You come home from a long day at work to find an IRS notice in your mailbox. You tear open the envelope to find an audit notice…or worse. You know you should have a representative by your side, but which one? Today we’re going to look at a few situations that are best handled by a tax attorney.
Audit
You open your mail to find an audit notice from the IRS. At this point, it’s hard not to think of the worst possible outcome. After all, you’ve never been audited before.
The audit process is a legally binding contract between you and the IRS. Just as you wouldn’t go to civil court without representation, the same applies to dealing with an audit.
A qualified tax attorney can represent you during the audit process and explain the proceedings to you in a way that you’ll understand…free of jargon and legalese.
Your tax attorney will also see to it that the audit progresses in a timely manner, otherwise known as due process.
Your tax attorney can also negotiate with the IRS on your behalf, make payment arrangements if you owe any penalties or fees after the audit, and file for penalty abatement on your behalf.
Communications
If the thought of interacting with the IRS on any level renders you speechless or unable to convey your situation clearly, you’re not alone. At the same time, if you’re one of those who can’t communicate well under pressure without getting intimidated or flustered, a tax attorney is a wise investment.
They can not only interpret IRS jargon, but they can also communicate directly with the IRS on your behalf via phone, letter, or email.
Furthermore, a tax attorney can also push back if the IRS agent tries to intimidate them. Tax attorneys deal with the IRS for a living, so there isn’t any tactic they haven’t dealt with before.
Legal Action
The IRS has the right to file criminal charges against you if they have reason to believe that you are either purposely avoiding tax payment (tax evasion) or are hiding income from the government or falsifying your tax returns (tax fraud).
Both charges carry severe penalties, including jail time. If the IRS files criminal charges against you, your first course of action is to “lawyer up” AKA hire a tax attorney.
After carefully evaluating and researching your case, your tax attorney can determine whether or not you can receive a lesser degree of punishment, and they can represent you in court.
Missing Returns
If for any reason you neglect to file your tax returns, you’ll want an attorney to plead your case to the IRS. Those missning returns will need to be accounted for a filed.
The IRS may have some serious questions regarding the missing tax returns, and the circumstances under which they were missing, e.g., why they weren’t filed in the first place. Your attorney can not only communicate with the IRS on your behalf, they may be able to work toward a more manageable outcome after you file those past due returns.
You should retain a tax attorney whenever you are faced with an audit, criminal charges, or need to file past due returns. A competent tax attorney can communicate and negotiate with the IRS on your behalf, which can save you time and money in the long run.
If you’re facing a serious tax matter and need legal representation, we have qualified tax attorneys on staff to help you. Don’t let a notice from the IRS ruin your day. Give us a call or click the white “Start Chat” button in the upper-right hand corner of any of our webpages. Don’t go it alone when dealing with a serious tax matter. We can help.