10 Actions You Must Take in an IRS Field Audit

Author: Jim Buttonow

IRS field audits are rare, and are the most complex and time-consuming form of compliance enforcement and IRS interaction. For taxpayers, the costs and stress can be significant. For these reasons and more, field audits should only be handled by a qualified, licensed tax professional. In this course, you will understand the field audit process and get practical action items that you can use to effectively represent your client before the IRS revenue agent. You will also get trends in IRS audit compliance activity and best practices in handling the complexities of a field audit.

Publication Date: October 2024

Topics Covered

• IRS Field audit trends and terminology
• Audit Concepts
• The 4 Stages of an IRS field audit
• Preparaton Stage
• Initial Appointment Stage
• Issue Development Stage
• Resolution/Conclusion Stage
• Best practices and tips on handling an IRS field audit

Learning Objectives

• Identify recent IRS audit trends and activity
• Identify the 4 phases of an IRS audit and important activities that occur at each phase
• Recognize how to be prepared for an audit by understanding the scope of an IRS field audit and common issues that arise in a field audit
• Identify 10 actions and best practices to improve your client's outcomes in a field audit
• Identify how many days Form 2848 should generally be kept open in order to monitor notices

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None