What Should I Do When the IRS Contacts Me?


May 16th, 2017

The IRS can send you a notice for a number of reasons. Many of these notices are just informational and don’t need a response from you. For example, a notice telling you that your refund for 2016 has been applied to a tax debt you owed for 2012. Here, we will discuss those notices that require a response, such as a collection or audit notice.

Collection notices

  1. The most important thing to remember is not to panic.
  2. Open every letter you receive from the IRS and read it. Do not put it in a pile and ignore it. The IRS is not going to go away.
  3. If you know you owe taxes, pretending the problem doesn’t exist will only hurt you more in the long run. This is especially important when you owe taxes and the IRS is warning you of some action, such as the issuance of a levy or filing of a lien, which may occur if you do not pay the tax debt.
  4. If you cannot understand what the notice is telling you, take a deep breath and call a tax professional. It is far better to have someone on your side who will deal with the IRS for you and who knows how the IRS works. Handling the problem on your own, may put you into a worse situation.

UnTax understands the stress of owing taxes to the IRS. Our tax staff are well-qualified, licensed and knowledgeable tax professionals who will find the best resolution for your tax issues. You don’t even have to talk or meet with the IRS. We will handle it all for you.

Audit Notices

The IRS usually conducts an audit in person or by mail. If you receive a notice telling you your tax return for a particular year is being audited:

  1. It can be traumatic to receive an audit notice. So, keep calm and read the notice.
  2. Determine whether the IRS is asking you to come in for an in-person meeting, or wants you to provide documents by mail.
  3. Don’t try to handle an audit on your own unless the audit is very simple and you know what you are doing. It is far better to call a tax professional.

The professionals at UnTax have successfully handled many audits. UnTax can represent and guide you through the audit process whether it is by mail or in-person. We can tell you what documents you will need to gather, discuss the issues you may be facing in the audit and negotiate with the IRS on your behalf.