Getting a notice from the California EDD or IRS can be worrisome and stressful. What went wrong with your payroll filing? You may not have the answer you are looking for immediately, but a payroll tax audit attorney can make all the difference.
HELPING BUSINESSES WITH PAYROLL TAX AUDIT PROBLEMS
Don't worry if you are unfamiliar with the EDD's audit process. We can represent you at every stage and communicate with the IRS and EDD on your behalf. We work with the auditors across multiple cases; hence, we know how to handle even their most unreasonable demands.
We will negotiate with the IRS or EDD on your behalf to reach a favorable agreement. This may include negotiating a settlement or payment plan for unpaid taxes or disputing any discrepancies or errors found during the audit.
If you are unsatisfied with the audit's outcome, we can help you appeal the decision. We will gather the necessary paperwork and initiate a more powerful appeal without just restating the arguments made in your initial defense.
Running a business is not a bed of roses; occasionally, money gets tight. Once this happens, some businesses try to make ends meet by deducting money from the payroll tax withholdings. Although this money might be channeled to other uses like paying utilities and rent, it also attracts more debts and penalties. When this habit starts, it's tricky to get out of it, and bear in mind that the Employment Development Department (EDD) and IRS do not grant immunity to businesses using their payroll withholdings to remain operational.
This is not the only problem businesses have when it comes to payroll tax debt. Employers get into trouble with the EDD and IRS for classifying workers as "Independent contractors" instead of employees. The case ruling on Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles shows the EDD is becoming unforgiving when performing these investigations, which are basically worker re-classification audits. All the people you worked with in recent years could be subject to audits, resulting in massive liabilities for which you might be personally accountable.
Now, the most unfortunate thing is that there is no uniformity in enforcing some of these regulations. Most business owners want to follow the law and pay the correct amount of payroll taxes, but EDD gives a lot of discretion to their auditors, and the outcome seems to be a disorganized approach to enforcing the law.
Save your business trouble and money by getting informed from the start. Contact Brotman Law today and get professional help.
Our aim in the California payroll tax audit representation process, other than getting you the best possible result, is really about providing consistency and predictability to something that is highly susceptible to the whims of the individual auditor.
Managing risk for our clients in this area is about building confidence in how they are structuring their workforce and in making sure that they are paying the proper amount of tax.
Over the years, our largest grievance with the California state payroll tax audits has been their arbitrary and capricious application of harsh penalties and the way that they sometimes hide behind the CUIAB appeals process in pushing forward sloppy work.
Seeing potential penalties 5-6 in excess of the amount of tax owed and working hard at various levels of the state government to erase these penalties has caused us to rethink our approach to payroll tax audits.
We want to make sure that our clients are adequately informed about the risks associated with California payroll tax audits and adequately prepared to defend against that risk.
We have developed a system that is straightforward, easy to follow with the guidance of our team, and designed to get you out from under the audit as quickly as possible.
When you seek our help, you can rest assured that you are taking the right steps toward mitigating your payroll tax liability.
A payroll tax audit process is quite involving and requires a mastery of both the California EDD procedures and employment tax laws. We are knowledgeable in these fields and do not have to reinvent the wheel on IRS or EDD payroll tax audit defense.
We anticipate the effect of the EDD findings on your IRS tax returns and any modifications that may need to be made. You have peace of mind knowing that you're getting integrated representation across multiple disciplines.
We appreciate that no two businesses are the same when it comes to payroll tax audit representation. Thus, we listen and design strategies based on your needs.
Your first step in the process is to meet with our concierge team, who will collect some basic information that our senior legal team will use to sketch the four corners of your tax action plan. For any documents you wish to submit to us, our team will provide you with a customized link to upload your documents utilizing bank-level security.
The initial consultation is offered at no cost to you. It is our responsibility to analyze your situation and determine whether you are a good candidate to take the next step in our process. The last thing we would want is for you to invest in the tax action plan process and not get the most out of it.
After your initial diagnostic, our team will make an initial recommendation and connect you with our senior legal team or another resource to assist you.
We start the meeting knowing that there is something about your situation that has caused the State to target you for a Payroll tax audit. The ultimate goal of our meeting is to ascertain what put you on the radar and how to get you off it.
The advantage of a payroll tax audit vs. other types of audits is that the process for auditing returns is basically a straight formula.
1.Did you have the correct amount of taxable wages?
2.Did you pay the correct amount of tax?
3.Are there other items in your financials that should be reclassified as taxable wages (thus, you owe the government more tax)?
4.Do you have workers/independent contractors that should have been reclassified as employees (and thus you owe the government more tax)?
5.Based on your conduct, should the business be subject to penalties?
So, because we have the auditor's playbook, we can put you through a rough simulation of what you will experience in the audit. This is the best way to avoid liability because we can take a practice run examining areas where there might be potential risks and resolving issues before putting them in front of the auditor. By the end of the meeting, we will outline a full plan for your payroll tax audit defense and share our full recommendations with you.
After you sit down with Sam or our senior legal team, we will work to finalize your plan in writing and deliver it to you. There is no further obligation to us at this point, and your action plan comes with a full 100% money-back guarantee. If we do not deliver value for you, you do not pay for your plan: plain and simple.
But be rest assured, by having a plan, even without full representation, you will see a significant impact on the start of the audit, which will be critical in determining the outcome and maximizing your defense.
If you give us the go-ahead, we will begin implementing your customized plan. Actually, by the end of having us deliver their plan, most clients choose to retain us for some measure of services going forward. We are happy to be a role player and to serve as a guide, or we can take the audit off your hands and manage everything from beginning to end. It is entirely up to you.
We like to say in the firm that we are not in the habit of making decisions for people, but rather we try to provide enough information for business owners to make their own decisions. That is not to say that we leave you to do the heavy lifting (quite the contrary, our recommendations are usually precise and candid), but the control over the matter should always rest with the client. We always keep you in the loop and break things down step-by-step.
Set up a quick call with our firm's concierge to see if we'll be able to help you. The whole process will take 10 minutes or less. If your matter is urgent we will also help to expedite a meeting with Sam.
Tax law can be complex, confusing, frustrating, and even scary. We're here to help!
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, I must inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this website is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter contained in this website.
