Atlanta IRS Audit Attorney

An audit defense is built on procedural discipline. The IRS controls the deadlines, the document requests, and the scope of the inquiry. Everything else is shaped by how the representative handles the file.

• Tax law exclusively: Every attorney at our firm works on tax matters. Audit defense is part of our core practice, not an adjacent area we occasionally touch.
• Former IRS Revenue Agent experience: Members of our team have conducted civil examinations from inside the agency and prepared the recommendation reports that drive the assessment. We know what an examiner is actually trying to establish, how the case file is built, and where the procedural pressure points sit.
• Advanced tax law credentials: Our attorneys hold LLMs in Taxation, United States Tax Court admission, and substantial federal court practice experience. Audit cases that escalate beyond IRS Appeals are handled by counsel already admitted to the courts, where they will be litigated.
• All audit types and forums: We represent clients in correspondence, office, and field audits, in eggshell and reverse-eggshell examinations, in IRS Wealth Squad / GHWIG matters, before IRS Appeals, and in the United States Tax Court.
• Atlanta and Norcross offices: Local presence for Georgia taxpayers with in-person and virtual consultations available.
• Strategic, not sympathetic: The IRS does not adjust its position based on how reasonable the taxpayer sounds. We build the legal and documentary record that actually moves the case at Appeals or in court.

We represent clients across the full range of audit exposure, from correspondence notices on a single line item to coordinated examinations of multi-entity enterprises.

• Individual taxpayers: W-2 filers facing audits of charitable contributions, business expenses, real estate losses, or other line items.
• Self-employed professionals: Schedule C filers under examination for income, deductions, or substantiation of business expenses.
• Independent business owners: Pass-through entities and small corporations responding to field audits of returns and books.
• High-net-worth filers and Wealth Squad targets: Taxpayers facing GHWIG / LB&I coordinated examinations covering personal returns, controlled entities, trusts, foundations, and foreign holdings.
• Real estate investors: Owners under examination for passive activity loss limitations, real estate professional status, or 1031 exchange treatment.
• Cryptocurrency holders: Taxpayers facing audits of digital asset transactions, exchanges, and reporting compliance.
• ERC claimants: Businesses under audit for Employee Retention Credit eligibility and substantiation.
• International filers: Taxpayers with FBAR, Form 8938, PFIC, CFC, or GILTI issues raised in examination.
• Non-filers under examination: Taxpayers facing audits combined with substitute-for-return assessments under IRC § 6020(b).
• Eggshell and reverse-eggshell defendants: Taxpayers whose civil audit carries criminal exposure or whose audit is being run as a parallel proceeding by IRS Criminal Investigation.

Different audit types follow different procedural tracks and call for different defense strategies. We represent Atlanta clients across the full range.

The IRS Wealth Squad: Global High Wealth Industry Group Examinations

For high-net-worth taxpayers, the IRS does not conduct a routine audit. The Global High Wealth Industry Group (GHWIG), part of the IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) Division, conducts coordinated examinations that look at the entire economic enterprise surrounding a wealthy individual. The personal return is the entry point, but the examination expands to controlled entities, related trusts and foundations, family limited partnerships, foreign holdings, and other components of the enterprise. The defense has to match the scale of the inquiry.

What Makes a Wealth Squad Audit Different

A GHWIG examination is staffed, scoped, and pursued differently from a standard audit. Recognizing those differences early is part of the defense.

• Coordinated team of examiners: The audit is staffed by multiple Revenue Agents working together across entities and tax years. The team often includes specialists such as international examiners, valuation specialists, engineers, and IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorneys.
• Enterprise-wide scope: The examination covers the individual’s personal return, controlled entities, related trusts and foundations, and foreign holdings. Issues raised in one return can produce adjustments across the enterprise.
• Technical positions reviewed in depth: Valuation discounts, related-party transactions, charitable contribution structures, captive insurance arrangements, conservation easements, and foreign reporting are common focus areas.
• Counsel involvement from early stages: GHWIG examinations are coordinated with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel earlier than most other audits, which means the legal questions are framed for litigation from the opening conference forward.
• Multi-year examination periods: Wealth Squad audits routinely cover three or more tax years simultaneously, with statute extensions sought aggressively.

Common Issues in Wealth Squad Examinations

The GHWIG team focuses on positions that produce substantial tax benefits and that have generated meaningful litigation history.

• Pass-through entity reporting: S-corporation and partnership K-1 items, including basis tracking, at-risk limitations, and passive activity rules.
• Valuation issues: Discounts for lack of marketability and lack of control on transferred interests, particularly in family limited partnerships and grantor trusts.
• International reporting: PFIC and CFC inclusions, GILTI calculations, FBAR filing, Form 8938 (FATCA) compliance, and Forms 5471 and 8865 for foreign entities.
• Charitable contributions: Conservation easements, art donations, and cryptocurrency contributions valued for charitable deduction purposes.
• Captive insurance: Section 831(b) captives and other structured insurance arrangements.
• Family office and management company structures: Whether arrangements meet the trade-or-business standard under Lender Management, LLC and related authority.
• Trust and estate coordination: Income reporting, distribution treatment, and grantor-trust status questions for trusts that hold significant enterprise assets.

GHWIG examinations require attorney-led defense from the opening conference. The procedural decisions made in the first weeks shape the case through Appeals and into any subsequent litigation.

• Privilege management: Attorney-client and work-product privileges have to be established and protected from the first document request forward. We coordinate document production through privilege review to prevent inadvertent waiver.
• Statute strategy: Form 872 extensions are routine in GHWIG cases. We evaluate each request against the underlying merits and the leverage the extension provides on either side.
• Coordinated professional team: Wealth Squad audits involve estate counsel, family office advisors, CPAs, valuation experts, and investment professionals. We coordinate the engagement to keep communications privileged where possible and to make sure the document production tells a consistent story across professionals.
• Issue framing for Appeals and litigation: Because GHWIG audits are litigation-coordinated from the start, the defense has to develop the legal arguments and factual record with Tax Court or refund litigation in view from the first IDR.
• Settlement vehicle selection: Fast Track Settlement, Pre-Filing Agreements, Compliance Assurance Process, and Advance Pricing Agreements are tools available in GHWIG matters that are not routinely used in standard audits. We evaluate which vehicle fits the specific issues raised in the examination.

What Happens at Each Stage of an IRS Audit

An audit is not a single event. It is a procedural sequence with specific deadlines, decision points, and forums at each stage. The defense changes shape as the case moves through the sequence.

Information Document Requests and Interviews

The audit begins with the IRS asking for documents and, in office and field audits, asking to speak with the taxpayer or representatives.

• Form 4564 IDRs: The Information Document Request is the primary mechanism for compelling production. Responses are produced on a defined schedule and become part of the case record.
• Scope limitations: IDRs frequently exceed the IRS’s statutory authority to compel, particularly under IRC § 7602. Narrowing the production is part of the defense.
• Interviews under IRC § 7521: The taxpayer has the right to representation, the right to suspend the interview to consult counsel, and the right to a recorded record. Most clients should not attend the interview at all when represented.
• Power of Attorney filings: Form 2848 channels all IRS communication through the representative. The client does not speak to the examiner directly once the form is on file.
• Document preservation: Once an audit begins, document destruction, even in the ordinary course of business, carries risk. We instruct clients on preservation requirements at the first meeting.

The Examination Report and the 30-Day Letter

When the examiner completes the audit, the IRS issues an examination report. The taxpayer’s window to act runs on the IRS calendar.

• Form 4549: The examination report sets out the proposed adjustments, the additional tax, and the applicable penalties.
• Form 870: Signing this waiver concedes the proposed adjustments and starts collection. Most cases should not be closed at the examination level without first evaluating Appeals.
• 30-day letter: The cover letter starts the 30-day window to file a written protest with the IRS Office of Appeals. The protest must meet specific content requirements under IRS procedures.
• Tax computations: Errors in the examiner’s calculations are common and should be addressed before any agreement is signed.

IRS Appeals

The IRS Office of Appeals is independent of the examination function. It is the forum where most contested audits are resolved.

• Hazards of litigation: Appeals Officers evaluate cases based on litigation risk, not on whether the examiner was right. That standard creates settlement room that the examination function does not have.
• Written protest: The protest frames the issues and the positions we present at the Appeals conference. It functions as the opening brief of the administrative case.
• Settlement authority: Appeals can settle on a percentage basis where the examination function cannot. The negotiated outcome often differs from what the examination report proposed.
• Fast Track Settlement: In some matters, an expedited Appeals process can resolve the case before the formal 30-day letter is issued, with an Appeals Officer mediating between the taxpayer and the examiner.

The Statutory Notice of Deficiency and Tax Court

If Appeals does not resolve the matter, or if the taxpayer chooses to bypass Appeals, the IRS issues a Statutory Notice of Deficiency. The procedural window narrows again.

• 90-day letter: The Notice of Deficiency starts a 90-day window to file a petition with the United States Tax Court. Missing the deadline forfeits pre-payment review.
• Pre-payment litigation: The Tax Court is the only federal court where a taxpayer can contest a deficiency without first paying the tax.
• Burden of proof: IRC § 7491 shifts the burden to the IRS in qualifying cases. The shift is fact-specific and requires affirmative establishment by the taxpayer.
• Refund alternative: Where the taxpayer has paid the assessment, refund litigation in federal district court or the Court of Federal Claims is the alternative forum.

Eggshell and Reverse Eggshell Audits: When Civil Crosses Into Criminal

The most dangerous IRS audits are the ones where the civil examination carries criminal exposure. In an eggshell audit, the taxpayer knows about facts the IRS does not yet know, including unreported income, fraudulent deductions, or other items that could support a criminal referral. In a reverse eggshell audit, the IRS already has criminal evidence and is using the civil examination to develop the record. The defense in either type is different from the defense in a routine civil examination, and the difference has to be identified at intake.

Indicators That an Audit May Have Criminal Exposure

Civil audits become criminal investigations through a referral from the examining Revenue Agent to IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). The referral is triggered by “badges of fraud” identified during the examination.

• Unreported income: Bank deposits substantially exceeding reported gross receipts, especially over multiple years.
• Cash transactions: Cash-intensive businesses with reported income that does not reconcile to observed lifestyle and assets.
• Foreign accounts: Undisclosed foreign accounts and the FBAR / Form 8938 compliance issues that surround them.
• Falsified documents: Receipts, invoices, or other supporting documents that appear to have been created or altered after the fact.
• Multiple tax years with similar issues: A pattern of underreporting that suggests willfulness rather than mistake.
• Lifestyle inconsistent with reported income: Net worth and expenditure analyses that produce a gap between reported income and observed standard of living.

How We Manage Eggshell Audits

The defense in an eggshell audit is built around resolving the civil matter without producing the admissions or documentary record that would support a criminal referral.

• Attorney-led representation from the start: CPAs and enrolled agents lack the attorney-client privilege that protects communications about criminal exposure. Engaging attorneys from the opening of the audit changes what is protected and what is not.
• Document production discipline: Documents produced during a civil audit are admissible in a criminal case if a referral is made. We review every production for documents that could supply evidence for a charge.
• Witness preparation: Statements made to a Revenue Agent in a civil audit can support both civil adjustments and criminal prosecution. Statements made to a Special Agent from CI are nearly always evidence in a criminal case.
• Kovel arrangements: Where accountants are needed for technical analysis, we engage them under Kovel agreements so their work falls within the attorney-client privilege rather than the narrower IRC § 7525 practitioner privilege.
• No volunteered disclosure of new issues: The civil audit is not the right forum to disclose previously unreported items unless that disclosure is made through the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice or another protected mechanism.

Reverse Eggshell Audits

Reverse eggshell audits are even more procedurally treacherous. The IRS already has evidence that supports criminal charges and is using the civil audit to develop additional evidence or to obtain admissions.

• Special Agent involvement: Visible CI presence in an examination, joint interviews, or parallel investigation indicators all signal a reverse eggshell.
• Targeted information document requests: IDRs that focus on specific transactions or time periods rather than general substantiation often signal a criminal-focused inquiry.
• Civil and criminal coordination: The defense requires parallel civil and criminal representation, and the civil strategy has to be calibrated against the criminal exposure.
• Right to remain silent: The Fifth Amendment applies in civil tax matters where testimony would be self-incriminating. We assert it where the facts warrant.

What a Successful IRS Audit Defense Looks Like

Audit outcomes range across a spectrum. A properly handled case aims at the strongest combination of substantive and procedural results that the facts support.

• No-change examination report: The audit closes with the return as filed and no additional tax assessed.
• Limited adjustments: Proposed adjustments narrowed to a fraction of the original IDR scope, with penalties eliminated.
• Penalty defense at Appeals: Reasonable cause and good faith defenses under IRC § 6664(c) that remove accuracy-related and other penalties even where adjustments remain.
• Negotiated Appeals settlement: Resolution at the Office of Appeals, reducing the assessment based on hazards-of-litigation analysis.
• Statute protection: Strategic management of Form 872 consents that prevents the IRS from expanding the examination window indefinitely.
• Tax Court resolution: Litigation outcomes that resolve the case before payment, whether by settlement on the docket or by ruling.
• Audit reconsideration: Reopening of closed audits where new evidence or procedural irregularities support reconsideration.
• Criminal referral avoided: In eggshell matters, a civil resolution that closes the file without a referral to IRS Criminal Investigation.

An IRS audit moves on the IRS calendar. The procedural windows close whether or not the taxpayer is ready. We represent clients at every stage these cases reach:

• Correspondence and office audits with full IDR response and substantiation strategy
• Field examinations, including representation at opening conferences and interviews
• Wealth Squad / GHWIG coordinated examinations with privilege management and litigation-aware issue framing
• Eggshell and reverse-eggshell audits where civil and criminal exposure coexist
• 30-day letter protests filed with the IRS Office of Appeals
• Tax Court petitions following a Statutory Notice of Deficiency
• Refund litigation in federal district court or the Court of Federal Claims
• Audit reconsideration where the case is closed, but new grounds support reopening

Tax law is the only thing we do. Every attorney on staff works on IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue cases daily, and our team includes former IRS Revenue Agents and attorneys with advanced tax credentials and U.S. Tax Court admission. That focus is the reason Atlanta taxpayers trust us with audits that have to be handled correctly from the opening letter forward.

Call (404) 609-1300 for a free consultation.