Get ready for increased scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service.
With Washington searching for ways to cut the budget deficit, IRS officials face intense pressure to collect more revenue. The agency plans more audits, especially of taxpayers in high brackets or those who are self-employed and deal in large amounts of cash. The IRS also has turned up the heat in such areas as offshore tax evasion, including undisclosed foreign bank accounts.
Here are some combat tips from lawyers, accountants and “enrolled agents,” who are federally licensed tax experts authorized to represent taxpayers at all levels of the IRS.
The Ostrich approach: One of the biggest mistakes is to bury your head in the sand and ignore IRS notices and letters, hoping the tax collectors eventually will lose interest and go away. “When dealing with the IRS, the best thing someone can do is to maintain regular communication,” says Charles P. Rettig, a tax lawyer at Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez P.C., in Beverly Hills, Calif. “Whether during an audit or in the tax-collection process, ignoring the IRS is simply a bad idea.”
Get help: having a smart, well-prepared tax expert on your side can be a tremendous advantage. Not only will they know the ins and outs of the tax code, but also they can take over the often-exhausting job of dealing with the IRS —and help you decide how far to push a fight.
More tips and the entire article.
