IRS Tax Audit + Best Tax Defense Firm + Broward County+ Ft.Lauderdale

 

Fresh Start Tax

Hire local former IRS Agents who worked out the local South Florida IRS offices. One of the Best Tax audit Defense Firms.

We’re the affordable professional local tax firm that are specialists and experts in IRS tax audits and appeals.

We have 205 years of direct tax experience, 95 years of working for the IRS in the local, district and regional offices.

We worked out the local South Florida IRS offices.

Being former IRS agent managers and supervisors in the audit division gives us a unique advantage & can change the result of an IRS tax audit.

We worked as Agents, Instructors and in Management. We know the settlement techniques and formulas to save your money.

Be worry free, call us today.

It only makes sense to have Former IRS Agents and IRS Tax Audit Managers handle your IRS tax audit and give you the most experienced and successful IRS Tax Audit Help.

IRS audits less than 1% of all taxpayers nationwide.

Facts about IRS Tax Audits:

The IRS audits a total of 1,391,581 tax returns a year.
The IRS field agents complete more than 310,000 audits by office or business visits a year.
The IRS completes over 1,081,152 correspondence audits a year.
IRS has installed new software tracking systems with the development of the CADE 2 computer to spot and recognize tax audits more proficiently
IRS collected over $10 billion dollars a year from IRS tax audits.
IRS employs over 13,000 IRS auditors.
$5.2 billion dollars are collected through the IRS document matching program.
For truly professional IRS Tax Audit help contact former IRS Agents and Managers.

IRS Policy Statement P-4-21. It states “The primary objective in selecting returns for examination is to promote the highest degree of voluntary compliance on the part of taxpayers.”

The IRS Tax Audit Examination Plan

The plan that is used by the IRS is based on long-range coverage planning, and objectives on the resources requested in the Congressional Budget. From this, there is an established plan where staff years are allocated to all area IRS offices using resource allocation and a prescribed methodology. Each Area Manager of the IRS is responsible for preparing an area response following instructions from the National Headquarters.

Employee Staffing for the IRS Tax Audit

Staffing is based on the examination priorities that differs from office to office and region to region, front loaded programs set up before hand, historic examination rates adjusted to yield sure ended results and audits that match experience of the personnel. Each region is excepted to produce tax audits and money from tax audits. IRS is funded thru results.

Why the IRS Audits Tax Returns

 

a. Front Loaded Programs

Front Loaded programs are those tax audits that IRS DC headquarters has determined are very important and a considerable amount of time must be spent on these programs and activities. Each area has discussions within management as to what the programs should be for each region, district, and office.

Some of the programs are:

Special enforcement programs – An example of this may be compliance of all flea market vendors, a program I was involved with

High Income non-filers – The IRS would get their information from a match program of w-2’s and 1099’s and match up social security numbers against filed returns

Abusive Tax Avoidance – This could be in the area of offshore activities

The offshore credit card program

National Research programs – Those set forth by management after doing a trends project

FBAR filing – IRS is currently targeting those with overseas bank accounts
Non- filers – IRS is presently forming a task force to seek non-filers though aggressive means.

b. The IRS makes sure there is balanced coverage.

The National Office makes sure there is a balanced approach for audit return delivery and tax compliance. Resources and inventory and the size of personnel all go into this formula. The focus is blended into these areas:

individual returns less than $100,000.
individual returns greater than $100,000 but less than $200,000.
individual returns greater than $ 200,000.
Small Business Corporations.
Small Business Flow-Through Entities – S Corporations, Fiduciaries and Partnerships.

c. Classification Plan

The IRS will prepare a plan, which is classified. A National DIF score indicator is placed on all Federal Income tax returns that are filed. Each tax return has certain factors that contribute to its score such as Gross Income, Adjusted Gross Income and line item expense.

There are several classified secrets that go into the DIF score.

Each tax return is processed through the IRS computer line item by line item.

A DIF score label is placed on every tax return with its DIF number. A tax examiner or Revenue Agent manually eyeballs each and every tax return with a high DIF score. The examiner then determine which return has the highest probability of tax audit success.

d. DIF Cutoff Score

The IRS will calculate the Area DIF cutoff score for each activity code, giving consideration to the selection rate. This is the lowest DIF score necessary to secure the number of returns required for audit. for example, if the return plan shows 225 returns for an activity code and the selection rate is 70%, the IRS will need to order 321 returns (225/70%).

The DIF Cut off Score is 500. The number of returns with DIF scores greater than 550 is 280, which is less than the number of returns required, so the lowest DIF score on an ordered return will be in the range of 500 to 550 and the DIF cutoff score is 500. This is the IRS example as found in the IRS IRM section 4.

e. Where your case is worked

Examination inventory is assigned to IRS offices based on ZIP codes, using the Look up Tables at Martinsburg Computing Center.

f. High Assault Risk Areas

Certain ZIP code areas are identified as High Assault Risk Areas. There are special instructions the IRS has regarding these audits. These returns will be audited.

Survey of Examination Cases.

The IRS can look over your case and close it with an eyeball look.

While cases should be selected and started in accordance with all guidelines, in a limited number of circumstances, there may be returns that appear in the “judgment of the examiner and manager” to warrant survey without taxpayer contact. That is to not even contact the taxpayer.

Cases delivered to the IRS area manager will generally fall into one of three categories: mandatory work, strategic (priority program) work, and non-strategic work.
Mandatory work includes nationally coordinated research projects such as NRP and employee audits (excludes “new” IRS employee audits)

Strategic work is identified annually in the Exam Program Letter which can be found at http://sbse.web.irs.gov/Exam/. The procedures to survey strategic work and referrals from other business units, “new” employee audits and cases with previous taxpayer contact require an explanation for the rationale for the survey.

Cases that are not mandatory work, strategic work, a referral from another business unit, and are not part of an employee examination or research study may be surveyed based upon the professional judgment of the examiner with concurrence of the immediate supervisor.

Here are some factors to consider when determining whether to survey strategic work:

Taxpayer is in bankruptcy
Taxpayer has suffered an extreme hardship or illness
Taxpayer is deceased, or
Examiner has additional information that was not available during classification
This is in the complete judgment of the IRS tax auditor

From year to year the IRS changes their programs to keep everyone honest. However, after years of experience, a trained eye can know what tax returns will be pulled for audit.

Why use former IRS agents for IRS tax audit help

Being former IRS agents we know all the protocols, all the theories, all the settlement formulas and all the tax procedures the IRS will use for a IRS tax audit.

While most tax professionals learn their IRS Audit skill during on-the-job training, former IRS agents and managers actually know the insider programs and insider secrets to successful tax audits.

The team of tax professionals we have at fresh start tax not only were former IRS agents and managers but were former instructors with the Internal Revenue Service not only taught a local office but also taught in the district and regional IRS offices as well.

We are one of the most experienced tax firms when it comes to IRS tax audit help.

If you’re got to hire a professional tax firm it is wise to hire tax attorneys, certified public accountant or former IRS agents and managers who can provide you the very best IRS tax audit help.

IRS Tax Audit + Best Tax Defense Firm + Broward County+ Ft.Lauderdale

IRS Trust Fund Penalty, What You Need to Know – Tax Defense, Former IRS

Fresh Start Tax

 

We defend taxpayers from Trust Fund Penalties.

Call us today for an initial free tax consultation and speak to a former IRS agent who is a true expert in the IRS trust fund penalty.

We can provide you with the best possible tax defense to avoid these trust fund penalties.

 

The IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty, What you Need to Know

To encourage prompt payment of withheld income and employment taxes, including social security taxes, railroad retirement taxes, or collected excise taxes, Congress passed a law that provides for the Trust Fund Penalty.

These taxes are called trust fund taxes because you actually hold the employee’s money in trust until you make a federal tax deposit in that amount.

In reality, they are not a tax.

The TFRP may apply to you if these unpaid trust fund taxes cannot be immediately collected from the business.

The business does not have to have stopped operating in order for the TFRP to be assessed.

 

Who Can Be Responsible for the Trust Fund Penalty

The TFRP may be assessed against any person who:

1. Is responsible for collecting or paying withheld income and employment taxes, or for paying collected excise taxes, and

2.Willfully fails to collect or pay them.

A responsible person is a person or group of people who has the duty to perform and the power to direct the collecting, accounting, and paying of trust fund taxes.

 

This person ma/can be:

 

  • An officer or an employee of a corporation,
  • A member or employee of a partnership,
  • A corporate director or shareholder,
  • A member of a board of trustees of a nonprofit organization,
  • Another person with authority and control over funds to direct their disbursement,
  • Another corporation or third party payer,
  • Payroll Service Providers (PSP) ore responsible parties within a PSP
  • Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) or
  • Responsible parties within a PEO, or
  • Responsible parties within the common law employer (client of PSP/PEO).

 

For willfulness to exist, the responsible person:

 

  • Must have been, or should have been, aware of the outstanding taxes and
  • Either intentionally disregarded the law or was plainly indifferent to its requirements (no evil intent or bad motive is required).
  • Using available funds to pay other creditors when the business is unable to pay the employment taxes is an indication of willfulness.

 

How IRS proceeds

 

You may be asked by the IRS  to complete an interview in order to determine the full scope of your duties and responsibilities. See Form 4180 on our website.

Responsibility is based on whether an individual exercised independent judgment with respect to the financial affairs of the business.

An employee is not a responsible person if the employee’s function was solely to pay the bills as directed by a superior, rather than to determine which creditors would or would not be paid.

Notice 784, Could You Be Personally Liable for Certain Unpaid Federal Taxes?, contains additional information regarding the TFRP.

 

How to  Figure the TFRP Amount

 

The amount of the penalty is equal to the unpaid balance of the trust fund tax.

The penalty is computed based on:

 

  • The unpaid income taxes withheld, plus
  • The employee’s portion of the withheld FICA taxes.

 

For collected taxes, the penalty is based on the unpaid amount of collected excise taxes.
Assessing the TFRP

 

Determination

If the IRS determines that you are a responsible person, we will provide you a letter stating that we plan to assess the TFRP against you.

You have 60 days (75 days if this letter is addressed to you outside the United States) from the date of this letter to appeal our proposal.

The letter will explain your appeal rights. Refer to Publication 5, Your Appeal Rights and How to Prepare a Protest if You Don’t Agree (PDF), for a clear outline of the appeals process.

If you do not respond to our letter, we will assess the penalty against you and send you a Notice and Demand for Payment.

 

Big  Caution

Once the IRS asserts the penalty, IRS can and will take collection action against your personal assets. For instance, we can file a federal tax lien or take levy or seizure action.

Call us today for a free initial tax consultation. Our firm defends against the trust fund penalties.