Three things NOT to do with a letter from the IRS
- Do Not IGNORE IT – Please do yourself a favor and open your letters. Often times the letters are sent in duplicate and it can seem overwhelming, but like anyone else, they hate to be ignored. The letters can be intimidating and the volume can be great, but open the letters and sort them by date…then call a professional…which leads me to my next point.
- Do Not Try to handle it yourself- while it may seem simple enough to open the mail, call and get on hold with the IRS, and simply answer the questions, please know, they are in the position of assuming your wrong and they are in the job of securing the governments assets. They are in collections, any and all information may be used against you. It is always best open your mail (see point #1) then to contact your tax preparer BEFORE you call the IRS. The matter may be easy to address and it MAY not be a real matter to be alarmed about, but the professional is the one who can best help you in these types of matters…which leads to point #3
- Do Not Assume that it’s an audit- the IRS often sends informational letters to say “hey, you claimed this, however we saw this …is this correct?” at this point, it’s just a simple question, one that can be addressed very easily with your tax preparer (see point #2 above). However, if you do not address this (see point #1 above) and ignore it…the simple question becomes a correction notice that states in a nut shell, “Since you ignored my question, I (the IRS) will assume our information is correct and please see attached bill”.
So you see, it’s always best to address, with a tax professional, the IRS and all of their letters as soon as possible.