IRS Audits | TaxConnections

03 Jul 2018

How Long Does A Typical IRS Audit Take?

Venar Ayar, How Long Does IRS Audit Take?

The Internal Revenue Service regularly performs tax audits of both corporate taxpayers and individuals. Although tax audits are conducted year-long, they often spike during the few months after the tax season, especially when problematic or misleading returns come under the IRS microscope.

Irrespective of when an “examination” or audit commences, an IRS auditor would be assigned to your case.

While IRS tax auditors are trained to be efficient, they’re also well trained to be comprehensive and thorough – and depending, to a large extent, on the structure and complexity of the individual or company’s tax situation, the IRS audit process usually takes more time than you may estimate as a taxpayer.

This could be particularly disconcerting to taxpayers who face an egg shell audit case in which the main goal is getting the IRS audit closed as early as possible in order to mitigate any criminal or civil tax exposure which underlies an audit.

Normal Circumstances

In a majority of cases, the IRS would wrap up their tax audit within one year. Even though the agency has up to three years to audit a tax return, the IRS prefers to conclude audits before the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Written by Venar Ayar | Posted in IRS Audit

13 Dec 2017

Appeals Court Finally Affirms One Million Dollar FBAR Penalty

In a rather swift and harsh judgment, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision in favor of the IRS, which assessed an approximately $1.2 million penalty against a taxpayer for failing to disclose her financial interests in an overseas account.

The decision, U.S. v. Bussell, is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it shows the magnitude of penalty that can be reached, even with respect to an individual and a single foreign account and tax year (in this case, the relevant tax year was 2006). Second, it shows the type of taxpayer arguments that courts will likely reject when reviewing an FBAR penalty case. Read More

Written by Ephraim Moss | Posted in FBAR • TaxConnections

08 Sep 2014

The IRS Is Not Calling To Arrest You!

Today, a new client appeared in my office and explained he needed a consultation right away. This is very strange because most people call to set up an initial conference and we discuss the case on the telephone before meeting. This man was middle-aged, dressed nicely, said he was an IT analyst, but was sweating and extremely nervous. I asked him “what is wrong?” He told me “the IRS called and said they had audited my tax returns, I owe a lot of money, and unless I contact the Restitution Department they are coming to arrest me.”

I immediately told him this was a scam. He was still very concerned. So I asked him for the telephone number of the so called “IRS” and I called using my speaker phone. The person answered “IRS Department.” I immediately knew this was a scam because no Read More

Written by Ronald Cappuccio | Posted in IRS • Tax Fraud/Evasion/Crimes