Are you facing a tax audit? If so, it can certainly be a frightening prospect. The entire process associated with filing your taxes is complicated. Even if you have taken due diligence to file your taxes to the best of your ability, even one small mistake could leave you facing an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. When you receive notification that you are facing a tax audit, it is important that you seek help immediately from a reliable tax attorney. In order to find the best attorney to assist you with your tax audit, it is important to understand what to look for when seeking an attorney. Below are some of the most important questions to ask any tax attorney you are considering hiring.
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What kind of experience do you have? Do you specialize in tax law?
Most attorneys may have some level of tax law knowledge, but when you are facing an audit, you need help from an attorney who has specific experience in representing tax audit cases. Take the time to find out how many such cases the attorney has represented. How long has it been since the attorney represented a tax audit case? What were the outcomes of the cases represented?
Have you worked with similar cases?
Every tax situation is unique. For this reason, you need to ensure that not only does the attorney you hire have experience in representing tax audit cases but also that he or she has specific experience in handling similar cases like your own. If so, obtain information about the outcome of the case. In the event they have not actually handled similar cases, you need to consider whether that attorney is actually the best qualified to handle your cases.
Have you had any grievances filed against you?
It is crucial to ensure that any attorney you hire to represent you during a tax audit is completely honest and professional. Do not hesitate to ask whether the attorney has had any lawsuits or grievances filed against them. Of course, any dissatisfied client can file a grievance and this does not necessarily indicate that the attorney is not honest, but it would certainly be important to obtain more information about the situation prior to retaining the attorney to handle your own case.
In addition to the questions above, you should consider how responsive the attorney is to calls and emails. Do they respond promptly or does it take a while for them to respond? When facing a tax audit, you need to know you are working with an attorney who will get back to you quickly and keep you updated frequently on the status of your case.
Finally, obtain information about how the attorney will charge for his or her services. Do they charge an hourly rate or a fixed rate? Tax audit cases can be time-consuming so it is imperative that you know in advance if you will be charged on an hourly basis.
While it may seem time-intensive to find a reputable tax audit attorney, it is certainly time well spent. There can simply be too much on the line to hire anyone other than an experienced tax attorney you can trust when you are facing a tax audit.