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Tax Audits

Regardless of your level of business savvy, no one likes the idea of a tax audit. For even the most sophisticated of business people, audits are a headache and hassle, introducing potential stress and distraction into your life. They are often complicated and time consuming, as you must be prepared to offer sufficient substantiation for your expenses and deductions, as well as explaining the nature of your income.

While some people contemplate retaining representation to assist them at a tax audit, they may question whether they should seek the assistance of a Los Angeles tax audit attorney or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). By retaining the Ben-Cohen Law Firm, you do not need to choose, as we provide our clients with the unique skill sets of a tax attorney and a CPA. Attorney and CPA Pedram Ben-Cohen has extensive large-firm experience handling sophisticated tax matters and is also a Certified Taxation Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Having this special kind of a resource on your side not only offers you reassurance, but also the potential for making a substantial difference in the ultimate outcome you receive from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or other taxing authority.

Our tax lawyers assist our clients at all stages of a federal tax audit. An IRS tax audit may occur by mail or may involve an in-person interview and review of your tax records. Our full-service audit representation not only includes representing you before the IRS, but also, if the audit yields an unfavorable result, handling your protest before the IRS appeals office. If you still have not achieved an acceptable result, we can also present your case before the United States Tax Court, as well as federal trial and appellate courts. Additionally, our firm handles state tax audits. Our tax audit attorneys represent Los Angeles clients and others before various state and local entities such as the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization and the Employment Development Department.

Issues That may Trigger a Tax Audit

There are several common issues that could potentially trigger an audit.

  1. You claim large deductions compared to the industry’s average and your salary is low.
  2. You use round numbers.
  3. You made a math error or typo.
  4. Your tax return is missing information from forms received by the IRS, like Forms 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-B, and W-2.
Helping Our Clients Achieve Favorable Results for Tax Audits

At the Ben-Cohen Law Firm, our goal is to obtain a favorable result for our clients through the most focused and efficient means possible. We work closely with our clients to develop an audit strategy, complete with establishing the outcome our clients seek. We then strive to manage the audit and craft a settlement or, when necessary, an administrative hearing and judicial resolution, to obtain that desired result.

If you reach a result with the IRS that requires you to pay, and that amount exceeds what you are able to pay, our Los Angeles firm of tax audit lawyers can assist you in preparing an offer in compromise to the IRS. An offer in compromise, which is an agreement between you and the IRS to settle your tax debt for an amount less than what you owe, may receive approval by the IRS if: (1) uncertainty exists around the amount of your debt or your obligation to pay, (2) your financial situation creates uncertainty about whether you can pay the full debt, or (3) the IRS finds your case sufficiently compelling to warrant compromise. Our firm can help you make convincing arguments to the IRS as to why it should agree to a settlement.

If you have received notice that you are being audited, contact the tax attorneys at the Ben-Cohen Law Firm. Our Los Angeles tax audit lawyers can help you at every step to ensure the best possible outcome of your audit.

Client Reviews
I approached Mr. Ben-Cohen regarding a pending case with the State of California and my small business. During a time that was quite stressful, I found Mr. Ben-Cohen to be the perfect person to represent me and my company. He communicated with me in clear terms so that I understood everything that was taking place in a timely manner. He treated my situation with the type of candor you only find in a consummate professional and successfully negotiated a deal with the State of California that far exceeded my expectations. I found him to be kind, efficient, sensitive and nothing short of brilliant. I consider myself fortunate to have met him and highly recommend his services. I will not hesitate to use his firm in the future should a need arise. Google, We Care Spa
★★★★★
I am an international tax advisor and have worked with Pedram on more than a dozen difficult and challenging cases. Pedram's clients and fellow advisors highly respect him because he has an uncanny ability to quickly identify and work diligently to resolve his clients' issues. Pedram is pragmatic in his approach. He is transparent with his clients and dedicated to getting to a fair and reasonable outcome. I have attended an IRS Appeals conference with Pedram and would want no other attorney on my side. Pedram is extremely passionate in his work and representing his clients. He is also enjoyable to work with and develops very good relationships with his clients and fellow advisors. I highly recommend Pedram for any tax controversy work. Avvo, Curt
★★★★★
Top Drawer Tax Fraud Lawyer. Pedram got me out a CI jam I thought I would not resolve. He is also fair and reasonable with his billing. I interviewed 4 top Tax Fraud Lawyers in LA and went with Pedram...Glad I did! Google, Michael Jeppson
★★★★★
Pedram Ben-Cohen at Ben-Cohen Law Firm, PLC is one of the most incredible, creative, and caring attorneys I have ever dealt with. He gave us hope but also gave us the reality and worst case scenario. He fought for us tooth and nail. The attention and time Pedram put into the case was like no other. He charged us more than fair and was very reasonable in every aspect. He is not the kind of attorney that charges for every minute. I liked him very much not only as an attorney but as a person because he is very honest, is true to his integrity, and is dedicated to his clients. He loves what he does and has the passion to protect and defend his clients, which totally shows in his work and our outcome. We originally hired another attorney from a famous firm who basically did not give us much hope on our case . That is when we came to Pedram who won our case in a short amount of time and got us the outcome we were looking for. Because of Pedram and his creativeness, willingness, and dedication, he got us our favorable outcome. He is our go to attorney for sure, without a doubt. Avvo, Anonymous
★★★★★
A few years ago I had a major tax problem and I was looking for the right professional tax lawyer. I interviewed at least five experts and all of them were very professional. I am very picky. When I met Mr. Pedram Ben-Cohen, it took me no more than five minutes to decide that he was the one, and I was absolutely right with my intuition. He is very professional, knowledgeable, smart, and knows his job perfectly. In addition to all of his professional skills, as a person he is very friendly, pleasant, ready to help, and took care of me like I was his own family. I referred and recommended him to friends and family with tax problems and will continue to do so warmly to anyone. I know that he is able and will do his job the best way for his clients. He is my personal tax lawyer and expert and will remain so. Google, Shlomo Kattan
★★★★★
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