If the IRS does come calling, take a deep breath and keep records

To the editor:

The Republicans claim that the Democrats have authorized and funded the IRS to hire 87,000 new employees further intruding upon Americans to fund the most recent partisan bill coined the Inflation Reduction Bill.

The Democrats say that is not so. Bernie Sanders acknowledged that the bill will not reduce inflation.

According to the Treasury Department (IRS) the funds will cover a wide range of positions including IT technicians, services support staff, as well as experienced auditors who would largely be tasked with cracking down on corporate and high-income evaders. According to the IRS Commissioner, currently the number of employees is down around 100,00 from when he first started.

Where does the truth lie? Over the years, it is a fact that IRS budgets have gone up and down and certain groups of taxpayers were targeted by motivation of the political party in control of Congress. It is safe to say at this time that Americans can expect a higher volume of audits in the future. Everyone has their opinion of The Tax Man. Our country is based upon taxation with representation to support a centralized Federal government. Whatever your opinion may be, get out and vote!

Please allow me to express my opinion on how to ease the pain should the scary and intimidating IRS audit you. Take a deep breath. IRS letters and notices are often computer generated with little or no human input. Computers do not know people make honest mistakes or that some simply do not know the law. Letters sometimes result in no change to a tax liability. However painful it may be, the Tax Code requires that the IRS prove income and that taxpayers document deductions from income as allowable under the law. That being said, always ask why you have you been "selected" for audit regardless of the line item(s) on your return--i.e., part of a special compliance project? You do have a right to know.

FIRST, do not ignore any IRS notice or letter! Read it thoroughly along with all enclosures. Do not treat the enclosures as if you just received a Val Pack Coupon envelope in the mail! One of the most important enclosures you should have received is Publication 1, Taxpayer Bill of Rights. You do have rights in dealing with the IRS and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Publication 1 is also available at www.irs.gov and contains links to other publications which may be useful. Ignoring any IRS letter or notice snowballs into a bad situation and can play into assessment of penalties if you owe tax. SECONDLY, respond to the letter as directed and keep a copy of that response. THIRDLY, document the date, manner, and time of your response.

Allow the IRS 30 days to get back to you. Comply with document requests made by the IRS. It is a fact that the IRS is currently under-staffed. Hopefully, Inflation Reduction Bill funds will go to TAC, Taxpayer Assistance, making the lives of honest taxpaying Americans better.

If you do not receive a response after 30 days from the IRS, contact the IRS a second or third time and document the date, manner, and time of your response. If you still do not have an appropriate response from the IRS, contact your local Senator's Office.

The Senator's Office will want copies of all your correspondence and a statement of your problem and actions you have taken (hence the documentation stated above). Jeanne Shaheen's office is helpful to her constituents in such matters. Her office phone numbers are: 603-750-3004 in Dover, NH and 202-224-2841 in D.C. Her website is www.shaheen.senate.gov.

- Cheryl Russell of Dover,

former longtime employee of the U.S. Treasury Department