and call your financial advisor By Clay Rose, CPA (4 Tips For Resolving A Tax Dispute)
and call your financial advisor
By Clay Rose, CPA
(4 Tips For Resolving A Tax Dispute)
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
Tax season can be rough for any business. Just about the time you allow yourself to move on to something else and breathe a sigh of relief … you find yourself staring at a letter from the IRS.
The IRS Says You Owe More?
Stop
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
Take a deep breathCall your financial
advisor
Believe it or not, the IRS can (and does) make mistakes
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Agents can accidentally input incorrect information, computers can misread data
and tax codes can be inadvertently overlooked or misinterpreted.
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4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
Followthese
4 steps
to reacha
resolution
1. Follow Instructions
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
1. Follow Instructions
Sometimes the easiest way to resolve the issue is to follow the instructions. Sounds easy enough,
but not everybody gets this part right.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
1. Follow Instructions
If the IRS sent you a notice, look for the section that explains what to do if you disagree with their decision and
follow the directions.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
1. Follow Instructions
Additionally, be sure to attach any supporting documentation and mail it back to the address
given by the deadline requested.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
1. Follow Instructions
After the IRS has made its decision, you will be notified via U.S. Mail.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
When in doubt, opt to send
inquiries to the IRS via certified
mail and request
a receipt. #protipFollow Rea on Twitter!
@ReaCPA
Make The Call2
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
2. Make The Call
If your initial challenge was rejected, your next step is to
follow up with a phone call.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
2. Make The Call
The rejection notice you received should
have included another important
piece of information: the
contact name and number of the IRS
employee who rejected your challenge.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
When you call, be polite and professional.
Ask to speak to the employee’s manager (but take care not to say anything about
why you are asking to speak with their
supervisor). The last thing you
need is to create animosity.
#protipFollow Rea on Twitter!@ReaCPA
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
2. Make The Call
When you speak with the supervisor, your case should be laid out in the same way as your original
challenge.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
2. Make The Call
Be clear and concise in your explanation while taking care to
address any concerns that were
noted by the original employee in their rejection letter.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
2. Make The Call
If your letter didn’t include an
employee’s name and phone number,
send another certified letter to a general supervisor
with the agency and request that they reconsider your
case.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
3. Appeal To A Higher
Office
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
3. Appeal To A Higher OfficeIf you still haven’t
convinced the IRS to change its mind, don’t
give up – even if you have already mailed several
letters and racked up a lot of call time with the
agency.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
3. Appeal To A Higher Office
Further up the chain of command is the
Office of Appeals, an independent office
within the IRS.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
3. Appeal To A Higher Office
To get your case to the Office of Appeals, follow the instructions found in
your earlier notices or you can search the IRS
website.
4. See It Through
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4. See It Through
Sometimes a resolution can’t be achieved in the
first three steps of the appeal process.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4. See It Through
If you find yourself in this situation your final option is to take the case to the U.S. Tax Court.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4. See It ThroughAt this point you may be discouraged and may even question whether you should continue on with the fight, but if you still
believe that the IRS is wrong it’s probably in your best interest
to see it through to the end.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4. See It ThroughIf your dispute is less than $50,000 you will
have the option to represent yourself.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
Similar to how a small-claims court operates, there is
no jury and the judge
will not hold your inexperience against
you. #protip
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4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
4. See It ThroughOnce court is in session you will state your case again, provide evidence and answer any questions a judge may ask
about the claim. Once a decision is made at this phase it is final
and cannot be appealed.
Sometimes, even though you have decided that you want to move forward, an IRS attorney may offer to settle out of
court for a figure less than what the IRS says you owe. If this happens, you need to decide whether you will accept the
settlement or if you will move forward with presenting your case to the judge. The choice is yours.
4 Tips For Resolving Your Tax Dispute
If you find yourself at odds with the IRS over a tax issue and are not sure how to proceed
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Call your financial advisor.www.reacpa.com
Do you need to connect with a tax professional?
Email Rea & Associates today.