You are here: Home Finances Taxes For People ... How To Survive A ... How To Survive A Tax ...
Information about all aspects of finances affected by a serious health condition. Includes income sources such as work, investments, and private and government disability programs, and expenses such as medical bills, and how to deal with financial problems.
Information about all aspects of health care from choosing a doctor and treatment, staying safe in a hospital, to end of life care. Includes how to obtain, choose and maximize health insurance policies.
Answers to your practical questions such as how to travel safely despite your health condition, how to avoid getting infected by a pet, and what to say or not say to an insurance company.

How To Survive A Tax Audit

How To Survive A Tax Audit

Next » « Previous

4/5

Following are some tips to help you stay in control when you attend an audit.

Be Prepared

Assemble all the information you have on your questioned income, deductions and credits. Match your numbers to the proper receipts and account statements. This will help you be ready to support the items in question.

Use the sick card.

Your instinct when going into public is likely to be to look your best. However, if the effects of your health condition are visible, an auditor is liekly to be sympathetic to your situation. Tax auditors are human beings.

  • If you do not look well, do not try to hide the fact with make up.
  • If you have lost your hair, this is a good time not to wear your wig.
  • If you lost or gained weight, clothes from "before" would emphasize that fact.
  • If your residence looks like an ill person lives there, or if you take a lot of prescriptions, ask for an audit at home. This is known as a "field audit." It couldn't hurt to leave your medications in a place where an auditor is likely to see them. Make sure the bottles are in a place that a stranger would think of as logical. For instance, do not leave them on the coffee table in the living room. (For information about field audits and other types of audits, click here.)

Consider tape-recording the audit

You can make an audio recording of the audit, provided that you make a request in writing. You must notify the examiner at least 10 days in advance and bring your own recording equipment. This could be especially helpful if you have problems with your memory.

Strongly consider telling the auditor about your condition even if it arose after the period for which you're being audited

Despite our conception of auditors as monsters they actually are human and might be disposed to getting you through the audit more easily if they know you are ill.

Don't give the auditor any additional documentation or information he or she doesn't ask for.

Volunteered documents and information could raise more questions than they answer. If the auditor needs something he doesn't have, he'll ask for it.

Don't give the auditor information about previous tax years

Sometimes, an auditor may try to get information from you about tax years other than the one(s) listed on your audit notice. Unless related to an item that carries over from a previous return, you don't have to provide this information. Consider responding to the request politely with "I don't believe that relates to the year or issues being examined."

Do Not Lie Answer questions truthfully. 

Do not volunteer information.  Answering questions truthfully does not mean volunteering information that is not asked for. Just like furnishing extra documents, volunteering information can be opening a can of worms. The only one who is fishing is the auditor. 

If you sense that the audit is not going well, it probably isn't.

Demand a recess to consult professional help. Contact an experienced accountant or tax attorney right away.

If you think the auditor is treating you unfairly, ask to speak to the auditor's manager.

Be friendly and cooperative

While an audit is not a social event, it cannot hurt to be pleasant. The auditor is just a paid employee like anyone else. Anything you do to make the auditor's job easier could help his or her attitude toward you and the audit.

To Learn More


Please share how this information is useful to you. 0 Comments

 

Post a Comment Have something to add to this topic? Contact Us.

Characters remaining:

  • Allowed markup: <a> <i> <b> <em> <u> <s> <strong> <code> <pre> <p>
    All other tags will be stripped.