Audits and Appeals
Few things are as unnerving as an IRS audit. You work hard and pay your taxes, but still, the IRS comes asking for documentation of every little transaction at risk of back taxes, interest, penalties, fines, and possibly even worse. An audit is no time to take things lightly, wing it, go it alone, and just see how things turn out. A tax audit is time for experienced representation from the IRS Helps Attorneys at The Law Office of Beverly Winstead, LLC.
What Is a Tax Audit? A tax audit involves the IRS examining not just your tax return but all documentation that you can muster to support it. The IRS uses your documentation to determine your tax return’s accuracy and to conclude necessary adjustments, including the possibility of unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. In the worst case, if it appears that you deliberately falsified your tax return, an audit could result in referring your case for criminal review and enforcement. Congress’s statute of limitations allows the IRS three years in which to audit a tax return. However, they may be allowed to audit you up to six years later if your return underreports your income by at least 25%, and there is no time limit if you filed a fraudulent return.
Why Am I the Subject of an Audit? The IRS audits some returns randomly, without suspecting you of any wrongdoing. The IRS also performs a certain number of audits as enforcement actions around hot-button tax issues, like deductions that taxpayers have been abusing. But the IRS also checks a tax return’s accuracy against W-2 forms, Form 1099s, and information supplied by employers or other entities and discrepancies can trigger an audit. The IRS also watches for unusually high claims of expenses or charitable deductions, particularly when claimed by someone who reports a lower income that does not seem to support the deductions.
How Does Representation Help? The IRS Help Attorneys at The Law Office of Beverly Winstead, LLC will help you gather, organize, and present the documentation you need to support the tax returns you filed and that the IRS is auditing. The tax attorneys also analyze and confirm your tax return information’s accuracy, even finding additional exemptions or deductions to reduce any taxes you paid or owe. An IRS audit typically includes IRS Help Attorneys advocating for you during one or more meetings between you and the audit agent.
What If I Disagree with the Audit? One other important service that the IRS Help Attorneys at The Law Office of Beverly Winstead, LLC perform is to appeal adverse audit findings when appeal grounds exist. You have the right to appeal the IRS’s determination following its audit. An appeal’s success, though, depends on researching and advocating the appeal grounds. Merely filing the appeal is not enough. Your advocate must convincingly articulate specific appeal grounds that tax law supports, as the IRS Help Attorneys have the training and experience to do effectively.
Get Audit and Appeal Representation. Founding and managing attorney Beverly Winstead‘s tax-resolution team at IRS Help Attorneys have used their substantial audit experience to reduce a million-dollar-plus IRS assessment to less than a tenth of that amount. The IRS Help Attorneys have also used their advocacy skills in appeals to relieve individual taxpayers of liability for corporate tax obligations. If you need help with either an IRS or state audit or audit appeal, call The Law Office of Beverly Winstead, LLC at (301) 306-1234 or contact the firm online.