What to do if the IRS audits you

No owner is glad to see a letter about the return. If you have one, do not panic, and do not ignore it. Prepare.

The IRS says it notifies you of an audit by mail, not by starting one on the phone. The letter tells you how the exam will be conducted (by mail, in an IRS office, or in the field) and what to send or bring. See IRS audits.

1. Read the letter and respond by the date on it

Read the notice carefully. It names the tax year, the issues, the deadline, and the address or fax or upload instructions. Topic no. 651 is the IRS page on what to do with a notice: follow the letter, keep a copy of everything, and send your response where the notice says.

If you cannot meet the deadline, ask for more time using the method in the letter. For many mail audits the IRS says it can ordinarily grant a one-time 30-day extension — unless you have already received a statutory notice of deficiency, in which case the Tax Court clock is not extended. That is on the same IRS audits page. If you do not respond, the IRS will typically finish the exam and send a report with proposed changes.

2. Get representation if you need it

Call your tax professional the day the letter arrives. If you have been doing the return yourself, this is the moment to hire someone who can actually represent you before the IRS. An enrolled agent can walk the process, help you assemble the file, and deal with the agency so you are not improvising on the phone.

You especially want that help if returns are unfiled, income may have been missed, you cannot support the expenses on the return, or the notice is already a proposed change you do not agree with.

3. Organize what they asked for — and only that

The IRS will request documents that support the income, credits, or deductions on the return. You should already have used those records to prepare the return; you should not need to invent a new set of books. From Audits: records request:

• Never mail original records. Send copies.
• Organize them by year and by type of income or expense, and include a short summary of the transactions.
• Your notice tells you how to deliver them (mail, fax, or the IRS document upload tool). Keep copies of whatever you send.

The law requires you to keep the records used to prepare a return for at least three years from the filing date, and sometimes longer. See the IRS audits page and Publication 17 on recordkeeping.

Give what was asked for. Extra explanation, offered in the hope of closing the file faster, is how new questions appear.

4. If you agree, resolve it. If you do not, appeal.

If the records support the return, the IRS should close the case and write to say so. If the IRS proposes changes and you agree, follow the instructions in the letter so interest and penalties do not keep running.

If you disagree, the IRS says to send an explanation with supporting documents. You have the right to request a review by IRS Appeals. If you do not, you may receive a statutory notice of deficiency and have a limited time to petition Tax Court. Those options are described in the IRS's audits by mail guidance. Weigh the amount in dispute against the cost of fighting it, and do that with a professional, not from a blog post.

Get help with the file

If a notice is already on the desk, start at Taxes or contact us. Fifteen minutes is free. Call (844) 222-9653, or start at unchainedfs.com.

Sources

• IRS audits (retrieved 12 Nov 2026)
• IRS, Audits: records request
• IRS Topic no. 651, Notices — what to do
• IRS, Audits by mail: what to do
• IRS Publication 17 (2025), recordkeeping