IRS Audit Summons
Posted by Dean Alexander on Mon, Nov 02, 2009
The IRS has the power to summon taxpayers to appear before its representative along with their records. This is contrasted with a tax audit where your representative will meet with the IRS without your physical presence. In IRS summons, if you decided to comply with the summon you will have to appear personally before the IRS.
The question is: Do you have to comply with the summon when you receive the notice? The short answer is not necessarily. The court held that the summons is not self-enforcing, meaning that you don't have to voluntarily submit to the summon without a court order? Does the IRS have the power to enforce the summons through the court? The answer is yes.
For the IRS to enforce the summon, it has to comply with its administrative procedures among which is that it must not inconvenience taxpayer as to the date and the time (it cannot be on weekends for example.) Also the IRS should issue summons for records that it cannot obtain without the summon. So if you submit records to IRS you may render the summon as not needed.
The courts also held that the summons cannot be issued as a tool of harassment of taxpayers. Summons must not be also a means of criminal investigation. You must consult your tax attorney or representative before you respond to summons issued by IRS.