What To Do If You Receive An IRS Audit Letter

On Behalf of the Law Offices of Sammy Kim

Updated October 6, 2026

An IRS audit letter can trigger panic fast.

That reaction is understandable. Most people are not thinking clearly when they open a notice that questions a tax return, requests records, or suggests the IRS believes something on the return does not match its information.

The problem is that panic leads to bad decisions. Some people ignore the letter. Some respond too quickly. Some start sending scattered records before they understand what the IRS is actually asking.

Quick Summary

• Open the letter and identify exactly what kind of notice it is.
• Confirm the tax year, the issue being questioned, the response method, and the deadline.
• Pull the filed return and the supporting records before you start explaining anything.
• Do not send multiple piecemeal responses just because you feel pressure to act immediately.
• If the issue involves business records, missing income, multiple years, or anything you do not fully understand, it may be time to get help before the response itself creates a bigger problem.

If I Received a Letter From the IRS in the Mail, What Should I Do First?

The first thing to do is open it and read it carefully.

That may sound obvious, but many taxpayers let IRS mail sit unopened because they are afraid of what it says. That delay rarely helps.

Before you do anything else, identify:

• the notice or letter number
• the tax year involved
• the specific issue the IRS is raising
• the deadline
• whether the matter is being handled by mail, through a meeting, or through another audit format

That basic review often lowers the emotional temperature because it separates the fear of “an IRS letter” from the actual work required by the notice.

Can My Accountant Help Me With My IRS Audit Letter?

Sometimes yes, but the answer depends on what the letter is really about.

If a CPA or accountant prepared the return, it usually makes sense to pull that person into the conversation early so you can review the filed return and the supporting records together. That can be especially helpful if the issue is narrow and document-based.

But some audit letters raise broader questions about strategy, classification, risk, and how much the taxpayer should say in response. In those situations, a tax attorney may add value beyond basic return preparation because the issue is no longer only accounting. It is representation.

How Will I Know if My Letter or Notice Is About a Tax Audit?

Not every IRS letter is an audit notice, but audit-related letters usually make it clear that the IRS wants to review something on the return.

The notice may question:

• filing status
• dependents
• deductions
• reported income
• business expenses
• information the IRS received from third parties

The letter should also point you toward the year under review and the next step expected from you. If you are still trying to identify what type of notice you have, start with sample IRS audit letters you might receive and how to respond.

How Will I Be Audited? Will the IRS Come to My House or Office?

That depends on the kind of audit.

There are a few common paths:

• Correspondence audit: handled primarily through written communication and mailed or uploaded records
• Office audit: handled through a meeting at an IRS office
• Field audit: handled in a setting such as your home, business, or another location where the IRS wants to review records more directly

Some audits remain tightly focused. Others become broader depending on what the IRS sees once documents start coming in.

That is why it is risky to assume the first question in the notice is the only issue in play.

What Documentation Do I Need to Send?

That depends on the reason for the audit, but it often includes whatever records support the line items or facts the IRS is questioning.

Examples may include:

• receipts
• canceled checks
• mileage logs
• bank statements
• employment records
• business records
• appraisals
• loan documents
• correspondence tied to the transaction or deduction

The right question is not just, “What do I have?” It is also, “What actually proves the point the IRS is challenging?”

If records are missing, you may need to contact banks, vendors, employers, charities, or other third parties for copies. A rushed submission of incomplete records can do more harm than taking a little time to build a cleaner response.

How Do I Write an IRS Audit Response Letter?

The response letter should be organized, disciplined, and directly tied to the notice.

At a practical level, it helps to include:

• your identifying information
• the tax year in question
• the notice number
• a direct response to each issue raised
• the supporting records attached to that response

What matters most is not sounding formal. What matters most is making the response easy to follow and difficult to misunderstand.

A weak response often:

• addresses only part of the notice
• includes records without context
• relies on memory instead of the filed return
• gives explanations broader than the taxpayer can prove

A strong response is usually complete, specific, and consistent with the return and the records.

What Will Happen if I Do Not Respond to an IRS Audit Letter?

Ignoring the letter can make the case much worse.

If the IRS does not receive a response, it may move forward based on the information it already has. That can mean:

• disallowed deductions
• proposed additional tax
• penalties and interest
• more notices
• a harder path to fixing the case later

That is why “doing nothing for now” is usually not a neutral choice. It often becomes a choice that gives the IRS the only complete version of the story in the file.

I Am Very Anxious About Receiving an IRS Audit Letter. Will It Help if I Write Multiple Letters in Response?

Usually no.

Taxpayers sometimes send multiple partial responses because they feel pressure to show cooperation quickly. But piecemeal responses can create confusion, split the story apart, and make it harder for the IRS reviewer to see a clear, organized explanation.

It is usually better to build one complete response that addresses the actual issues and attaches the right records together.

That is especially true if the case is more complicated than it first appears. If the audit touches a deduction issue, the article on an IRS letter questioning a deduction may help. If the issue overlaps with international reporting, see what to do if the IRS contacts you after a foreign gift or Form 3520 filing problem.

When It Makes Sense to Get Help

Not every audit letter requires a tax attorney. But some absolutely deserve a more careful strategy from the beginning.

That includes cases involving:

• significant amounts
• business deductions or self-employment issues
• missing income questions
• multiple tax years
• foreign-reporting concerns
• records that are incomplete or hard to explain
• a meeting or in-person review with the IRS

Sammy Kim works with taxpayers nationwide on federal tax issues, including audit and notice matters where the immediate question is clear but the underlying risk is not. In those cases, the value is often not just answering the letter. It is answering it without making the next phase worse.

Talk to a tax expert now. Book a consultation at vataxattorney.com or call (703) 202-1005.