What is scarier than receiving a letter from the IRS? For most people, almost nothing gets the heart pounding quite like it. But how worried should you really be?
IRS Notices Are Common
Notices from the IRS or your state tax board are incredibly common. If fact, they are becoming more and more common each year! Notices can be sent out for hundreds of different reasons: an error on your return, something was excluded, they believe you filed late (but you didn’t), or maybe you’re being audited – and there are a ton of reasons why you might be audited, too!
But the biggest secret when it comes to notices is that over 50% of these notices are incorrect. Usually it’s a matter of something not being processed after it was sent in or something being processed incorrectly.
As technology changes and more processes are handled by AI, we expect the number of notices sent out yearly to increase – especially for small businesses! Even if you haven’t received one in the past, be prepared to receive one in the future.
How To Handle IRS Notices
- Don’t panic! Most notices are easy to address, even if they aren’t sent in error.
- NEVER ignore a notice or pay it without seeking counsel. Again, many notices are sent in error.
- ALWAYS contact your accountant! Your accountant will be able to look into any notice you receive and find out if it was sent in error or not, and help you respond. If the notice is accurate and you owe, your accountant can help you make a plan to pay that works for YOU!
Keep Calm and Call Your Accountant
In most situations involving your taxes, your accountant is there to offer you peace of mind by providing expert advice. IRS notices are no exception!
At Encurio, handling notices is a service included in all of our monthly service packages and for any individual client who selects our Advisory or Advisory+ tax preparation packages. If you’d like to get started with Encurio so you’re prepared to handle any notices that come your way, step one is to set a meeting with us.
