Radio Interview (May 10, 2024)

Host 00:00
We now say good morning to our friend Steven Klitzner, FloridaTaxSolvers.com. Happy Friday to you.

Steve Klitzner 00:07
Oh, you too. It’s always exciting on a Friday.

Host 00:10
It certainly is. Lots of things. Well, I’m sure people are trying to wrap up their work week and staring at the weekend, but those people who received letters from the IRS this past week, they probably are a little bit more stressed than some of us who haven’t. But we wanted to talk a little bit about audits. So the letters start coming to some people who hopefully will become your clients because then they’ll see some problem solving occur. But we’ve had a number of instances where we’re starting to see some audit activity kind of on the uptick.

Steve Klitzner 00:46
We are. You talk about letters from the IRS. It’s like the IRS should publish a diet plan because whenever they send somebody a letter, that person immediately can’t eat and they lose a whole lot of weight. So they probably should trademark that. We are seeing more audits. The IRS has announced they’re going after higher income people. They’re raising that rate. That doesn’t mean they’re forgetting about the little guy. They’re still going to be auditing everybody. And one of the common types of audits is when the IRS has information about income or maybe income that they receive that’s not on the tax return. So they send the taxpayer a letter saying, hey, we don’t see this on your return. Explain. And I have a new case now where it’s a husband and wife and they call me. They’re in their 60s. They have a modest income. They get a letter from the IRS saying, it looks like you didn’t report $400 ,000 for these jobs you did around the country over the last year, which looks like obviously identity theft. Somebody is selling his social security number, but you know, I had to verify it. say to his wife, has he gone out for groceries and been gone for more than two days? And she said no. So I know for sure he didn’t earn the money. Now, the burden of proof is on the taxpayer. We have to prove a negative that we didn’t make the money, but I think it’s going to be pretty obvious to the IRS that he didn’t make $400 ,000 traveling around the country doing odd jobs.

Host 02:24
That is pretty scary, though, whereby and then identity thieves can get a hold of your information and then really cause all kinds of grief and havoc for you. Where is the IRS getting this additional information that they’re then asking you to disprove?

Steve Klitzner 02:41
Well, it gets reported to them. So this is one of those things. It’s not necessarily the IRS’s fault. They’re just asking, tell us about this income that’s been reported from 1099s. And, you know, and the problem is this, you get the letter. And I’m tempted when I respond to the letter to just shred my response, put it in an envelope and save them the time. Because in the case of these folks, they tried to respond, the IRS ignored it, and they received a 90 day notice of deficiency, meaning if they don’t file in tax court in 90 days, they owe the money. We can still get it reversed, but they don’t owe the money until the 90 days is up. So luckily, despite them trying to resolve it themselves, they came to me, I’ll file a petition in tax court. And this may be one of the few times I actually allow my client to talk to the IRS and explain to them, he’s not some evil genius who’s traveling around the country making all this money.

Host 03:44
Yeah, Steven Klitzner with us, law office of Steven Klitzner Tax Attorney, 305-682-1118, certainly you can get an appointment too to get your tax problems resolved and solved. Now talking about tax resolution though, it’s not an instance where you can just as an individual call the IRS and say, you know, I’m gonna give you this much money.

Host 04:06
They’re really out to get whatever money they can get, correct? Right, in order for you to make a deal for less, you have to show them you can’t pay it. They don’t make deals with people who can pay the money because that would send a horrible message.

Steve Klitzner 04:21
So, and it’s a long process. Every so often somebody says to me, you know, I know this guy that called and they waved all the interest or they made a deal with him on the phone. And I don’t know who this guy is, but everyone seems to know him because he’s the only one I ever heard of that could actually do that.

Steve Klitzner 04:39
Everything or most everything with the IRS requires paperwork, verification, financial information. And of course you have to have all your returns filed to make a deal.

Steve Klitzner 04:51
Yeah, Steven Klitzner with us.

Host 04:53
It’s floridataxsolvers.com on line 305-682-1118. So we’re hearing about the increase in audit activity. The IRS, we all hear, has been hiring additional agents and personnel, making it even easier for them to go after more people.

Steve Klitzner 05:12
What should someone do if they’re contacted by the IRS and says, or receive the statement, well, you’re going to be audited. What should that person be doing? Well, you know, I’d like to say call and straighten it out, but all too often that doesn’t work.

Steve Klitzner 05:28
You have to prove your case. I was at an audit several years ago. It was an office audit at the IRS. They have these cubicles. And while I was there with, for my client, my client, of course, was home relaxing.

Steve Klitzner 05:40
There was a lady or it sounded like a young girl next to me talking to a an auditor, and they were laughing and having the best time in the world, but every time she opened her mouth, I could hear a cash register go off, because everything she was saying was working against her.

Steve Klitzner 05:57
I didn’t hang out until the end when she, I’m sure, fainted when he gave her the bill, but you just have to be careful. The idea of, let me go to the IRS, I’m sure when we straighten this out, they’ll realize this is all a big mistake, isn’t really the best plan.

Steve Klitzner 06:12
When you’re dealing with that, with what could be a lot of money, you have to protect yourself. You have to get help.

Host 06:20
And again, do that by contacting Steven Klitzner of floridataxsolvers.com. Appointments available, 305-682-1118, practicing in South Florida and the Florida Keys.

Host 06:33
And really, the balance of power, you’ve been saying this, and it’s pretty much summed up with the fact that the government and the IRS really has, they do hold all the cards. They seem to have all the power, and the individual taxpayer going up against the IRS is really not a fair fight.

Steve Klitzner 06:50
No, but the good thing is, you have rights. Now, the IRS doesn’t tell you all your rights. They kind of slough off your important rights, saying, oh, don’t worry about this letter. We’re going to take care of this when that is probably a letter that you need to respond to and request a hearing.

Steve Klitzner 07:06
But taxpayers have rights, and if you don’t owe the money, you shouldn’t pay it, and you won’t pay it. And if you don’t have the money, you’re not going to pay it, just because the IRS wants X number of dollars.

Steve Klitzner 07:20
If you don’t have it, we show them that you don’t have it, and they will accept that. But you know, most of what I do, there are some things people call me, and my consultation’s always free. It’s a small problem.

Steve Klitzner 07:33
They can make a phone call, they can pay the IRS $100 a month, full pay it in a couple of years, the IRS is happy. But most of the time, they need my help, and when people call me, I can’t. help them I say look just do this and this it’s a simple solution but fortunately for me doing what I do most of the time that’s not the case

Host 07:54
yeah and the investment in your skills and in your expertise and experience with the IRS which goes over decades in fact you were on the advisory board of the IRS even recently but having that kind of well well comfort behind the taxpayer certainly is invaluable as you said the taxpayer going through an audit or being well sought out by the IRS certainly can cause weight loss can cause significant stress etc it really does pay to get professional help from the likes of Stephen Klitzner IRS audit so if you’re being contacted chances are that it may just be a random audit that you’re being subjected to and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re guilty of something.

Steve Klitzner 08:40
Well, it could be.

Steve Klitzner 08:41
Most of the time when I look at a tax return of someone getting audited, I can tell immediately why. Because what happens is the IRS puts a score on the return based on information they have. And the higher the score, the more chance they’re going to get audited.

Steve Klitzner 08:58
And I can usually see what the issues are. Now, just because it looks bad doesn’t mean it is. If we have proof, then certainly you don’t have to pay any tax on it. But if we don’t have proof, if it’s a bad tax preparer because somebody’s trying to save a few dollars, they go to a guy on the street corner and he does a return and gets him back all this money and everything’s made up.

Steve Klitzner 09:21
There’s nothing I can do. I had a truck driver where the preparer took the fuel credit, which my client wasn’t entitled to. And he got back $50 ,000, $60 ,000. The IRS comes in and says, not only do we want that back, but you have to pay us penalty and interest and the IRS was correct.

Host 09:42
Well, but even in that instance, though, having you in the corner of the taxpayer certainly is a very good idea to at least work through the penalties and try to get the best situation possible. The IRS audits, they can take place in a variety of settings.

Host 09:58
Is that right? Or they always haul you back to the cubicle that you just talked about?

Steve Klitzner 10:03
Well, the cubicle ones, those office audits are usually smaller off audits with limited really, really a limited scope.

Steve Klitzner 10:13
When it’s a revenue agent, they come out to your house, your office. And when I represent people, they come to my office, they don’t go to my clients. And those are long audits. Those could go on for months and months.

Steve Klitzner 10:25
They’ll make an appointment to come to my office for two days. And then they get back to me with more information they want. So those could go on for a long time. It just depends what they’re looking for.

Steve Klitzner 10:38
But again, you know, They can say you owe a million dollars, but when we prove you don’t, you don’t. And if they don’t, if the auditor comes up with something that is wrong, we go to appeals. We usually settle it with appeals.

Steve Klitzner 10:55
If we can’t, we go to tax court and we resolve it with IRS counsel. Because the one thing about the IRS is, deep down, they don’t want the money if you don’t owe it. It’s just up to us to prove you don’t owe it.

Host 11:09
Yeah. And again, proving that you don’t owe it, though, does require a lot of documentation, doesn’t it?

Steve Klitzner 11:15
So you have to you have to line it all up and there can’t be any holes in the argument. And there’s some people at the IRS, no matter what you give them, they’re like Colombo.

Steve Klitzner 11:24
You know, oh, by the way, you know, how about this? And everything is is something else. And we’re just you know, in those cases, we usually get the manager involved to shut it down. But, you know, it just depends who we’re dealing with.

Steve Klitzner 11:38
But I’ll tell you this. that the majority of the auditors in South Florida and the Keys just want to get to the right result. We’re very fortunate here, unlike other parts of the country, and when we show them what’s right, we get it resolved.

Steve Klitzner 11:54
If I can’t and I speak to the manager, we get it resolved. If we have to go to mediation, we’ll get it resolved, and we’ll come to the number that’s correct.

Host 12:03
Well, and that’s why you’re called Florida Tax Solvers online, floridataxsolvers.com, the law office of Steven Klitzner, PA, 305-682-1118, that’s 305-682-1118.

Host 12:17
The whole process, honestly, does sound kind of intimidating at the very least. And again, having your expertise and backing on behalf of the taxpayer certainly is, I can’t imagine going any other way necessarily.

Host 12:32
So, Steven, anything else we should mention? The IRS audits, hopefully nobody is being subjected to that or will be, but chances are they will. Contacting you early in the process is the best option.

Steve Klitzner 12:45
It really is. You know, we can shut things down a lot quicker the earlier we get the case. If it’s too late, there’s always a solution, but as time goes on, your rights are a little more limited, and it’s a little harder to get to the right result, but ultimately we always do.

Host 13:02
And, you know, it’s not just that you lose weight, but the other thing about it is if you get a letter from the IRS, you’ll also be able to watch infomercials because you’ll be up all night watching TV.

Steve Klitzner 13:13
So you’re going to be sitting there starving with your eyes wide open. That’s not a good look.

Host 13:19
Living on coffee and that’s it.

Steve Klitzner 13:22
That’s about it.

Host 13:23
Not a good look at all. Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be an adversarial relationship with the IRS when you’re involved, because again, you have the relationship with the IRS already.

Host 13:33
So again, I think we’ve given a lot of justification to calling Steven Klitzner 305-688-1118 floridataxsolvers.com. Well, with all this talk of starvation, I think I’m going to go seek something for breakfast, unless there’s something else you’d like to mention to us at this time.

Steve Klitzner 13:51
I have one other thing. Have a great weekend and we’ll talk to you soon. Thank you again for having me.

Host 13:57
Yes, thank you, Stephen, for your insight here. I’m sure it’s very helpful to anybody who, well, you don’t even have to be facing an audit, but at some point you’re probably going to come in contact with the IRS and having Steven Klitzner in your corner is the best way to go.

Host 14:12
Steve, you have a wonderful weekend and we will talk again soon.

Steve Klitzner 14:15
Thanks again.

Host 14:15
All right, take care. Steven Klitzner, Tax Solvers at floridataxsolvers.com, 305-682-1118. Always enlightening conversation when we talk to Steven.

Host 14:26
It’s 8:52 now. Keys Talk, 969-1025, The Talk of the Keys. We’re back in a moment.