1. Home
  2. Home Repair
  3. IRS Audit..!
  4. Page 2

IRS Audit..!

That makes sense since it's federal. I'm just so used to everything being different in this strange place I guess. :-)

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri
Loading thread data ...
**************************

Refund? Why let them have your money for free anyway? I'd rather pay a few bucks than get a big refund.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

re: I'd sooner trap them in my home, and chain smoke.

My wife and I once made an insurance salesman give us his pitch at our picnic table...in October...at sundown.

We were dressed for it, he wasn't. That was fun!

Reply to
DerbyDad03

One book I speed read at Borders says to approach it like some on this board. It says to turn a field audit into a mail audit. The author says to say you have used up alot of time and money gathering records and cannot afford any more time to come to their office and spend an entire afteroon, and you aren't leagally compelled to allow them in your home.

He says the average adjustment is in the 2500 dollar range when you do this. He goes on to say the average for a field audit in which you cooperate and do alot fo their leg work for them is 10k or so..

I read another book that said the GAO's audit of the IRS in 2003 and

2004 was failed by the IRS! They could not account for millions of dollars of their own expenditures etc. That in itself shrinks them down to size for me.

The more I read both here and in books, the more I am prepared to defend my 14 year old business and myself. And I , like another poster, during my research have found several things I should have been deducting.

Thanks

"Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" -Groucho Marx

Reply to
N O

Re: IRS Audit..! Group: alt.home.repair Date: Thu, Mar 6, 2008, 9:23pm From: snipped-for-privacy@snet.net (Edwin=A0Pawlowski) news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3273.bay.webtv.net... The audit should take place at your accountant's office. Don't have one? Get one. If you are honest and made a couple of simple errors, no big deal. File an amended return and pay a small penalty. =A0 If you are attempting out and out fraud, it is a big deal. Our tax laws suck, big time. Good accountants don't cost you anything, they save you money. Get one. No different that paying a plumber or auto mechanic, they specialize.

------------------

One of the problems I'm having is the timing. All the tax people are too busy to take this on now.

Can I file an amended return while this is going on? If so I will, as I've found almost as much good I can do as I have errors I can correct.

She sent me a copy of my return. I could not find mine to even see what she was addressing. Now that I see it I see some are just plain data entry errors, while others are explainable.

"Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" -Groucho Marx

Reply to
N O

Can I file an amended return while this is going on? If so I will, as I've found almost as much good I can do as I have errors I can correct.

She sent me a copy of my return. I could not find mine to even see what she was addressing. Now that I see it I see some are just plain data entry errors, while others are explainable.

********************************** AFAIK, you can still file an amended return. Rather than go to their office, correspond with them and it may turn out to be a simple mail audit. If they accept the amended return you are done.

You can also explain that you need professional help and it will not be available until after April 15. In spite of the horror stories you hear, they can be reasonable if you are also. Keep in mind, they have a job to do and a boss to please so they may want to "win" something.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I would imagine that if you intended to file your taxes correctly, but just did not know about all the rules at the time, then I suppose that would be quite a common thing. Probably will be just a learning experience. Might as well bite the bullet and learn how you need to do these things in the future.

But if you tried to cheat, then that is another matter.

I help my friends with their taxes. It is quite obvious to me if they are doing something wrong because they do not understand these things as opposed to someone who is intentionally trying to cheat.

Reply to
Bill

OTOH the IRS is not compelled to give you an audit. They can simply disallow all your deductions and send you a bill.

Who is the author of this book? Do you know whether or not he/she went to the federal slammer in 2005/2006?

A home repair newsgroup is such a great source of tax advice! As is reading self-help tax books! When the auditor disallows your deduction, just say "I read it on the Internet" or "This book says different."

Do not get into a Tiger cage unless you know how to defend yourself from a Tiger who is behind on quota.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

NOT TRUE. The first thing a tax guy will do is contact the auditor and move the date into May or June.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

On the other hand, getting even just a few dollars back each year protects you if you're self-employed (as many professionals in this group may be).

The IRS has something called "safe harbor": if you didn't pay the proper amount of quarterly tax payments this year BUT you did pay at least $1 (one dollar) more than you owed in the previous tax year, you have "safe harbor" and will not have to pay the stiff penalties the IRS would otherwise levy. This may also be true for the state in which you file.

At least, this is what my accountant told my wife and I when we met with him. As a pastor, I'm self-employed as are my colleagues, but apparently most of them have no clue as to how to fill out the forms for the IRS, the state and Social Security and make the appropriate payments and such, so I was never able to do mine in 2007. Now I have "a guy" who will set it up for me and explain it all to me so I know what the heck I'm doing...

As always, don't assume what I say is entirely accurate. Consult your accountant for the most accurate advice.

Reply to
Kyle

I've been buying and using Turbotax for years. I'm retired but do some consulting and take a lot of business deductions. When the program reviews your return it will tell you if there are any high visibility items that might trigger an audit.

Many years ago, I responded to their mail inquiry by mail and I had made an accounting mistake but it did not cost me anything. Also got fined once by the state for not filing quarterly which must be done if you owe more than $800. Most annoying is that they waited 2 years to tell me and I had to pay interest. The IRS audit was also after 2 years and I made mistake of not noting the date and sent in that year's files and they corrected me.

I believe you only need to save your tax records for 7 years. I toss mine at that point.

Reply to
Frank

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.