The power of the Internal Revenue Service can be immense. It has the capacity to make life misery for anyone in Minnesota suspected of failing to meet tax obligations. The agency doesn’t tend to wield that power right off the bat, however. An experienced tax attorney knows that actions don’t tend to start with audits. First, notices of suspected liability are sent. If responded to promptly and properly, an audit might not even occur.
If an audit is scheduled, consulting an attorney well ahead of time may reveal where errors in filing occurred. At the very least, such an assessment can provide you with insight as to how the auditor may view the claims made in your return.
Mistakes get made, even by the IRS
No one is immune from errors. We all make them. Tax law is complicated and interpretations of provisions can vary from person to person. The ins and outs of IRS policies are so confusing that sometimes even the agency doesn’t know what end is up. This was most recently evidenced by a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
That audit of the IRS found that internal procedures for determining pay are so confusing that the agency overpaid or underpaid hundreds of employees in recent years. A review of the years 2006 to 2014 led TIGTA officials to estimate that the agency overpaid more than 600 workers by $4.2 million and that another 900 workers were underpaid to the tune of $2.7 million. The report made two recommendations that the agency agreed to follow, and the issue has apparently been resolved.
Notices of an IRS audit can strike fear into the hearts of recipients. Often that fear is of the unknown and understanding options under the law is a good way to alleviate it.
