Notices, Notices! What Should You Do?

By Angie Wilson, Angie Wilson Prof. Services LLC

As a tax practitioner of more than 15 years, it never ceases to amaze me how intimidated people are when receiving notices in the mail. The most common reasons are leaving something off of your tax return, internal adjustments and failure to file or pay. What should you do when you get them? The obvious answer is don’t throw them away! You should take the notice to the whoever prepared the tax return. If you haven’t filed a return, this needs to be done ASAP. When you don’t file or leave something off, the taxing authority calculates the difference and if that calculation results in a balance due, you will receive a notice. 
1099s are the most common item not reporting. The internal adjustment doesn’t account for any legitimate expenses or other considerations. Taxpayers have the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly. Clearing up the discrepancy may be as simple as filing a return or amending the original. Read more from the IRS here.

If the matter is beyond this, you have the right to representation in resolving the issue. Read more from the IRS here.

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