I just got notice from the IRS that a correspondence audit I took on in August of 07 has been wrapped up the way I argued that it should be. Yes the original return for a year in which the spouse began to draw SSI reported only the Social Security for that year and not the SSI for the previous three years. However, the original preparer reported a Rollover as a taxable pension and did not claim Medicare Part B as Medical Insurance or claim any part of the legal fees to collect the SSI on Sch A. (I pro rated the fees according to the ratio of taxable and non taxable SSI.)
The reason that I was not able to send with my second reply everything that eventually won the day for me was that the client's records were an absolute mess. It also hurt that they didn't bring me in until they had received several notices and faxed back two responses. They had the return but not the records behind it. I had to get them to ask the Doctors and pharmacies for copies of their expenses. All of the other expenses I know about were documented on the SSA 1099. I eventually had to ask the IRS for copies of all the notices sent to these people. They had some pages from each notice but no complete notices and the pages were mixed up. Once I had the records and the notices I sent in what I thought was a good reply but as the IRS pointed out I had not begun my thinking from the numbers in the proper notice even though I had that notice. It turned out that the correct figures were worse for the IRS than the figures I used. All in all I wrote I think six multiple page mailings or faxings with the IRS, though one was necessary only due to my error. I also spent at least four hours on the phone talking to or waiting to talk to persons from the IRS.
Now my total charge for this audit was $240. I took 220 at our first meeting and they kept putting gas money in my briefcase on subsequent trips. (I don't have an office clients come to. I go to them with laptop printer and and a few other supplies in a small cart.) They also became tax prep clients and I charged them $220 for 1 W2, a pension, SSI, and Sch A with Medical, Charitable, and Mortgage and of course NC. What should I have charged them for the work I did?
The reason that I was not able to send with my second reply everything that eventually won the day for me was that the client's records were an absolute mess. It also hurt that they didn't bring me in until they had received several notices and faxed back two responses. They had the return but not the records behind it. I had to get them to ask the Doctors and pharmacies for copies of their expenses. All of the other expenses I know about were documented on the SSA 1099. I eventually had to ask the IRS for copies of all the notices sent to these people. They had some pages from each notice but no complete notices and the pages were mixed up. Once I had the records and the notices I sent in what I thought was a good reply but as the IRS pointed out I had not begun my thinking from the numbers in the proper notice even though I had that notice. It turned out that the correct figures were worse for the IRS than the figures I used. All in all I wrote I think six multiple page mailings or faxings with the IRS, though one was necessary only due to my error. I also spent at least four hours on the phone talking to or waiting to talk to persons from the IRS.
Now my total charge for this audit was $240. I took 220 at our first meeting and they kept putting gas money in my briefcase on subsequent trips. (I don't have an office clients come to. I go to them with laptop printer and and a few other supplies in a small cart.) They also became tax prep clients and I charged them $220 for 1 W2, a pension, SSI, and Sch A with Medical, Charitable, and Mortgage and of course NC. What should I have charged them for the work I did?
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