You’ve just received an IRS audit notice. Wait, don’t faint, you haven’t actually gotten one, this is just a blog in case you do!

Okay, let’s PRETEND (you can put your asthma inhaler away, we are only pretending) you’ve gotten an IRS notice in the mail.

There’s basically two ways to handle this. One is the ‘headache’ client way, the other is the ‘Gold Star’ client way. I’ll let you figure out which is which! ☺

1. Clean up pee on floor.
2. Panic (or did that happen just before #1?)
3. Call everyone you know, except your accountant
4. Listen to your friends who tell you to call the IRS immediately or you
will go to jail…
5. Call the IRS yourself
6. Curl up into the fetal position wishing you had instead…

1. Faxed your notice to your accountant (now that you are BFFs and everything)
2. You write a mild to moderately panicked cover letter
3. You wait patiently for your CPA to call you back (alright, fine go
ahead and pace)
4. You do NOT call the IRS yourself like everyone else is urging you to do
5. You remind yourself you do not need to panic because your CPA rocks
and will handle this on your behalf.

Okay, so pretty obviously the second scenario is the Gold Star client.

And do you know why they held it together so well (maybe so well is an over-statement, but at least they didn’t call the IRS) is their CPA had told them from the get-go that 85-90% of these letters can be resolved with a simple letter or phone call from your CPA.

Minimal fuss, muss, or bother.

Pick a good accountant and they will be good to you (and forgive you for the fourteen messages you leave that day)!