Audits are extremely stressful, but you do have more control than you probably know. Start by hiring a tax attorney for tax audit help. Once you do that, here are some things that you may be comforted to know as you proceed with your audit:
- It is your right to choose to have the audit conducted at a time and place that you find convenient. You and your lawyer can use this right to take time to prepare the documents and records that will help your audit go smoothly, and save you from being caught entirely off guard by an IRS tax auditor, even if you weren’t expecting the audit.
- You also have the right to record the audit as long as you extend the same right to the IRS. This will help prevent the IRS agent from changing the rules or going off the book in the middle of your audit, and will keep any surprises from popping up.
- You also have the right to limit how widely your audit affects your life, by choosing not to discuss issues that are not relevant to your tax liability. Discuss this right with your attorney, and decide what you are and are not willing to talk about during your audit with an IRS attorney.
- The IRS often will bluff to scare you into telling the truth, so make sure you double check what they tell you. For instance, you can claim a deduction without a canceled check or receipt, you do have the right to challenge an auditor’s decision, and you do not have to disclose every fact about your financial life, just because they ask you to. Double check all large claims with your lawyer.
