Tax Audit Lawyers in Williamsville

A "tax audit" is a procedure in Williamsville, New York where the tax authorities investigate a taxpayer's (whether the taxpayer is a person or corporation) filings when it looks like there's some kind of discrepancy. However, many state and federal tax audits are the result of random selection, when the authorities don't necessarily think that a taxpayer has deliberately evaded their taxes.

In Williamsville, New York, the process of a tax audit is generally not confusing. If you get a letter saying that you have been chosen for an audit, you should still take it seriously, however. The first thing you need to do is confirm that you are actually being audited, because there are fraudsters who impersonate tax collectors, attempting to squeeze money out of innocent victims. When you receive such a letter, you should use the phone book or Internet to find the contact info for the government agency that the letter claims to be from, and contact them. Do not rely on any contact information provided in the letter, as it may direct you to the scammer, who will just pretend to be a representative of the IRS.

Once you have confirmed that your audit is authentic, you will be obligated to meet the auditor at an agreed-upon time and place. The auditor will usually inform you about what documents and other proof you need to take to the meeting. At the meeting, they will ask you a long series of questions about your taxes, to clear up the thing they're uncertain about.

Reasons For a Tax Audit in Williamsville, New York

There are various different reasons why the federal government, or the tax authorities of New York might decide that a tax audit is warranted in your case.

As considered earlier, tax audits can be conducted at random. Obviously, the government doesn't have the resources to audit every taxpayer under their jurisdiction. But, by conducting a significant number of random audits each year, taxpayers are, in theory, discouraged from cheating on their taxes, because they know that they might be audited randomly. If you are chosen for a random audit, and have done everything right, you almost definately have nothing to worry about.

Nonetheless, some people in Williamsville, New York are audited because the government suspects that they are underreporting their income. For instance, if you report that you only make ,000 per year, and then go out and buy an expensive sports car, the IRS and state tax authorities are going to want to discover where the money to buy that car came from.

Claiming an unusually-high number of deductions is another common reason for tax audits in Williamsville, New York. A tax deduction is some expenditure that you can subtract from your taxable income, thereby reducing your tax liability. If you claim such a wide number of deductions that your tax liability has been reduced to almost nothing, the IRS will probably want to make sure that all of these deductions are legitimate.

How Can A Williamsville, New York Tax Lawyer Help?

If you experience an audit in Williamsville, New York, and believe that you have properly reported all of your income on your tax filings, it will probably go fine. And if there is anything wrong with your filings, it was likely the result of an honest mistake, and auditors are generally sensitive to this fact. In such cases, the penalty is usually light. It will probably be little more than a requirement that you pay back taxes and interest.

But, there are some tax audits that are far more confusing and serious than a tax return having a few more deductions than usual. If this is the situation you're in, you should contact a Williamsville, New York tax attorney as soon as possible, to help make sure that your tax audit goes smoothly.