Tax Audits

Regardless of your level of business savvy, no one likes the idea of a tax audit. For even the most sophisticated of business people, audits are a headache and hassle, introducing potential stress and distraction into your life. They are often complicated and time consuming, as you must be prepared to offer sufficient substantiation for your expenses and deductions, as well as explaining the nature of your income.

While some people contemplate retaining representation to assist them at a tax audit, they may question whether they should seek the assistance of a Los Angeles tax audit attorney or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). By retaining the Ben-Cohen Law Firm, you do not need to choose, as we provide our clients with the unique skill sets of a tax attorney and a CPA. Attorney and CPA Pedram Ben-Cohen has extensive large-firm experience handling sophisticated tax matters and is also a Certified Taxation Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Having this special kind of a resource on your side not only offers you reassurance, but also the potential for making a substantial difference in the ultimate outcome you receive from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or other taxing authority.

Our tax lawyers assist our clients at all stages of a federal tax audit. An IRS tax audit may occur by mail or may involve an in-person interview and review of your tax records. Our full-service audit representation not only includes representing you before the IRS, but also, if the audit yields an unfavorable result, handling your protest before the IRS appeals office. If you still have not achieved an acceptable result, we can also present your case before the United States Tax Court, as well as federal trial and appellate courts. Additionally, our firm handles state tax audits. Our tax audit attorneys represent Los Angeles clients and others before various state and local entities such as the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization and the Employment Development Department.

There are several common issues that could potentially trigger an audit.

1. You claim large deductions compared to the industry’s average and your salary is low.
2. You use round numbers.
3. You made a math error or typo.
4. Your tax return is missing information from forms received by the IRS, like Forms 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-B, and W-2.

At the Ben-Cohen Law Firm, our goal is to obtain a favorable result for our clients through the most focused and efficient means possible. We work closely with our clients to develop an audit strategy, complete with establishing the outcome our clients seek. We then strive to manage the audit and craft a settlement or, when necessary, an administrative hearing and judicial resolution, to obtain that desired result.

If you reach a result with the IRS that requires you to pay, and that amount exceeds what you are able to pay, our Los Angeles firm of tax audit lawyers can assist you in preparing an offer in compromise to the IRS. An offer in compromise, which is an agreement between you and the IRS to settle your tax debt for an amount less than what you owe, may receive approval by the IRS if: (1) uncertainty exists around the amount of your debt or your obligation to pay, (2) your financial situation creates uncertainty about whether you can pay the full debt, or (3) the IRS finds your case sufficiently compelling to warrant compromise. Our firm can help you make convincing arguments to the IRS as to why it should agree to a settlement.

If you have received notice that you are being audited, contact the tax attorneys at the Ben-Cohen Law Firm. Our Los Angeles tax audit lawyers can help you at every step to ensure the best possible outcome of your audit.