What Puts Me at Risk for a Tax Audit by the IRS?
Over 1.5% of U.S. taxpayers are audited by the IRS in a given year. This number will increase as the IRS adds significantly more audit and collection employees to grow tax revenue in this difficult economic environment. Individuals and businesses with higher earnings and large numbers of deductions are at a significantly higher risk of being audited by either the IRS or the Georgia Department of Revenue. Self-employed workers and business owners are also at greater risk of an audit.
Minimize your risk by consulting with a qualified and experienced tax attorney who can ensure that your returns are completed accurately and provide necessary legal guidance in the event of tax questions or special circumstances such as the transfer of wealth or the sale of property or a business. At Cohen & Caproni, our attorneys are knowledgeable of constantly changing tax and accounting regulations and can help you with everything from completing your personal or business return to negotiating liabilities, to arranging payment schedules for installment agreements.
I’m Being Audited this Year. What Should I Do?
Let Cohen & Caproni handle your response. Appropriate action requires knowledge, preparation and considerable legal and tax expertise. Our attorneys have strong accounting backgrounds as well as extensive experience in both personal and business tax law. We work with our clients to ensure that the audit process is as seamless as possible and that our clients understand what is being asked of them by the IRS or the Georgia Department of Revenue and why. We then provide them with exceptional legal representation.
State and federal tax laws are constantly changing. In fact, it’s difficult for most individuals and businesses to keep up. If you’re being audited, let us know. Whether you need to work out a payment schedule, need help providing documentation, or simply don’t know the best way to respond, we can help.
If I Get Audited, Shouldn’t I Just Contact the C.P.A. Who Prepared My Return?
By simply contacting the C.P.A. who prepared your return, you won’t be getting the full benefit of the law on your side. When you consult an experienced tax attorney, you gain critical attorney-client privilege as well as expertise which would enable you to most effectively address the situation. A tax attorney can negotiate with the IRS or Georgia Department of Revenue on your behalf and examine the circumstances closely from a legal perspective to ensure that your rights and assets are protected to the fullest extent of the law.
At Cohen & Caproni, our well-qualified tax attorneys are always knowledgeable of the latest changes to U.S. federal and Georgia state tax regulations and, most importantly, we know how to address them if they impact you. We work with you and the IRS to optimize the outcome for our clients while satisfying auditors.
I’m Not Being Audited but I have Taxes that are Overdue. Is There Anything I Can Do?
Legal expertise in taxation and strong negotiation with all parties involved can make the situation much easier. At Cohen & Caproni, we can assess your circumstances and determine a plan of action and payment schedule and/or offer in compromise that works for both you and the IRS or Georgia Department of Revenue. Sometimes business owners can be liable for failures of their management to comply with state and federal regulations, such as payment of employment tax withholdings, resulting in the imposition of the responsible person penalty. The team at Cohen & Caproni has frequently handled such tax matters to the satisfaction of both our clients and auditors.
At Cohen & Caproni we understand that life is full of unexpected circumstances that are often beyond the control of our clients. When it comes to matters of taxes and tax payments, whether personal or business, we offer expertise, insight and services that put our clients back in control again.