Posted on 07/21/2009 7:52:54 PM PDT by ROTB
A friend of mine got a call from the IRS. He is getting audited.
He and another friend that worked for the same company, had the boss hanging out over their shoulder, who browbeat them into taking riskier deductions than perhaps they might have.
Both are getting audited.
My friend is seeking the collective wisdom of the group with regards to audits.
1) total transparency 2) get a lawyer 3) a particular strategery
Thank you FRiends.
Have a tax attorney look things over.
Go to your local CPA firm for representation. Doesn’t need to be a large firm, just one that has experience in dealing with the IRS.
Insist on the Tim Geithner or Charlie Rangel treatment.
Depends on what type of money they think he owes. An attorney is going to cost him; if the amount at-issue is small, then it may cost him more to hire an attorney than to just pay them what they think he owes, to go away.
Fake your own death and move to Costa Rica.
If you’re not getting audited every year, you’re paying too much in taxes.
I agree. Depends on how bad the penalty is. However, I would lawyer up with the best damn pit bull ex IRS tax attorney I could find. These people have all the time in the world and all the money to prosecute you. AND THEY WILL. Make no mistake, they love to make examples of honest citizens who make mistakes. Kind of like kicking the victim while they are down and selective law enforcement. Watch your ass.
Great minds think alike. You beat me while I was looking up the map.
If your passport is still valid leave the country immediately. If not get a deep tan and go to the nearest sancuary city.
What kind of audit? Correspondence audit or office audit?
The former usually isn’t a big deal. Just answer in writing and pay whatever needs to be paid.
An office visit is more serious. Get a CPA or an ‘enrolled agent’ (someone who is authorized to speak to the IRS on your behalf) to represent you.
Never volunteer any more information than is requested. Otherwise you open the door to additional investigation.
Lay everything out in the open they ask for. Otherwise you just encourage them to dig deeper.
If they know they did things that were debatable that amount to substantial amounts of money, then they should hire a lawyer to minimize the pain. If the things in question are relatively small, then simply be prepared to pay the bill along with interest and penalties.
If they lied on their return then hire a lawyer and take your medicine.
How much money is involved and what sort of “risky” deductions did they take...the answer is a combination of both questions..
Hmmmm....
In all of my experiences...the IRS doesn’t make phone calls.
They send letters.
Lawyer.
They can use the convaluded tax code to find things that aren’t even there! Get a lawyer that knows his or her way around tax law.
;-)
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