We are an affordable professional tax firm that specializes in IRS and State of Florida sales tax audit help and tax defense.

We’ve been practicing in the state of Florida since 1982 in are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.

On staff are tax attorneys, CPAs, and former IRS and state tax agents to help and assist in your IRS or sales tax audit matter.

Being former IRS and state tax employees we understand all the theories, settlement formulas and all the techniques necessary to peacefully resolve your IRS sales tax matters.

If you are going to owe back taxes as a result of a IRS/Sales Tax Audit, we can work out a tax settlement on your behalf.

Let us take the pain and worry out of your life.

Why IRS, Sales Tax audits are conducted

The IRS/State examines  tax returns to verify that the tax reported is correct.

Selecting a return for examination does not always suggest that the taxpayer has either made an error or been dishonest.

In fact, some federal and state tax examinations result in a refund to the taxpayer or acceptance of the return without change.

The overwhelming majority of taxpayers files returns and make payments timely and accurately.

Taxpayers have a right to expect fair and efficient tax administration from the IRS/ State of Florida including verification that taxes are correctly reported and paid with enforcement actions against those who fail to comply voluntarily.

Taxpayer Rights for IRS/ State Sales Tax audits

The IRS/State trains its employees to explain and protect taxpayers’ rights throughout their contacts with taxpayers.

You must remember all state and federal employees have different personalities sometimes you may have a auditor with  demons at other times you may have the most pleasant person in the entire world.

This is my luck of the draw in as a general rule you can never change auditors during the course of an audit.

Your rights tax payers bill of rights include:

1. A right to professional and courteous treatment by IRS/State employees.
2. A right to privacy and confidentiality about tax matters.
3. A right to know why the IRS is asking for information, how the IRS/State will use it and what will happen if the requested information is not provided.
4.  A right to representation, by oneself or an authorized representative.
5.  A right to appeal disagreements, both within the IRS and before the courts.

Many times if you are dealing with an unreasonable IRS or sales tax agent the appellate process is used to neutralize the agent and to get a better decision.

On staff for former IRS appellate agents that can help you in the process should you need to file an IRS or state tax appeal.

How Returns Are Selected for Examination

Tax returns are selected by various methods by the federal and state government.

Each agency has a budget and within that budget they are required to audit a certain amount of tax returns that will additionally generate monies back into the federal or state tax coffers.

As a general rule state or federal employee is worth four times their salary as a result of the audits conducted by the state or federal government.

The number one reason why Audits are pulled for Audit

Computer Scoring. This is BIG.

Some returns are selected for examination on the basis of computer scoring. Computer programs give each return numeric “scores”.

The Discriminant Function System (DIF) score rates the potential for change, based on past IRS experience with similar returns.

The Unreported Income DIF (UIDIF) score rates the return for the potential of unreported income. The reason you hire an experienced tax professional to file your tax returns is to keep you away from an IRS or sales tax audit.

IRS personnel screen the highest-scoring returns, selecting some for audit and identifying the items on these returns that are most likely to need review.

Being former IRS employees you should know that each tax return is reviewed and scored by the IRS Cade 2 to computer.

Each and every tax return will have a label on the back of the return showing its DIF number or give scoring.

The highest graded scores are reviewed by seasoned tax auditors. They will make decisions based on the overall appearance of the tax return whether it is audit worthy and be subject for a tax audit by the field of division.

IRS Information Matching.

The Internal Revenue Service collects over $10 billion  each year as result of what is affectionately known as the mismatching program.

Some returns are examined because payer reports, such as Forms W-2 from employers or Form 1099 interest statements from banks, do not match the income reported on the tax return.

Related Examinations.

Returns may be selected for audit when they involve issues or transactions with other taxpayers, such as business partners or investors, whose returns were selected for examination.

Many times if a corporate tax return is being audited, the individuals who owns the company or corporation will be audited as well. Many times if a spouse is audited on a married filing separate return the IRS may choose to pull the other spouses tax return for audit.

IRS Examination Methods

An examination may be conducted by mail or through an in-person interview and review of the taxpayer’s records. The interview may be at an IRS office (office audit) or at the taxpayer’s home, place of business, or accountant’s office (field audit).

Taxpayers may make audio recordings of interviews, provided they give the IRS advance notice. If you do this many times the IRS will have a recording as well.

If the time, place, or method that the IRS schedules is not convenient, the taxpayer may request a change, including a change to another IRS office if the taxpayer has moved or business records are there.

The audit notification letter tells which records will be needed.

Taxpayers may act on their own behalf or have someone represent or accompany them. If you have a squeaky clean tax return there is nothing wrong with you representing yourself.

Appeal Rights

Appeal Rights are explained by the examiner at the beginning of each audit. Taxpayers who do not agree with the proposed changes may appeal by having a supervisory conference with the examiner’s manager or appeal their case administratively within the IRS, to the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Claims Court or the local U.S. District Court.

If there is no agreement at the closing conference with the examiner or the examiner’s manager, the taxpayer has 30 days to consider the proposed adjustments and their next course of action.

If the taxpayer does not respond within 30 days, the IRS issues a statutory notice of deficiency, which gives the taxpayer 90 days to file a petition to the Tax Court. The Claims Court and District Court generally do not hear tax cases until after the tax is paid and administrative refund claims have been denied by the IRS.

The tax does not have to be paid to appeal within the IRS or to the Tax Court. A case may be further appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court, if those courts accept the case.

If you have any questions about IRS or sales tax audit call us today for free initial consultation. You can speak directly to a tax professional that is a true expert.

We are the affordable tax firm that has been practicing since 1982) the state of Florida.

IRS, Sales Tax Audit Help, Defense, Affordable Representation – Melbourne, Titusville, Palm Bay, Vero Beach