• The Internal Revenue Service is an enforcement agency that investigates all the financial crimes that happen in the United Kingdom. Keep reading to know what exactly is an IRS investigation and how you can know if you are being investigated by the body.
 

Tax InvestigationWhat is an IRS Tax Investigation?

The Internal Revenue Service conducts criminal tax investigation on all the cases that they find suspicious for tax evasion or tax fraud. These investigators might interview your friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, bankers, accountant, and all the other persons that are found to be linked to your finances. If found guilty, the IRS imposes hefty fines and imprisonment of five years for each count.  

How long does an IRS investigation take?

There is a defined time limit of three years, starting from the due date of the return or the date when you file the tax, for the IRS to charge or assess you if they find something suspicious in your audit. However, the IRS training guide asks them to finish the investigation within twenty-six months, that is, well before the time limit. But, if there turns out to be tax fraud, the IRS has no time limitations to investigate the case and charge the criminal.

The length of the investigation is primarily based on the type of audit:

  • Mail audits are generally the quickest of the three where the audit is sent by mail. In such cases, the IRS sends a notification within seven months of filing and finishes the case in just three to six months.

  • Office audits are dealt with in the IRS office itself. Investigation for such audits starts within a year of filing and lasts for up to six months. Due to manual processing, sometimes, these audits may get delayed.

  • Field audit investigations take the longest as it involves an in-depth analysis of your financial records, right at your home or business. The IRS notifies such audits within a year of the filing, and the case takes about a year to get wrapped up.

 

How to know if you are being investigated by the IRS?

It’s quite tricky to figure out if you’re being eyed upon by the IRS, but there are a few signs that can help you to judge that in the early stages of the investigation. The biggest clue for this is if an IRS agent, who has been pursuing you or requesting you to pay your IRS tax, suddenly disappears or even stops responding to your calls and asking for information. Another sure sign that the IRS is looking into your financial records is if your bank informs you that the CID has asked for your records. Also, if your account has been contacted by CID and asked to submit your tax records, this might be an indicator of an ongoing investigation.

That’s when you know that they have found your records to be suspicious, and now they have put things on pause to investigate your case clearly. If such is the case, you must contact a tax attorney as soon as possible.