A letter that says your tax return has been selected for examination rarely uses the word audit, and that is often the first thing that throws people off. The letter looks routine, sometimes it just asks for copies of a few documents by mail, and it is easy to assume it can be handled alone with a folder of receipts. Some audits really are that simple. Many are not, and the gap between the two usually comes down to who is standing next to the taxpayer once the IRS starts asking questions.

What an IRS audit notice actually means

The IRS runs three kinds of audits, and the letter itself tells you which one landed on your desk. A correspondence audit happens entirely by mail. The IRS asks about one or two items on a return, usually a deduction or a credit, and wants copies of specific records back within a set number of days, typically 30. An office audit asks the taxpayer to bring records to a local IRS office and sit down with an examiner face to face. A field audit is the most involved of the three: a revenue agent visits a home or business and reviews books, records, and sometimes the property itself. The type of audit does not change who is allowed to represent you, but it does change how much a representative is likely to matter. A correspondence audit over a $400 deduction is a very different situation than a field audit covering several years of a small business’s returns, and the stakes shape how much help is worth bringing in.

Who is allowed to represent you before the IRS

Three types of professionals can formally represent a taxpayer in front of the IRS: a CPA, an enrolled agent, and a tax attorney. Each one earns that authority a different way. A CPA is licensed by the accountancy board of whatever state they practice in, and tax work is one of several areas a CPA can choose to focus on alongside auditing and general accounting. An enrolled agent is licensed directly by the IRS rather than by any state. Earning that license means passing a three part IRS exam covering individual returns, business returns, and IRS practice and procedure, and it means an enrolled agent’s entire practice is built around federal tax law specifically. A tax attorney is licensed by a state bar, which means they can also handle the legal side of a dispute, such as arguing a position in Tax Court, drafting a formal written protest, or handling a case that could turn into a criminal referral. All three can sit across the table from an IRS examiner during an audit itself. The real difference shows up in what happens before that meeting and, more often, in what happens after it.

What Form 2848 does and why skipping it causes problems

None of those three credentials means anything to the IRS on a specific case until a taxpayer signs Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. That form tells the IRS exactly who is authorized to receive notices, request transcripts, and speak on the taxpayer’s behalf for a named tax matter and specific tax years. Without a properly filed 2848, an IRS examiner will not discuss the case with anyone but the taxpayer, no matter how qualified that person’s CPA or attorney happens to be. This is one of the most common reasons an audit stalls: a taxpayer hires help, assumes the hiring itself transferred the case, and then keeps getting letters mailed straight to their own home because the paperwork authorizing the representative was never filed, or was filled out for the wrong tax year, or listed the wrong type of tax. Filing that form correctly is one of the first things PFGTAX checks when a new audit case comes in, and it is usually handled within a day of the first call to 888.572.2179.

The rights you keep during an audit no matter who represents you

IRS Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, spells out a set of protections that apply whether a taxpayer shows up alone or brings a CPA, an enrolled agent, or an attorney. A taxpayer has the right to know why the IRS is asking for specific information and what happens if it is not provided. A taxpayer has the right to representation at any point during an audit, and can stop an interview to consult with a representative even if the interview has already started. A taxpayer can also make an audio recording of an in-person interview, as long as the IRS is notified in writing at least 10 days ahead of time. None of these rights require hiring anyone, but most people do not know they have them until they are already sitting across from an examiner, which is part of why having someone in the room who deals with the IRS regularly changes how the meeting goes even before a single document is reviewed.

What an unlicensed preparer can and cannot do in an audit

A large share of tax returns are prepared by someone who is not a CPA, an enrolled agent, or an attorney. Many simply hold a PTIN, the preparer tax identification number required to file returns for pay, without any of the three credentials behind it. Those preparers have limited representation rights. Under IRS rules, an unenrolled preparer who holds a current Annual Filing Season Program record of completion can represent a client only in front of IRS employees such as revenue agents and customer service representatives, only for a return that preparer personally prepared and signed, and never in front of the Independent Office of Appeals, in collections matters, or in Tax Court. If a return was prepared by someone who does not even hold that record, that preparer generally cannot represent the taxpayer in an audit at all, even for the exact return they filed.

Why the person who prepared your return is not automatically the person who should defend it

There is a real argument for keeping the original preparer involved in an audit. They already know why certain numbers were chosen and can explain the reasoning behind a position instead of reconstructing it from scratch months or years later. There is also a real limit to that arrangement worth knowing about ahead of time. Conversations with a CPA or an enrolled agent do not carry the same protection as conversations with an attorney. A taxpayer’s discussions with a lawyer are generally covered by attorney-client privilege, with narrow exceptions for ongoing or planned crimes. A taxpayer’s discussions with a CPA or enrolled agent are not covered by that same privilege, and in a criminal tax matter, they receive no privilege protection at all. When an audit starts touching on something that could turn criminal, such as income the IRS believes was left off a return on purpose, bringing in an attorney to lead the case changes what stays confidential and what does not.

What happens if the audit does not go your way

An audit that ends with the examiner proposing changes is not the end of the process. A taxpayer who disagrees can request a conference with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, a separate branch that had no role in the original audit decision. If that does not resolve things, the next step is court, and this is where the three credentials stop being interchangeable. Any of the three can help prepare a case for court, but only an attorney can represent a taxpayer in U.S. District Court, where the taxpayer has to pay the disputed tax first and then sue for a refund against the Department of Justice rather than the IRS. In U.S. Tax Court, a taxpayer does not have to pay first, and while a CPA or enrolled agent can technically represent someone there, they have to pass a separate Tax Court admission exam that most CPAs and enrolled agents never sit for. In practice, most people who take an audit dispute all the way to court end up working with a tax attorney at that stage, even when a CPA or enrolled agent handled everything up to that point.

What happens if you ignore the notice or try to go it alone

Ignoring an audit letter does not make it go away. If the requested records never arrive, the examiner proposes an adjustment based only on the information already on file with the IRS, and that almost always favors the government’s numbers over whatever the taxpayer’s actual records would have shown. That proposed adjustment turns into a Notice of Deficiency, sometimes called a 90 day letter, which starts a strict 90 day window to petition Tax Court before the proposed bill becomes final and collectible. Handling a straightforward audit alone is not against any rule, and plenty of simple, one-item correspondence audits get resolved that way every year. The risk grows along with the complexity of the return and the size of what is at stake, since an examiner who is not getting a clear, complete answer tends to keep expanding the scope of what they are looking at rather than closing the file.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real difference between a CPA, an enrolled agent, and a tax attorney for an audit?

A CPA is licensed by a state accountancy board and often splits time between tax work and general accounting or audit work. An enrolled agent is licensed by the IRS itself after passing a three part federal exam and works exclusively on tax matters. A tax attorney is licensed by a state bar and is the only one of the three who can handle matters that turn legal, such as a criminal referral or a case in federal court. Call PFGTAX at 888.572.2179 and we can walk through which one fits your specific audit.

How much does IRS audit representation cost?

Cost depends on the type of audit, how many tax years are involved, and how complicated the underlying return is. A one item correspondence audit costs far less to handle than a multi-year field audit of a business. There is no honest flat number that applies to every case, and any firm that quotes one before seeing your notice is guessing. PFGTAX reviews the actual notice and the return before naming a price, so call 888.572.2179 and ask for a straight answer on your situation.

How long does an IRS audit take?

A correspondence audit resolved by mail often wraps up in a few months if the requested records go back promptly and completely. An office or field audit involving multiple years or a business can run considerably longer, sometimes a year or more, especially if the examiner keeps requesting additional records. The timeline mostly depends on how complete and how fast the first response is. For a realistic estimate on your specific notice, call PFGTAX at 888.572.2179.

What happens if I do not respond to an audit letter at all?

The examiner moves forward using only the information already available to the IRS, which typically produces a higher balance than a return that included your side of the story would have. That determination can turn into a Notice of Deficiency with a firm 90 day deadline to petition Tax Court before it becomes final. Staying quiet does not make an audit disappear, it just removes your input from the outcome. If a notice has already gone unanswered for a while, PFGTAX can look at where the case stands. Call 888.572.2179.

What documents does my representative actually need from me for an audit?

At minimum, a signed Form 2848 giving them authority to talk to the IRS on your behalf, a copy of every audit notice you have received, the tax return and supporting schedules for the year under examination, and the specific records the IRS letter asked for, such as receipts, bank statements, mileage logs, or 1099s. Missing paperwork can often be reconstructed, so do not wait to call just because a folder is incomplete. PFGTAX can help sort out what is actually needed once we see the notice; call 888.572.2179.

If you got a letter from the IRS about an audit, do not wait for the next one to show up before deciding what to do. Call PFGTAX at 888.572.2179 and talk with someone who can look at your specific notice, tell you what stage the audit is at, and lay out what happens next. The sooner PFGTAX is on the file, the more of these options are still open.

This article is for general information only. It isn’t legal, accounting, or tax advice, and reading it doesn’t create a client relationship with PFGTAX. Every tax situation is different. Talk with a licensed tax professional about your specific circumstances before acting on anything here.