One of the most dreaded pieces of mail an individual or business can receive is an IRS tax audit letter. These letters can be sent out for a number of reasons, many are simply to clarify part of a tax return either the income amounts, or deductions declared. These can be handled fairly easily as long as you have the documentation the IRS is requesting. There are others however, about 30% which are requests for more formal auditing through a set up meeting with an IRS agent to discuss the tax forms. This type of letter can cause panic for the average taxpayer as it will mean gathering significant amounts of information to substantiate the responses declared on your tax return. 

The IRS rarely chooses people to randomly audit, less than 2%, they are usually targeting individuals or businesses that they believe they can get more money from. You need a professional to advise you on your next move, this is where the trusted CPAs near you at Robinson, Gruters & Roberts can help. With over 50 years of experience in finance our team offers comprehensive IRS tax audit representation and defense. We can assist you with any IRS tax audit situation you might find yourself in. Our team of expert CPAs offer a level of professionalism and expertise when offering tax audit help to help put your mind at ease. Contact the trusted accountants and business advisors at Robinson, Gruters & Roberts today. 

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Getting Audited by the IRS? Here’s What You Need to Know

The first thing to do when you’ve received a tax audit letter from the IRS is to take a breath. Although these letters can be stressful there is help. Retaining the services of an experienced tax audit representative can alleviate much of the worry as they will be able to walk you through every step of the process and develop a strategy to defend your position and tax return information. 

The next step is to determine what type of tax audit the IRS is conducting. There are three different types of audits the IRS routinely carries out. 

• A Correspondence (Mail) Audit – These are the most common and are meant to correct small errors such as incorrect math or missing paperwork. This type of tax audit is handled typically by mailing the proper documentation to the IRS.
• An Office Examination Audit – Scheduled at your local IRS branch, you will meet with an IRS tax agent  where they will typically question you about your reported income and deductions to determine whether they are legitimate.
• A Field Audit – This type of tax audit is the most extensive of the three. The IRS will send an agent to your home, business or accountant’s office to check over your financial records to confirm that all filed tax information is correct.

Depending on the circumstances you may wish to speak with a professional tax audit representative near you no matter which of these three letters you have received. If it is a correspondence letter they will be able to direct you on the best way to proceed, and if it is an office examination or a field audit they can actually take over dealing with the IRS and communicate with them on your behalf. It should be noted that for a tax audit representative to have the ability to correspond with the IRS for you they will need to be given power of attorney.

No matter whether you have decided to retain tax audit help from a professional business advisor or whether you feel you can go it alone the next step is to respond to the IRS. Do Not ignore their letter. It will not go away, and can actually make matters worse causing you to incur penalties and other monetary fines. If you need more time to gather the documentation in question, say that to the IRS or have your tax representative do it for you. Deadlines can be changed within a reasonable amount of time. 

The next step when it comes to dealing with an IRS tax audit is to provide the information they are asking for and nothing more. There is no reason to give the IRS any more reason to keep poking around your finances and life. Being upfront with them and answering their questions and supplying whatever documentation they require without divulging anything extra is the best audit defense you can provide. An experienced IRS audit representative can help you determine what that looks like for your particular situation. 

Secure IRS Audit Representation Today Near You In Florida

The very mention of the IRS causes many to cringe. The tax audit process can be quite daunting and the bureaucracy and legal jargon used can be overwhelming for many. Hiring experienced IRS audit representation can help to make sure that everything is handled properly and can reduce the risk of being audited again in the future. There are a number of items that a qualified accountant can assist you with when it comes to advocating on your behalf when dealing with a tax audit, some of these include:

• Communicate directly with the IRS on your behalf
• Determine which portion of your tax return is in question
• Help you gather the necessary documents and records
• Fill out any paperwork
• Assist you in appealing the audit if necessary
• Negotiate the amount for payments if necessary
• Present an Offer in Compromise (OIC) or Installment Agreement
• Help protect your rights as a taxpayer 
• Examine everything to make sure you don’t end up paying more than you owe

The best thing you can do after receiving a tax audit letter truly is to reach out to an experienced CPA near you to find out the best way to proceed so that you can deal with the audit as quickly as possible and get on with your life.

Contact The #1 Voted CPA Firm in Venice, Florida

At Robinson, Gruters & Roberts, we are dedicated to giving you peace of mind, so you can focus on what’s important to you. If you are looking for professional CPA services in Venice, FL to assist you with your IRS tax audit defense we would be happy to speak with you. Please feel free to contact our office to set up a no obligation consultation so that we can determine how best we can serve you. 

Not only do we offer a full range of tax audit representation services at our Venice, FL accountant office we also provide: personal CPA tax preparation, corporate CPA tax preparation, Quickbooks accounting & bookkeeping, assurance services, and entity selection & restructuring.

“Eric Robinson has been our CPA for several years and has worked on both our personal and business taxes. During tax season he and his team are super responsive and they turn around our returns in no time. He is also easily accessible throughout the year to answer tax-related questions. His team is friendly and the fees are reasonable.”

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“Highly recommend Robinson, Gruters & Roberts, CPA firm. I’ve been using them for several years and they are consistently responsive and provide expert tax assistance and advice. The office staff and Eric Robinson are helpful and easy to talk with regarding tax matters. They are awesome!”

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