What to Do When an IRS Letter Arrives

I have opened a lot of IRS letters with clients over the years, and I can tell you the letter itself is almost never as bad as the panic it causes in the first five minutes. Most notices are routine. Some ask you to confirm information. Some propose a change to a return. A smaller number are more serious. What separates a manageable situation from a stressful one is usually what happens in the days right after you receive it.

Read it before you react

Every IRS notice has a number in the corner, something like a CP or LTR code, and that code tells you exactly what the letter is about. Read the whole letter before deciding how worried to be. Note the deadline the day the letter arrives, not the day you finally sit down to deal with it.

What not to do

• Do not ignore it. Unanswered letters escalate.
• Do not call and start explaining before you understand what is asked.
• Do not assume the proposed change is correct just because it came from the IRS.
• Do not assume it is a scam and throw it away. Real IRS notices arrive by mail.

What an Enrolled Agent can do

I am a CPA, and I am also an Enrolled Agent, which is a federal license granted directly by the IRS. That credential authorizes me to represent taxpayers before the IRS, in all fifty states, for audits, collections, and appeals. I can communicate with the IRS on your behalf, respond to a notice for you, and handle the conversation so you are not the only voice in it.

What I do when a client brings me a letter

I read the notice completely, identify what it asks for and by when, then check it against the return that was filed. From there the response depends on the letter: documentation, a formal dispute of a proposed change, or ongoing audit representation.

If an IRS letter has landed in your mailbox, do not sit with it alone. I offer a free consultation. Call (210) 842-8197, or set up a time in person or by video.