Are you Afraid To Talk to An IRS Agent?

If You Are Afraid To Talk To An IRS Agent, Here Are Top Reasons Why You Must Talk To An IRS Agent!

Don’t be afraid to talk to the IRS. IRS agents are human beings, not monsters. Canada Revenue Agents are no different, either.  And certainly not to be feared. They have no magical powers or torture chambers.

If you are afraid t talk to an IRS agent then you are not alone. Most business owners and companies fear an IRS audit. These fears are too often manifested by a lack of knowledge about the IRS themselves and the audit process they use. When you are chosen for an audit it is primarily because your write off amounts compared to your income or wages are excessive as compared to your other deductions.

For easy to understand deduction advice this book is excellent! Deduct It!: Lower Your Small Business Taxes

IRS Tax Tip:  For instance do you own a donut store and spent $5.00 on flour and $2,000.00 on office supplies? Did you write off your Valentine’s day dinner and gift to your wife? Do you go to the grocery store and write off the entire list of food items as “meals?” These are obvious examples, but they send red flags up in the air like fireworks to an IRS agent. And, Yes, you will get audited.

Here are more great big red flags to an IRS agent:

• High mileage
• High meals and entertainment
• One line item deduction for everything – Marketing, for instance, and no other deductions for anything else.
• Large donations
• Home business write offs of large amounts of space as compared to total square home footage

Business owners in the first 1-5 years of business are shown a bit more leniency in these areas, but if it’s not a legitimate write off, don’t take it.

Don’t avoid finding out what legitimate write-offs really are. And don’t be afraid to talk to an IRS agent. Spend an extra hour with your CPA every quarter – And pay them for their time. Some accountants are so excited to pass on this information that if you buy them a cup of coffee or lunch they will ‘spill their guts,’ to you about legitimate write off expenses.  This one hour can prevent the IRS Agent conversation from happening at all.  Savings = Gold

IRS gents operate primarily from paperwork correspondence. This helps them avoid expensive and time consuming audits. This also makes their response time much slower, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come looking for you at some point, either.

Know when you talk to an IRS agent that they have been given such negative publicity for unfriendly actions and behavior that they are now forced to operate in a different manner. So, being able to talk to the IRS agent was never better.  Having said that does not excuse you from bad behavior when you talk to an IRS agent.

What can you do to prevent having to face a fear of having to talk to an IRS agent?

• Keep records and receipts organized
• Document meetings, lunches and travel to help audit-proof yourself
• List all expenses from your petty cash into a legible format – Excel is fine
• Send your accountant to your audit in your place
• Defer questions you don’t know the answer to (because you aren’t the accountant), to your accountant or bookkeeper
• Get professional advice
• DOCUMENT
• DOCUMENT
• DOCUMENT
• Know the difference between Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion: Tax avoidance means you have legitimate deductions that won’t send you to jail, but may be mis-classified or over stated ‘accidentally.’ Tax evasion means you knew you were mis-representing your income and that you did it on purpose, and that it can be proven beyond a doubt.

Find out how to turn vacations into legitimate tax deductions. You can do that with documentation:

• Separate business from pleasure by sorting receipts according to purpose – Your lunch with a local business who needs your services (a hotel that uses a taxi service to pick up or drop off guests at the airport in your city and you own a taxi service). Get their card, their brochure and document your discussion with them. Do you also need to conduct research – parking, transportation, other meals may also apply, but your massage and tequila shooters will not.

Make sure you know and understand the difference. As a bookkeeper I often take calls late at night, but these calls may not be perceived as business, even though they are, and even though I can prove it, but sometimes it’s just not worth arguing about.

Are You Still Afraid To Talk To An IRS Agent?

Keep this one last thing in mind when you are Afraid To Talk To An IRS Agent:

“IRS agents have a job – Yes, however, they are also human beings. Behavior on your part that demeans them, challenges them or ignores their effort and energy will (often) result in a demonstration of their own due diligence to hard rules, and bad behavior.

Often negotiations break down because people fail to acknowledge them as human beings, but instead as whipping posts to be abused. Once tempers flare, the game is over – You lose.

Yes, send a professional in your place to handle an IRS audit, but take over the parts you can handle yourself, like phone calls to arrange the meetings, correspondence, copies of paperwork, . . . and anything else you can do.

You’ll cut costs with your accountant and glean some respect from an IRS agent in return. fI you get caught trying to answer a question and you really aren’t sure or do not know the answer – Say So and ask an IRS agent if they wouldn’t mind if you wrote that question down so that you can get them an answer at a later date – usually within 72 hours (or sooner). Write the question down, ask -also – if you can forward the question to your CPA to answer for you and if they ask you, “why” tell them because you were not prepared to answer that (particular) question at this time and you do not want to appear to be uncooperative or answer incorrectly and foolishly and waste their time.

So, if you find yourself having to return a phone call from an IRS agent, or are scheduled for an audit, buy yourself a bright and cheerful bouquet of flowers and place them within your line of vision, grab a special and flavorful cup of coffee, pick up the phone, make that call and smile out loud so that you project that into the phone and the person you are talking to.

Say, “Yes, please and No thank you,” often and above all – Do not resort to bullying tactics or name calling and be sure to keep the sighing out loud and the, “Sheesh,” “Oh Jeez,” “Oh Brother’s,” and, “!uc* You’s,” to yourself! When you are on the phone use sign language for that!

IRS agents are human and they will treat you nicely, but their rule of thumb is (as determined by experience and job requirement), “You First!” Make that phone call and do not be afraid to talk to an IRS Agent.

*  “Italicized content” is Reprinted from my own comment post on another accounting website article. I give myself permission to reprint my own words. You may not exercise that same luxury.

Get Results With An Effective Complaint Letter

Bad Service, Unethical Behavior, Lack of Accountability can really make a customer mad!  Don’t bother getting mad, that’s just a waste of time and energy.

Report problems to a head office and the Better Business Bureau and demand accountability.

Here’s How to write an effective complaint letter without saying a single four-letter word bomb.  Not only will you get satisfaction, but you’ll get results!

Just to repeat – Anger serves no purposes.  Profane and personally insulting complaint letters are normally dumped into the garbage can and you are going to be passed from pillar to post and treated like an uninformed  and uneducated leper.  In other words, you will not get satisfaction or even a timely resolution of your complaint or issue.  You may not even be acknowledged at all.

In the first 2-5 sentences of your initial contact with the company, describe what actually happened.  If you have tracking or order numbers, write those down.  Unclear and vague information only gets tossed.

State ONLY facts in your initial contact email or letter and in your stated information – Most companies only allow a limited space so make sure your words count!  Keep paragraphs short and packed with meaning.

Request a call back or email reply – List your contact information for this purpose.

Once your information is acknowledged, make a credible complaint that you may use for other things, like a Better Business Bureau Complaint.

Don’t Get Mad, Get Even With An Effective Complaint Letter

 1st Paragraph or Sentence of an effective complaint letter:

Thank the company for acknowledging your information.  Scream or yell if you want (in private), but when you start a letter with, “Thank-you,” it gets read in its entirety over 95% of the time.

 2nd Paragraph or Sentence of an effective complaint letter:

Explain why you are writing a second letter – Maybe the form you filled out was not long enough and you had other facts to state or other information to consider and could not fit it on the form.

3rd Paragraph or Sentenceof an effective complaint letter:

Explain the costs to you associated with the mistake or poor customer service.  Explain the results of what came about as a result of the, “service” you received (or lack of service).

4th Paragraph or Sentence of an effective complaint letter:

Do not explain, but instead, tell the company what you want to see as a result of your experience with them.

5th Paragraph or Sentence of an effective complaint letter:

Tell them off and keep the nasty words all to yourself.  Explain what it costs them in real dollars when customer service takes a back seat.  Companies just think you are stupid when you resort to foul language and screaming tactics, but they understand it when money talks . . . and WALKS away from their business. Explain that in a way they understand – in  terms of Lost revenue and customer loyalty.

Ending or Closing Salutation of an effective complaint letter:

Thank them again – And sign your name.  You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.  Companies are no different.  Act like a professional and you will be treated like one.  Act like a screaming idiot and you will be treated like one.

EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT LETTER EXAMPLE:

Thank you for your reply, Name of Company or Representative

Yours is the first and only civil response I have had from Name of Company.  Up until this point, I had to prove absolutely that the shipment was not delivered correctly and as a customer I deeply resent that.  As a business owner, I find your customer service deplorable and severely lacking in customer training, moral credibility and ethical accountability.

This misadventure absorbed the time of myself and two other families, plus two businesses, which results in a trickledown effect of time and money.  Not to mention the fact that it was a special birthday for two children whose gifts were mis-delivered and then lied about.

I am not only disappointed, I am disgusted and I want my money back for this delivery that was never delivered at all by Name of Company, but instead by a concerned – and HONEST – innocent victim of Name of Company whose doorstep just happened to be listed as, “Delivered package on doorstep.”

I have been in business long enough to know that this lack of training and credibility will cost you – literally – thousands in gross errors and business dollars.  I hope that these issues are looked at more closely as a result of this delivery catastrophe and that some training and accountability issues are addressed as well.  You have lost a customer permanently as a result of this.  One dissatisfied customer will tell 20 people about their experience, who will tell 20 more . . . .  One satisfied customer will tell 5 people and you will receive 5 referrals.  That is how business works.

Thank you,

Mischelle Watkins

___________

Update – UPS phoned us this morning and apologized.  They are going to investigate our issue and are using it as a training opportunity for staff.  The person I spoke with was courteous, helpful, apologetic and empathetic.  In truth, that was everything I hoped for.  In this instance they went above and beyond the highest level of customer service to acknowledge and rectify our experience.  After that telephone conversation I must remove myself from the, “One dissatisfied customer will tell 20 people about their experience, who will tell 20 more . . . .  ”

And place myself back in the category of – “One satisfied customer will tell 5 people and you will receive 5 referrals.”

If you are curious how I got this companies attention – This was my initial contact email to their head office: You bet I was MAD!

“My next post for our websites is going to have this title: “UPS RIPS OFF COMPANIES AND CUSTOMERS” I will tweet it to all of our Twitter followers.”

I don’t care if I get what I asked for.  I did what I said I was going to do and that, my friends, is just plain, Good Customer Service, in the form of an effective complaint letter!

Fraud Sucks, but when VISA-MasterCard Fraud happen to you -

Here at MischelleWatkins.com I received a valuable VISA-MasterCard Fraud SCAM ALERT that I want to pass on to you.

The information on this particular VISA-MasterCard Fraud scam can be verified on Snopes.com.

What makes it particularly disturbing is how frequently VISA-MasterCard Fraud is being used successfully.

I have copied and pasted this nearly word for word from my email so that I do not miss any important details you may need to know.

Please pass this warning on to your friends and family!  It is a timeless rendition os a VISA-MasterCard Fraud scam that happens over and over through generations.

Visa-MasterCard Fraud:

Please be aware and very careful who you provide your credit card info to!

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want..

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; They already have it.

This information is worth reading because by understanding how the VISA-MasterCard Fraud telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of my friends employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA’, and he was called on Thursday from ‘MasterCard’.  24 hours ago another friend was called from Microsoft using this same scam!

This is how the VISA-MasterCard Fraud Scam Works:

Person calling says:  ”This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460 . . . ,

Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank).

Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona ?”

When you say, “No”, the caller continues with,

“Then we will be issuing a credit to your account.

This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards.”

“Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?”

You say, “yes”.

The caller continues – “I will be starting a VISA-MasterCard Fraud Investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number.”

The caller then gives you a 6 digit number and then says,  ”Do you need me to read it again?”

Here’s the IMPORTANT Part on how the VISA-MasterCard Fraud Scam Works:

The caller then says, “I need to verify you are in possession of your card.”  He’ll ask you to, “turn your card over and look for some numbers.”

There Are 7 Numbers

• The first 4 are part of your card number
• The last 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card.

These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card.

The caller will ask you to,  . . . “Read the last 3 numbers to them (him or her).” After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, “That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card.  Do you have any other questions?”

After you say, “no,” the caller then thanks you and states,  . . . “Don’t hesitate to call back if you do . . . “, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number.

But after my friends were called on Wednesday, they called back. . . within 20 minutes to ask a question, and boy are they glad they did!

The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a VISA-MasterCard Fraud Scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to their card.  Our friends made a real VISA-MasterCard Fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing them a new number.

What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them.

Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation.

The real VISA told our friends that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information – Since they issued the card!

If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit; however, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and-or more difficult – to actually file a VISA-MasterCard Fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, Our friend got a call from a ‘Jason Richardson of MasterCard’ with a word-for-word repeat of this VISA-MasterCard Fraud Scam.

This time he didn’t let the caller finish.  He hung up!  Then he filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.

Fraud Prevention Techniques for Credit Card Fraud

The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!

Police urged our friends to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Our friends dealt with a similar situation again – just this morning, with the caller telling him that $3,097 had been charged to his account for plane tickets to Spain, and so on through the above routine.

It appears that this Is a very active VISA-MasterCard Fraud Scam, and evidently quite successful.

Don't Get Caught With Your Pants Down! Beware the VISA-MasterCard Fraud

Helpful Bookkeeping Tips

BOOKKEEPING TIPS:

Use Bookkeeping Tips To Help You In An Audit

Audit bookkeeping tips tells you – Don’t lump all your expenses into one category like “Marketing,” Use several other categories too.

Red flags go up when you only have two (2) office expenses in your business – “Office Expenses and Marketing expenses,” for instance.

What else can you list an expense under?

Not only will you benefit from expanding your knowledge, but you will see where you were missing legitimate deductions you weren’t taking before.

Bookkeeping Tips:  Use a bokkeeping Journal, or examine your chart of accounts on your accounting software, or get a good book and ask your accounting professional to have a cup of coffee with you to go over a few bookkeeping tips on your tax notes with you!

Audit flag – A business that produces donuts and lists $2,000.00 under ‘Office Supplies’ and $10.00 under ‘flour.’  Same rule applies to internet marketing with only expenses under ‘marketing.

Bookkeeping Tips – Research and development, printing and reproduction, postage and delivery, . . .

BOOKKEEPING TIPS:  Bookkeeping Tips to Avoid Theft – Never disclose full account numbers on a computer accounting system.  

If you have online access to your computer, you run the risk of hackers getting your confidential information.  When entering your bank account into your chart of accounts for QuickBooks – Only enter the last 4 account numbers – For instance, pick “New Account”  then pick “Bank” then enter your new account on the account name line as:  ”8367-USA Bank”

Bookkeeping Tips – Entering the numbers first  speeds up your data entry too!

Bookkeeping For Dummies	Dome 612 Monthly Bookkeeping Record with Tan Cover and 128 Pages, 11 x 8-1/2 Inches, Wirebound

BOOKKEEPING TIPS: Bookkeeping Tips That Pay Kids

Take advantage of paying kids for age appropriate tasks – as early as birth!  

Use them as models in your website videos and pay them as models.  

You can put away $600.00 a year for their college or first car – TAX FREE, and if you double whammy that by using a medical savings account – fabulous!

Five-years-old is NOT too early to begin teaching kids about money-This is a HUGE benefit for them if they already have $3,000 in a bank account that they can watch grow and monitor-with your help!

Bookkeeping Tips:  Bookkeeping Tips to help you stay Audit Proof

You may need to defend your deductions to the IRS.  Stay Prepared.

For example, If you’re having an open house or party, Have your invitation printed so that it states your business reason – “XYZ Company anounces New Product Launch.”

Take some pictures of your guests inspecting your new product, or even a video.

Have each guest write their name in your guest book or instead, you can even monitor and track your RSVP information so that you can prove a correct and accurate distribution of expenses between employees, independent contractors (IC’s), clients, and potential clients.

And make sure you list family members and friends who will not all be deductible – Unless you use them as caterers and wait persons or host/hostess/greeters/ribbon cutters . . .

Bookkeeping Tips – See if you qualify for these Tax Shelters!

Bookkeeping Tips – Not all deductions qualify for 100% write off – Know what those are – For instance, meals expenses are usually deducted at 50% of the total cost of the meal.  Certain restrictions can either increase that write-off to 100%, or decrease it to 0%.  Ask your accounting professional for bookkeeping tips and advice on the best uses of your expenses for your specific business entity, business structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, . . . ) and your money.

Bookkeeping Tips – For Deals and Bargains, go where bookkeepers and accounting professionals go!

BEST BUY Has Electronics, Photography, Computers, Office Products, Gifts, Furniture . . .

There is no way to get around the fact that QuickBooks is used by over 80 Percent of the tax paperwork industry.

↓ QuickBooks USA!  ↓

↓ QuickBooks Canada! ↓

Bookkeeping Tips used wisely can save you thousands of dollars.

Mischelle Watkins.com on How to Start your own Home Internet Business

Don’t get left behind in starting your own home internet business!

The best advice MischelleWatkins.com can give you in this economy begins right HERE with this home internet business article.

Take a read and get back over here to find out what tools you need for your own home internet business.

There are plenty of tips and tools to get you started on your own home internet business at Maximum Marketer where you’ll find valuable information on internet marketing and home internet business article SEO tips.

If you haven’t heard all the buzz words yet then you won’t be surprised to find out that these are the ones most people search for when they become curious about starting their own home internet business:

Knowing why I chose the list above for home internet business keyword examples is important – you’ll find out why if you read the article and information on SEO at MaximumMarketer.com

You bet this is a down economy  . . . And it’s going to keep going downhill for a bit, too.  You may not see a better opportunity to make your personal plan to get ahead than – RIGHT NOW.

Why is this THE BEST time to start your own internet marketing business – For that EXACT reason – You get so many more opportunities to make mistakes AND LEARN FROM THEM, and make some more before you become a success.

Directly from the article . . . “Thousands of folks plan to begin a Home based internet business every single day. Most will give up just after just one or two months immediately after investing 1,000′s of dollars on numerous affiliate products.

The main reason these folks will fall short with their desire creating wealth at home will boil right down to one truth. They become overwhelmed and give up.

They get stopped dead in their tracks by inactivity – By not producing products and taking advantage of promotional opportunities through social networks and a lack of education about what to do – Good education, not the hype . . . “

Work at Home Now: The No-nonsense Guide to Finding Your Perfect Home-based Job, Avoiding Scams, and Making a Great Living

Don’t be fooled.  A Home Internet Business is a business of hard work, tenacity and determination.  It’s a place where the first person ‘there,’ wins.  A home internet business is no business for the feint of heart or for the people who give up easy.  Failure is only for people who want to get ahead and desire financial freedom.

Get over there, read the article, grab some tips and get started!  I’ll see you back here at MischelleWatkins.com when you are finished reading for bookkeeping tips on starting your own business!  Start your own home internet business – Today.

Q - Will I Work My Ass Off With My Home Internet Business? A - YES!