Tax audit support and notice response

Tax audit support and notice response is the work that starts when an envelope from the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board lands in your mailbox. It is for the W-2 employee who got a CP2000 saying income was left off, the small business owner with a CP14 balance due, the taxpayer with an FTB 4600 asking why no California return was filed, and anyone holding an audit letter who does not know what to do first.

On this page, audit means an IRS or Franchise Tax Board examination of a tax return, or a notice about one. It does not mean a review of a company’s financial statements, which is different work and not something we offer.

Here is what we do: we help you understand the notice, gather the records, and prepare the response. Bring the letter to our office on Tampa Ave in Reseda or call (818) 401-7468 the day it arrives, because the deadline runs from the date printed on the letter, not from the day you found it.

What is included in tax audit support and notice response?

• Reading the full notice and explaining, in plain terms, what the agency is asking for and by when
• Comparing the notice to the return for that year and to your records
• Assembling the documentation the letter asks about
• Preparing the written reply for you to sign and send
• Preparing an amended return where the notice is right and the return was wrong
• Setting up an IRS or Franchise Tax Board payment plan when a balance is owed and cannot be paid at once
• Explaining your options, including when you may need an enrolled agent or attorney, and referring you when you do

The notices we see most often:

• IRS CP2000: income reported to the IRS does not match your return
• IRS CP14: a balance is due
• IRS CP504: an urgent notice of unpaid tax, the step before the IRS moves to collect
• FTB 4600: the Franchise Tax Board believes you should have filed a California return
• FTB demand notices and audit letters

What should I bring?

• The complete letter, every page, plus the envelope it came in
• The return for the year the letter is about
• Any earlier letters from the agency and anything you already sent back
• The records the letter asks about: W-2s, 1099s, receipts, bank statements, whatever it names

How do fees work?

Fees are based on the type of notice, the forms required to answer it, and the condition of your records. A one page reply to a CP2000 backed by a clear 1099 is a different job from reconstructing three years of a business. You get a written quote before we start. If the scope changes, for example the agency sends a second notice or the year needs an amended return, we tell you before continuing. Fees are never based on the amount in dispute or on the size of any refund. See the fees page.

What happens after I bring in the letter?

First we read it and tell you what it means, including whether it is a bill, a proposed change, or a request for documents. Second we pull the return for that year; if it was never filed, we prepare it through our prior year and amended returns service. Third we assemble the records and draft the reply. You sign it and send it, or we show you how to upload it to the agency. If the notice is about a return we prepared through individual tax preparation, bring it in regardless; we want to see it. Our Reseda office on Tampa Ave keeps a copy of everything sent, so the file is complete if the agency writes again.