Audit: Face-to-Face with the G-Persons

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The other two types of audits are office audits and field audits. The former usually involves specific aspects of your return, and you'll be asked to appear at the district office with paperwork to confirm your claims. Office audits generally don't last very long, and are limited to parts of your return that the agent has already identified and studied in advance. Office audits may be conducted by a relatively inexperienced IRS employee. Since you know what's on your return and have had more time to study it, you may be more knowledgeable than the auditor concerning the legal points of your return. Be careful: Don't let the auditor intimidate you into accepting something that isn't correct.

Field audits, on the other hand, are more like fishing trips through your return, and the agent-who's likely to be quite experienced-will often prefer to do the audit at your home or business. If someone drops in on you and claims to be an IRS employee, you should first establish the person's credentials and position with the service. Find out whether the person is actually a field auditor or an IRS special agent. If the person is a field auditor, ask the nature of the visit, and schedule an appointment allowing yourself sufficient time to round up all needed paperwork. If he or she is a special agent, call your attorney.

It's too big an undertaking for us to try to explain in this article the whole audit process and what you should do to prepare. We suggest, however, that it's a good idea to get professional assistance for office and field audits. This may not involve actually having an accountant or attorney attend the audit with you, but you should get competent advice in advance on how to deal with the audit.

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