Help with 2006 Income Tax Return Examination

[BP.]

And it really irritates me when a taxpayer blames their preparer for all their woes and claims total innocence.

You are right! Kind of along the lines of geekgirldany's "customer" thread, someone called me the other day looking for a new preparer, as the 3 different preparers they used over the last five years all somehow managed to screw up her returns. Yeah, right! I wasn't going to get in line to be the 4th!

[bertrans]

Addendum

[QUOTE=BP.;48639]Hey you, from Philadelphia! I'm in Chester County. BP is my initials- Barb[/QUOTE

I apologise for having referred to you as 'what'. At the time I did not know that you were (and still are) a 'who'.

[BP.]

No problem, bertrans! It's still early in the season. When I start to lose my mind over the next few months, I'm likely to ask myself the same question, "What is BP?"

[Lion]

Get Representation

Get someone to represent you and stay home near a telephone. If you're there, you'll be expected to answer questions, even questions about other items on the return, especially if you refer to something when speaking. (If you do go, do NOT talk!) Your EA or CPA can say that the question is outside the scope of the documents requested and he'll have to ask his client -- after all, he didn't prepare your return so just has the audit information available at this time.

But give him all your documentation, spreadsheets, lists, logs, etc. Show the bank withdrawals of $200 every Saturday to drop in the plate every Sunday. Ask your church to provide confirmation that you're a regular contributor. Maybe they'd share copies of Sunday deposits showing more than $200 cash each week. It'd be good if you've started using envelopes or checks now. Show your employer's reimbursement policy not starting until late 2006 &/or your job offer stating that you're required to go out to visit clients at your own expense/salary covers expenses. Someone at Goodwill must remember thousands of dollars worth of furniture arriving; can they provide their sales information to back up your valuation? Do you have pictures of it in your home to jog their memories? Look at every line on your tax return the letter refers to. What about Other Miscellaneous Expenses? Did you deduct anything besides the unreimbursed employee expense? If so, gather documentation.

[veritas]

I am thinking

the preparer in this case is under close scrutiny. Most likely all the returns prepared by him are now being scrutinized. He may be soon bunking with Wes.

Thanks to him and other like him we are now going to pay the price.

[Roland Slugg]

I don't believe ...

... very much of this guy's original story. In fact I even suspect the whole thing is a made up story.

But if it isn't, the end result may very well be that the IRS determines that all those alleged cash contributions point to unreported cash income. In addition, the amounts are so large that this case could be referred to the fraud division. This guy may need a lot more than a CPA or EA ... he may need a lawyer!