The IRS Show – How you and your business should interact with the IRS – SBS 68

This week on the Small Business Show, we start off by revisiting the concept of not setting financial goals for your business, but rather, developing systems that you can continually achieve success with and adjust for mistakes over time. Dave and Shannon have been using this concept for years, but it took Scott Adams book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big to lay it out in detail. Scott’s book is a must read.

Longtime listener Dan T. sent in a question which led us into the main topic of the show, How to interact with the IRS.

Dan’s question: Hey guys – I have a question for you. I’ve started getting some letters from the IRS about my businesses tax filings from a couple of years ago. I think I know the answer to most of the questions they have, but I’m kind of freaking out that this may lead to an audit or something. I don’t have anything to hide, but having never been through this type of thing before, any tips for dealing with the IRS?

Thanks so much for contacting us for help, Dan! It’s no surprise that we do have some tips on how to interact with the IRS that may help with your situation. We dive into a lot of details, but the two main points we want to make this week are:

First, humanize your relationship with the IRS. Pickup the phone and make contact with who sent the letter, or call your local IRS office for help. Be up front, honest and transparent and chances are, you’ll find someone at the IRS that will take a vested interest in helping your situation. Treating that person with respect and connecting with them personally can make a tremendous difference in how things go for you.

It’s also important not to forget that YOU are a customer of the IRS! That’s right, part of their job is to please you, believe it or not. IRS employees are trained to treat you well and to offer council to help solve problems to everyone’s benefit. Now, this doesn’t mean they have the power to relieve you of paying money if you owe it, but they can (and should) make the process as painless as possible. If you are not getting the type of treatment you expect, Shannon has some tips on getting someone else to take over your case.

The IRS and your business are such huge topics that, of course, we ran out of time to cover everything we wanted to. Look for a 2nd installment of the The IRS Show soon!

 

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