If you have gone through an IRS audit and you disagree with the results, you may appeal the decision. There are a number of levels of audit appeal: the manager of the IRS agent, an IRS appeals officer, and the U.S. Tax Court. Your ability to access these venues will be limited due to the timetables involved in the auditing process, so be sure to stay one step ahead of the deadlines so that you do not lose any rights. If you wish to appeal an IRS audit, an experienced tax attorney can help you in the process and ensure that you are taking the right steps.
According to the IRS, an appeal of an audit is appropriate when: “You received an IRS correspondence explaining you have the right to come to appeals to dispute an IRS decision and you do not agree and are not signing an agreement form sent to you.” In other words, if the decision made by the IRS agent during the audit was incorrect or arguable, then you may appeal. If you are able to, and want to, appeal, do not sign the decision letter sent by the IRS, because doing so tells the IRS that you agree with the decision.
According to the IRS, an IRS appeal is not appropriate when: “Your only concern is that you cannot afford to pay the amount you owe or the correspondence you received from the IRS was a bill and there was no mention of appeals.” In other words, if you agree with the actual decision, but are having payment issues, contact the IRS about setting up a payment plan rather than filing an appeal. Also, if you only receive a bill from the IRS, then you are still at the audit stage and have not exhausted the first stage of the audit process.
The IRS audit paperwork you recieve in your audit report will explain the IRS appeals process in detail. If you qualify for an appeal, you should contact a tax attorney for assistance; the attorney will be your best asset in properly organizing your case and arguing your appeal. Any IRS appeal will require timely response to deadlines articulated by the IRS after the results of your audit are reported to you, so be sure to act quickly. You will need to identify what particular audit decision you are appealing, prepare reasons for your appeal, and file the appeal through the appropriate channels of the IRS or the U.S. Tax Court.