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OT... IRS Audit


Fxrs

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Help! I'm being audited by the IRS for '03&'04. I have @ $12-15000 in deductions that don't exist.(plus many that do!) Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Just so you're clear, that's not what I would owe, just money I said I spent on business(courier, all over now) that I didn't. I am a nervous {censored}ing wreck!:cry:

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And how do you think they would catch you for this stuff? What proof would they have? That's a lot of money, but maybe you spent it on food, or paper and office supplies or something, hm?

I don't know. That still doesn't sound good. Sorry man, but I think you dug yourself in a hole here. Good luck.

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Originally posted by OneArmedScissors

And how do you think they would catch you for this stuff? What proof would they have?

 

 

They come to audit you. You provide receipts (that you're supposed to keep for 6 years, in case you get audited). You don't have the receipts. You end up screwed, the end.

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Originally posted by Fxrs

Yeah, thanks for your help...
:rolleyes:



Like I'm going to give advice on how to run your business the *wrong* way. Roll your eyes at yourself for doing something incredibly stupid, how about.

Best of luck to you though. I have nothing against you personally...

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Originally posted by Fxrs

Well, I guess you'll just have to make the trip out here to represent me!
;)



I can picture that conversation now...

Me: "Yeah, I have nothing against this guy, so maybe cut him a break, eh?"

Auditor: "I like the accent. Are you from Canada?"

Me: "Good guess, eh?"

:D

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Originally posted by JamesPeters



I can picture that conversation now...


Me: "Yeah, I have nothing against this guy, so maybe cut him a break, eh?"


Auditor: "I like the accent. Are you from Canada?"


Me: "Good guess, eh?"


:D

That was actually directed to cloudnine!

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Last year the IRS disputed alimony deductions on my 2002 return.

I provided all the proof they asked for - everything was legit. My CPA confirmed back then that my deductions were legit, and I got him involved in the dispute. In the end the IRS retracted their dispute and left the return unchanged.

They chose the wrong time to pick a fight with me because it was right around the time of my divorce trial, and I was all fired up over that.

Bottom line - get a CPA involved before you make a drastic change such as a sudden increase in deductions. You'll reduce the chances of a dispute/audit if you have a CPA involved.

And don't ever lie about deductions - you WILL get caught.

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those guys are {censored}in ruthless!!!

Pay your damn bill. Barrow from the bank. Whatever you gotta do.

A close friend of mine was in a situation similar to this a long time ago...

He recieved $20k as a gift and never paid the gift tax on it. Eight months later and a week before his wedding, he got a phone call from the IRS saying that he owed them $67k due immediately or they were coming to take his house. He got married, went on his honeymoon and they day they came back, the IRS was coming to take the house. Luckily, his family is wealthy but it took half of his life to pay them back.

pay your bill.

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Originally posted by guitarded_1

Just talking about the IRS makes me nervous.
:freak:



When the IRS disputed my deductions, I threw their own publications back in their face that proved that my deductions were legitimate, in addition to providing cancelled checks, statements, bills, and other documents that I was qualified to use those deductions.

The IRS did not make me nervous - I consulted two professionals on my deductions the year I took them. I can write a pretty convincing and firm letter. And I have grown some big balls from my divorce :mad:

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Originally posted by mpdan

those guys are {censored}in ruthless!!!


Pay your damn bill. Barrow from the bank. Whatever you gotta do.


A close friend of mine was in a situation similar to this a long time ago...


He recieved $20k as a gift and never paid the gift tax on it. Eight months later and a week before his wedding, he got a phone call from the IRS saying that he owed them $67k due immediately or they were coming to take his house. He got married, went on his honeymoon and they day they came back, the IRS was coming to take the house. Luckily, his family is wealthy but it took half of his life to pay them back.


pay your bill.

 

 

That's some scary {censored}.

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Originally posted by guitarded_1

Dude...talk to a tax attorney now and get the straight dope. You are not the first guy to ever be in this situation. I'm sure there's a right way to handle it and a wrong way. Just talking about the IRS makes me nervous.
:freak:



This is good advice in a sense, but the tax attorney ethically will not be able to tell you to claim the deductions once you admit to him/her they're not legit.

I'm a CPA of 26 years myself. The IRS takes a very dim view of deliberate deception (I'm not trying to be a moralist here, just trying to help you understand the situation you're in). Taking aggressive deductions that can't be supported on audit results in additional tax and the interest and penalites from not timely paying the taxes that would have been due in the absence of the disallowed deductions. False deductions are another matter. The IRS is pretty iron-handed about those. Fortunately, they rarely attempt to pursue criminal penalties unless the amounts are really big and/or habitual. They usually attempt to assert penalties for civil fraud instead.

In one sense, your best bet is probably to wait and see what the auditor asks for. Returns are selected for audit in two basic ways. The first relies on a computer algorithm that uses programmed logic to identify red flags and score the return for audit of specific items. In those cases, only specific items on the return are selected for audit, so the particular expenses in question might not even be at issue. The second type, called a TCMP audit, is based on a more random selection but requires the auditor to examine every item on the return. It's a program designed to discourage fraud by letting people know that even "low-risk" returns can be audited.

If the auditor asks for support for the expenses you're worried about, that's when you'll have to make your decision. If you can't provide support and everything else is clean, the odds are that he'll just disallow the deductions and assess additonal tax along with penalties and interest, assuming you've been cooperative. A lot will depend on the auditor's assessment of your credibility; any rapport you can build him/her is a plus.

I'm not trying to give you legal or professional tax advice; I don't know the details of your circumstances. But know that no attorney or CPA can ethically tell you perpetuate a fraudulent deduction (and posting about it here is probably not a smart thing, no offense intended). HTH.

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