Tax audits: wouldn’t it be nice to know, beforehand, what an IRS tax audit examiner looks for, and how they would look for it? IRS Audit Tax Guides (ATGs) do just that. Intended to help develop highly trained tax auditors, the IRS publishes manuals for many market segments on their website, IRS.gov. From IRS.gov: “These Guides contain examination techniques, common and unique industry issues, business practices, industry terminology and other information to assist examiners in performing examinations.” Like specific tax audit guides for Ministers and Contractors. Other guides are for specific issues that arise across multiple market segments, like say Lawsuit Awards and Settlements. We’re a proactive CPA firm and look at these ATGs to help prevent tax audits, and, to insure our clients are as bulletproof as possible in the unpleasant event of a tax audit.
There is also a tax audit primer available that overviews the entire process from the initial Notice to audit closing, including a video series. Related topics like Record Keeping and Burden of Proof delineate what the IRS examiner would expect to see during a tax audit.
Of course, IRS.gov has many other resources too. Tax forms you can fill out and print, specific instructions by tax form, a tool to verify vendor/employee names and identification numbers, guides to IRS phone numbers etc., etc.
We’re a Wilmington NC CPA Firm offering a broad range of tax preparation services in a friendly mix of tax expertise and excellent customer service. Of course, we offer tax audit representation too. If you’d like a free initial consult, please contact us at 399-2705.