Boston Attorney Discusses Audit Reconsideration Request
Internal Revenue Code § 6404 (a) allows the IRS to abate any assessment of tax and applicable interest and/or penalties if the assessment is excessive, erroneously or illegally made, or made after the statute of limitations has expired. If an erroneous assessment has been made and you have not paid it, under certain circumstances the IRS may accept a request for audit reconsideration.
Internal Revenue Manual 4.13.1 describes the internal procedures the IRS must follow when evaluating a reconsideration request. Some of the acceptable reasons for reconsideration, as found in the IRM, include:
- The taxpayer did not appear for an audit;
- The taxpayer moved and did not receive the correspondence from the IRS;
- The taxpayer has new documentation to present.
The IRS will accept a request to re-evaluate the results of a prior audit where:
- It assessed additional tax that remains unpaid or it reversed a tax credit;
- The taxpayer requests the abatement of an assessment based on information that was not previously considered that, if considered, would have resulted in a change to the assessment;
- The IRS created a return under IRC § 6020 (b) where a taxpayer did not file a return, if the taxpayer later files a return that shows the correct tax; or
- There was an IRS computational or processing error in assessing the tax.
The manual clearly provides that the audit reconsideration must be made in writing. The request must seek abatement of the excessive tax. Specifically explain why you were deprived of the ability to submit data and appeal the original audit decision. Illustrate how the data would have reduced your tax if presented at the time of audit.
By following these procedures, erroneous assessments can be corrected even though the ink on the examination report has long since dried.
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