Have you ever been audited by the IRS? Have you been told that you might be audited soon? Are you waiting to be audited right now? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then chances are you have either played the waiting game or you’re playing it right now. Let’s face it; the waiting game is no fun, but when it comes to IRS audits, waiting is the norm.
According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, the IRS is actually guilty of misleading taxpayers who are facing audits. According to the report, the IRS tells these taxpayers that they will get back to them quickly (between 30-45 days) but many times they fall short of meeting that expectation. According to the GAO report, the IRS routinely takes several months before it responds to correspondence audits.
In fact, the IRS is late on more than half of all the correspondence from taxpayers regarding audits. These circumstances cause several problems for both taxpayers and IRS workers. Because taxpayers can’t get their refunds until an audit is complete that means those who are facing an audit have to wait even longer to get their return. IRS workers on the other hand have to answer more calls and inquiries regarding these audits and they often don’t have any answers.
The GAO has recommended that the IRS do better in giving realistic time frames to people who have been selected for an audit. Meantime, if you have been told that you will be audited the first thing you should probably do is contact a tax professional. At GROCO we know how to handle even the most difficult audits, so contact us right away if you have been selected for an audit.
The post Expecting An Audit? Expect to Wait first appeared on Advisors to the Ultra-Affluent – Groco.
