, consultation, and bookkeeping jobs on our platform while maintaining your flexibility.
• We can ordinarily grant you a one-time automatic 30-day extension.