Notices from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are just like cataracts. All Americans, if they live long enough, are going to get one.

But, don't panic! Just like cataracts, most of these letters can be dealt with simply and painlessly.

There's a simple reason for the increase in IRS notices. While the electronic process for filing with the IRS — e-file — now allows taxpayers to submit yearly tax forms without ever printing a page, electronic filing also allows the IRS to receive information more accurately and to match your information with records from your bank, mutual fund companies, mortgage lenders, employers and other entities that send you tax documents.

Because of this matching process, there has been a marked increase in the millions of IRS notices and letters sent American tax payers. Just like cataracts, all Americans get a tax notice at some point in their lives.

Most of these letters can be dealt with simply and painlessly. Many, in fact, are just a request for missing or additional information. Plus, the notice will give you specific information on what you need to do to satisfy the request from the IRS.

Remember, the Leverich Group team is comfortable working with the IRS and will assist you in responding to any IRS request.

Here are some tips you show follow when receiving an IRS notice:

Open it; read it.   Let's determine the status of the notice.

• Read the entire notice all the way through. Be aware that the IRS does send you two copies, so you only need to read one.
• Look for a couple of important pieces of information when you read the entire notice. First, the tax year the IRS is requesting the information from.   IRS tax notices can go back several years. The year the IRS is looking for is usually in the right hand corner of the notice. Secondly, date by which you must respond. Highlight this date!
• Search the notice for a contact name – the agent to whom you will be responding, and that agent's telephone number. While most correspondence can be handles without calling or visiting an IRS office, if you have questions, you will want to talk with the agent handling your case.
• Gather the tax return for the tax year in question. Make a copy of it.   Do not send an original tax return.
• Gather source documents that you used to report information on that tax return. If you receive a correction notice, review the correspondence and compare it with the information on your return.
  

• Ensure that any documents you mail to the IRS are copies of your originals. The agency does not send copies back.
• Respond within 30 days. Most notices from the IRS require a response within that time period.   However, your response could be, "I need 30 more days to effectively respond to the notice."
• Don't ignore a notice. Refunds have a statute of limitations of three years, while taxes due have a statute of limitations of up to 10 years.
• Allow six to eight weeks for the IRS to respond to your correspondence.
• Keep copies of any correspondence you have with the IRS.

Remember, cataract surgery is 98 percent successful.   So should be your experience with the IRS.

For more information, watch our video, which reiterates the things to do if you get a notice.   Or, call our team at (801) 364-4949.