How to Respond (and How Not to Respond) to an IRS Criminal Tax Audit

If you are facing an IRS criminal tax audit in New York, knowing what to do and knowing what not to do are equally important. This is a high-risk scenario, and it is critical to ensure you make informed, strategic decisions with your long-term best interests in mind. Learn more from New York criminal tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group.

What To Do: Preserve Potentially Relevant Records

Targets of IRS criminal tax audits should be careful to preserve all potentially relevant records. This includes financial statements, account statements, written communications, and any other information that could be relevant to the IRS’ case.

What Not To Do: Destroy records that could implicate you in a tax crime. Destroying evidence in a federal case can have serious consequences. If you are at risk of facing criminal prosecution, an experienced criminal tax attorney will be able to help protect you by all legal means available.

What To Do: Make Sure You Are Aware of Any Deadlines

If you received a letter or subpoena from the IRS, you should ensure you are aware of all impending deadlines. Preparing an effective response can require significant time and effort, and even if you have grounds to challenge the IRS’s request for records or information, it is still important to get started promptly.

What Not To Do: Assume the IRS will go away if you ignore it. An IRS criminal tax audit isn’t simply going to go away. If you ignore the IRS, you will almost certainly face consequences that you could have fought to avoid.

What To Do: Promptly Conduct a Comprehensive Risk Assessment

To build a strategic defense, you need to have a clear understanding of what the IRS is likely to uncover during its audit. This will involve working with your attorney to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment.

What Not To Do: Make assumptions about why the IRS is investigating or what it will find. Whether you believe you are innocent or you knowingly broke the law, you should not make assumptions about why the IRS is investigating or what it might find. When facing an IRS criminal tax audit, making any assumptions can prove costly.

What To Do: Engage Experienced Tax Defense Counsel Promptly

Due to the risks you are facing and the complexity of the criminal tax audit process, you should engage experienced tax defense counsel promptly. Once you hire an attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to advise you behind the scenes while dealing with the IRS on your behalf.

What Not To Do: Try to handle your IRS criminal tax audit without legal representation. With substantial fines, prison time, and other consequences on the table, you should not try to handle the audit on your own. Defending against an IRS criminal tax audit is a complex process that requires experienced legal representation.

Need to Know More? Contact New York Criminal Tax Attorney Kevin E. Thorn Today

If you need more guidance on how to respond (and how not to respond) to an IRS criminal tax audit, we encourage you to contact us promptly. Call 914-534-6004 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation with New York criminal tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group.