IRS audits are a serious matter, but in spite of this, there’s always room for errors. If you’ve been subjected to an audit and you think that there may have been some mistakes done on IRS’s part, you should definitely try to get an IRS audit reconsideration.
The bad news is that the audit reconsideration is not a part of your rights as a taxpayer. That is to say that it’s entirely up to the IRS if it grants you the reconsideration or not. Often though, a persuasive letter from a professional like Community Tax can help to secure a reconsideration.
Now the good news: if you meet certain requirements, the IRS could be forced to accept your request. Let’s see when you can claim such a reconsideration and when you cannot, so you know what you’re dealing with:
You can apply for an audit reconsideration when:
- The IRS says you owe more tax debt than you actually do; it can happen, that’s for sure. If you disagree with the IRS and the tax they imposed on you + you have solid proof that you are right and they are wrong, they should guarantee you an audit reconsideration.
- You weren’t there when the audit took Subsequently, they didn’t consult you on any topic about the inspection.
- The IRS didn’t take into consideration some of the documents you provided them with when you were audited; in this case, the IRS should be compelled to grant you the audit reconsideration. Paperwork not being taken into consideration is a serious problem, so you mustn’t leave your guard down if this happens.
- There was a computer error that assessed a faulty tax. In this case, too, the audit reconsideration should be a given, since you are absolutely
You cannot request an audit reconsideration when:
- You already paid the debt in full. If you did that, you are not eligible for an audit reconsideration. Instead, you can ask for a refund through the IRS Amended Return. Naturally, you still need concrete proof that you’ve been wronged by the IRS auditors in order to be eligible for that tax refund.
- You applied for a tax relief program, and you’re currently in the process of paying the debt through an offer in compromise, a closing agreement or an installment agreement.
- The U.S. Tax Court has decided that you owe the tax communicated by the IRS. When this happens, it means that the IRS didn’t impose any additional tax on you and the audit was correct and fair. The Tax Court would never allow you to be overcharged unless you’ve accumulated penalties that reflect in the paperwork provided by IRS functionaries.
The process
First of all, you will have to write an IRS audit reconsideration letter, in which you will state your situation and the mistakes you think the IRS auditors had done when they conducted the audit. Fundamentally, you can use any of the four arguments from the “When can you request…” section to prove your point. Unlike the other resolutions with the IRS, this letter does not have a Form you have to fill in. It’s just a letter.
Your letter must be detailed and precise. It must be sent to the IRS together with the proper documentation, which includes loan documents, the Form 1099, statements from the bank, the checks that have been canceled and copies of the letters to and from the IRS.
At this stage, I would recommend that my readers hire a tax relief specialist like Community Tax that can help to put together all the required documents and write persuasive letters to the IRS.
Final Stage
The IRS will carefully review the documents you sent them. Getting approved for the audit reconsideration depends on the conclusions presented in your letter. If they have been reached through deficient logic and inaccurate information, you can well imagine that you will not be granted the audit reconsideration.
Even though they may accept your request, it can take a couple of months for them to take any actual action on “cleaning up” the messy situation.
What Do I Do If They Reject My Audit Reconsideration Request?
In the unfortunate case that they do not accept your application, you can eventually pay that debt in full then ask for a refund. You can do this at the Appeals Office by delivering a written request. If that does not work either, you have no other choice but to ask for an Appeal conference.
The audit reconsideration is an excellent opportunity to make justice, but unfortunately, as you can see, the process is quite complicated and it can last for a really long time. Moreover, getting any answer from the IRS, be it negative or positive, might take weeks or months.
Still, if you want to get things straight, you can certainly use this procedure. If you want to write such a request but don’t know how, you can be sure that you’ll find an IRS audit consideration sample letter on the Internet to use as a model for yours. A more foolproof way would be to hire someone who knows how to help you, like Community Tax.
Photo by Russ Hendricks
