Awards & Recognition
At the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing, we are San Bernardino tax attorneys and CPAs with more than 20 years of combined experience providing IRS audit and appeals representation in California. Our award-winning firm is selective in the cases we accept, ensuring that our dedicated team of tax audit attorneys & CPAs can focus our full attention on your tax matter. We will help you prepare for your audit, advocate on your behalf throughout the process, handle all correspondence with IRS examiners, and make sure that the IRS follows examination procedures correctly, respecting your rights as a taxpayer and drawing the correct conclusions based on the law and fact at issue in your case. If you disagree with the outcome of your audit, we are ready to provide vigorous IRS appeals representation, and will work tirelessly to prove that the IRS made an error when assessing taxes, interest, or penalties against you (as they quite often do!). If you need aggressive, sophisticated IRS tax audit representation in San Bernardino, the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing is here to provide comprehensive support.
See our Tax Litigation Q and A Library
See our IRS Appeals Q and A Library
How Long Can the IRS Audit Me or My Small Business in California?
The answer to this question depends on the underlying reason for the audit, some common examples of which are discussed in the next section. In many cases, the IRS may examine tax returns for a period of up to three years before the statute of limitations expires. However, the three-year IRS statute of limitations can double, extending to six years, if the taxpayer appears to have underreported his or her income by approximately 25% or more.
If there are indicators to suggest that the taxpayer committed fraud, known as “IRS badges of fraud,” the statute of limitations may be eliminated altogether, effectively granting the IRS unlimited time to initiate a tax audit. For more information on this subject, see our articles discussing how many years the IRS can audit taxpayers, or how many years of returns are at risk in a federal tax audit.
Why Am I Being Audited by the IRS?
There are dozens of reasons the IRS may have chosen you or your small business for an examination. While not all of these reasons are cause for immediate alarm – some taxpayers, for instance, are chosen at random by computer software, or simply because their income falls within a certain range – certain IRS audit triggers have extremely serious implications. Indicators of fraud that can trigger IRS audits include:
- Claiming improper tax credits or deductions
- Destroying or altering records
- Failing to file a tax return
- Filing a return that contains stolen personal information
- Filing delinquent returns
- Underreporting income
Other “red flags” that increase your risk of being audited include:
- Being self-employed
- Owning certain types of businesses (such as veterinary practices, restaurants, convenience stores, and auto dealerships)
- Working with other businesses that have been audited by the IRS
What Happens During an IRS Tax Audit?
The answer to this question depends on the reason you are being audited, which in turn affects the format of the audit itself. To resolve comparatively minor issues, the IRS will generally conduct a correspondence audit, which is carried out entirely via mail. Where the taxpayer’s errors appear more substantive or complex, the IRS will likely conduct a different type of tax audit, such as an office audit, which takes place at an IRS field office – or, if it is necessary to scour even more deeply, a field audit, in which the examiner may actually visit the taxpayer’s home or place of business in search of records. An experienced CPA or tax attorney can advise you on how to proceed and what to do if you are under audit.
What if I Disagree with the Results of a Federal Tax Audit?
Taxpayers need not necessarily accept the results of an IRS tax audit. If the taxpayer believes that the examiner made a serious factual or procedural error when assessing tax, interest, and/or penalties, he or she can request IRS appeals to dispute the examiner’s findings.
However, it is important to be aware that the IRS requires certain materials to appeal the results of a tax audit, including a detailed, fact-based summation of why the taxpayer feels the IRS to be in error, accompanied by supporting financial documents, court decisions, or other evidence. Our IRS audit appeals lawyers are highly familiar with this complex process and understand what the IRS looks for in taxpayers’ submission materials (called “protest letters”), enabling us to prepare stronger and more effective letters of protest on behalf of our clients. If you disagree with the results of a tax audit, we can guide you through which steps to take next.
San Bernardino Tax Audit Lawyers and CPAs Providing IRS Appeals Representation
Do not face an IRS tax audit in California without tested and proven representation on your side. The attorneys and CPAs at the Tax Law Office of David W. Klasing have spent decades representing taxpayers and businesses in civil tax audits and criminal IRS investigations, giving our team unparalleled insight into the complex civil and criminal examination and appeals process. Drawing on our lead attorney and CPA David W. Klasing’s decade of experience as a public accounting auditor, and three decades of IRS, FTB, CDTFA, EDD audit representation experience, we take a strategic, proactive approach to field, office, and correspondence audits, safeguarding your constitutional rights while exploring ways to reduce what you owe. We are very adept at protecting your liberty at the same time if badges of fraud are in your fact pattern or where you are facing a California or Federal eggshell or reverse egg shell audit.
See our Audit Representation Q and A Library
Contact us online to arrange a reduced rate consultation or call our San Bernardino office at (909) 991-7557. You can also reach our main office in Irvine by calling (800) 681-1295. Please note all meetings at our San Bernardino tax office must be scheduled in advance.
Note: If you have concerns about the privacy of our initial or subsequent communication and are unable to easily travel to our Irvine / Orange County Main Office, consider scheduling a GoToMeeting to safely and securely establish an initial or maintain an existing attorney client relationship. With end-to-end encryption, strong passwords and top-rated reliability, no one is messing with your meeting. To schedule a reduced rate initial consultation via GoToMeeting follow this link. Call our office and request a GoToMeeting if you are an existing client. We are generally happy to travel to any of our appointment only satellite offices for a subsequent meeting in appropriate circumstances once a relationship is established via a signed engagement letter and the payment of an initial retainer or where enough retainer is available where a current client to cover the reasonable travel time and time required for the meeting.
Will it cost me more to hire the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, who’s main office and the vast majority of the firm’s staff is located in Irvine California, but an appointment only Satellite office is close to my location, as opposed to a local company? Absolutely not! See our policies that address this issue here:
