Will the IRS continue an audit against me or begin a new audit against me during the Coronavirus pandemic?
Under most circumstances, the IRS will not begin any new audits during this period, but will continue to remotely work on already ongoing audits.
The IRS announced on March 25, 2020 that it is introducing a series of temporary policies and procedures to assist taxpayers during the Corona virus pandemic. If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss your tax problems, please click here.
What is the time period for these temporary policies and procedures? When will the IRS start auditing again?
The projected start date for these temporary policies and procedures is April 1 and will initially continue through July 15, but could be extended if circumstances dictate. Gatherwright Freeman will continue to keep taxpayers updated on our website.
What are the temporary IRS audit policies and procedures?
In person contact:
• During this period IRS auditors will avoid in-person contacts, so do not expect any in-person visits from them.
• Many IRS auditors are working from home and they will continue to remotely work on existing audits, where possible.
Existing Audits:
• If you are already the subject of an ongoing audit, the IRS auditors will likely continue to work on your case remotely, if possible.
• Taxpayers should respond to all requests for information they already have already or will receive, if they are able to do so.
• If for some reason the taxpayer cannot access the people or records needed to respond to the IRS due to Coronavirus restrictions, taxpayers should communicate this clearly in writing to the auditor and ask for an extension of time.
New Audits:
• During this period, the IRS will generally not start any new audit examinations.
• However, the IRS may start new examinations if it is deemed necessary to protect the government’s interest in preserving the applicable statute of limitations. This means the IRS might still initiate an audit during the COVID-19 pandemic if they are up against a statute of limitation, but the number of new audits in general will be drastically reduced.
• Whether the IRS will begin an audit against you during this period depends upon your individual circumstances, but statistically speaking the answer is probably “no”.
Gatherwright Freeman’s tax attorneys have been serving clients for over 20 years in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area, as well as across the country and around the world. If you need a Northern Kentucky or Cincinnati tax attorney to answer Coronavirus tax questions, please contact us.
