Everyone’s heard the expression “money buys justice.” We don’t believe that wealth should have anything to do with getting a fair outcome in your tax audit. We believe that everyone in an audit deserves to have a lawyer on their side who will defend their rights and get them the possible outcome.
It’s for that reason that we make the cost of audit representation as affordable as we possibly can.
But that doesn’t make it cheap. The old adage “You get what you pay for” is as true with audit representation as it is with anything. We take a great deal of pride in the value that I provide the clients of Cross Law. Our firm’s fees are reasonable and never include hidden fees or bait-and-switch tactics. You get great audit defense at a reasonable price.
These companies are easy to recognize. You hear and see them everywhere. They run national TV campaigns, radio spots, and dominate Google Adwords. They spend a lot of money to get you as a client.
And they charge a lot of money, too. These companies are notorious for overcharging clients and delivering terribly poor service. Tax Masters, J.K. Harris, and American Tax Relief are just three examples of these companies that have been shut down in recent years for deceptive trade practices. <Read More on How to Avoid Tax Resolution Scams.>
Here is a brief rundown of our average audit defense fees. Your case might be less or more depending on the unique characteristics of your audit.
Our flat fee for representation in a standard IRS audit is $1,700. A “standard audit” covers one tax year and does not involve a Schedule C business. Typically this involves deductions taken on Schedule A of a Form 1040 tax return. A lot can be at stake in a “standard audit” if the IRS decides to assess penalties (which can be as high as 75% of the tax increase) or open the audit up to additional years.
Our flat fee for representation in a complex IRS audit $2,700. A “complex audit” typically involves a Schedule C business where numerous expenses items are examined by the IRS (such as Cost of Goods Sold). Complex audits are very serious because the IRS believes that small business owners are the greatest source of lost tax revenues, which means they apply extra scrutiny during the audit. A mishandling can result in substantial additional tax and could jeopardize the continued operation of the business.
Unfortunately, we can’t offer flat fees in corporate audits due to their complexity, but our fees typically average between $5,000 and $15,000. A corporate audit involves the examination of either a C corporation or an S-Corporation.
Our flat fee for representation in an IRS payroll tax audit is $3,500. A payroll tax audit is the examination of a business’s “independent contractors” to determine whether they are actually “employees” for payroll tax purposes. When employees are reclassified, the business owes payroll tax for the period under examination and must continue paying payroll tax into the future
