IRS Mail Audits

Have you received a letter from the IRS requesting additional information about your return?  This is called a “mail audit”. 

Recently, the IRS has been taking heat because of the way they have handled responses to these mail audits.  Who’s giving them heat?  The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA). 

Here’s an example of what’s caused the consternation of the NTA: 

In one case, a taxpayer sent the documentation requested by the mail audit by certified mail, with return receipt requested.  Fifteen days later, she received a “statutory notice of deficiency”.  When she called the IRS and told them she had proof that her documentation had been received, she was told that the documentation was “probably” sitting in an IRS mailroom. 

In other instances, deficiency notices were being sent out before the deadline for documentation had expired. 

So what should you do? 

1. Do not ignore an IRS notice.
2. Respond promptly – don’t wait until the last minute to send your response or your documentation.
3. Send your records certified, with return receipt requested.  This gives you additional evidence that you sent the information on time.
4. If you’ve sent in your documentation and receive a follow up letter from the IRS stating that they haven’t received your records, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
5. If, after all this, you still feel you’re in the right and the IRS has incorrectly tabulated your return, contact the National Taxpayer Advocate at 1-877-777-4778. 

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