Sooner or later, you might have to write a letter to the IRS to get some misunderstanding worked out. Perhaps the agency counted some source of income twice or rejected a deduction for some reason. Regardless of the situation, there is a way to write a letter and a way not to.
The IRS is one of those government agencies that has far more work than it has employees to handle it. This has led to a large effort to computerize everything, but letters of dispute by taxpayers are obviously not an area where a computer can be used. Instead, some poor soul is sitting there reading the letters and trying to take the appropriate action.
As a result, the overriding theme for your letter should be to make it as concise and short as possible. Get to the point and don’t add a bunch of useless information. The IRS employee doesn’t want to know about your family, job situation or whatever. They are only empowered to deal with the tax issue. As a general rule, the letter should be no longer than one page and much shorter if possible.
So, what can you include? First, include the number of notice the IRS sent you. Second, your legal name, address, social security number and year of the tax return or form in question. Third, a short line or two regarding why the IRS is wrong. Fourth, what you want the IRS to do about it. Finally, include copies of any documents that help prove your point.
The attitude of your letter is vitally important. Imagine you are going to be the person reading the letter. Would you want to be cussed at…called a buffoon and so on? Probably not. Might you be less inclined to help the taxpayer who did that to you? The IRS takes the official position it doesn’t matter, but human nature says it almost certainly does! With this in mind, be courteous and end the letter with a “thank you.”
Writing to the IRS is not a chance to vent about your life. Be unemotional and stick to the point. Doing so will give you a far better chance to prevail than wailing will.
Thomas Ajava is with
WillCountyTaxAttorneys.com - your online resource for locating Will County tax attorneys.
