Facing a Georgia Sales Tax Audit? Protect Your Business and Your Rights.
If your business has received a notice of sales or use tax audit, you aren’t alone. The Georgia Department of Revenue has ramped up sales tax audit efforts in the last few years, leaning on technology that cross-checks information and looks for inconsistencies. Even if your business is fully compliant with all sales tax requirements, you could get caught in the crosshairs if your numbers are significantly outside your industry’s average.
At Wiggam Law, we help Georgia business owners work through the audit process by preparing ahead of time, addressing potential issues, and navigating negotiations with the DOR. Whether you just found out that you’re being audited or the DOR has already proposed a post-audit tax assessment, we can help.
What’s at Stake: Why Sales Tax Audits Are So Serious
Georgia Department of Revenue audits are triggered by a variety of issues. To start, you could be randomly selected for an audit. However, most audits are the result of discrepancies or red flags. Discrepancies between state and federal tax filings, missing exemption certificates, and data irregularities that put you well outside the norm for other businesses in your industry can all cause the DOR to look a little closer.
Additionally, there are industries that are at greater risk of sales tax errors. These include high-volume, cash-based businesses like restaurants, retail stores, and contractors.
If an audit goes poorly, there’s a lot at stake. The DOR has the legal authority to assess new taxes and bill you for them. In addition, you’ll be charged interest and penalties for the unpaid amount. Should a business refuse to pay, the DOR may place a lien on your assets, offset refunds and apply them to your tax bill, hold you personally liable for the taxes, and levy your assets. They can even revoke your sales tax certificate, completely halting your income.
Even honest mistakes, like misclassifying transactions or missing invoices, can lead to significant tax assessments that can derail your business’s financial stability. That’s why working with a Georgia sales and use tax audit attorney from the very beginning is incredibly important.
How a Georgia Sales Tax Audit Works
Knowing what to expect from a Georgia sales tax audit may minimize your anxiety and help you move through the process more smoothly. Your typical sales and use tax audit will unfold in a few different stages:
- Audit notice: The DOR sends an official notice informing you of its intent to audit. It tells you to expect the auditor assigned to your case to reach out to you to set up a time for the preliminary meeting. When they reach out, they’ll set up a meeting at your place of business if possible. If that isn’t possible, they may arrange a meeting at a DOR office or at a representative’s office.
- Review of documents and meeting: At the preliminary meeting, the auditor will review the documents you have provided. This stage of the audit is much easier if your documents are already categorized, labeled, and sorted by date. The auditor will ask about your business, your record-keeping and accounting practices, and other related questions.
- Discussion of audit findings: Once the auditor has your records, they will begin auditing your business. After they’ve completed their audit, they’ll discuss the findings with you in person. They will also send the results to you via postal mail. Depending on the outcome of the audit, there may be new tax debt added to your bill, a refund paid to you, or no changes made to your tax account.
- Proposed assessment: It’s fairly common for the state to uncover errors and send a proposed assessment. This outlines the new taxes you’ll owe and gives you the option to protest the amount due.
- Appeal or payment: If you do not protest the amount, the proposed assessment will become final. At that point, you can appeal to the Georgia Tax Tribunal for assistance or pay what you owe in full or by requesting a GA payment plan.
At every step, your response and the quality of your legal representation matter. Our legal team ensures that you get through the state tax audit as easily as possible, and we defend your rights throughout the process.
Common Issues We Defend
Our Georgia tax attorneys regularly help business owners with a wide range of sales tax issues, including:
- Missing or invalid exemption certificates
- Misapplied sales tax rates
- Misapplication of exempt and non-exempt status on a POS system
- Misclassified products and services
- Failure to self-assess use tax on purchases from out of state
- Missing invoices and other record-keeping errors
- Remote seller compliance issues
- Unfiled returns
We have handled many Georgia audits, and we know what auditors are looking for. We’re well-versed in challenging unsupported conclusions and proposed assessments that overstate what you owe.
How Wiggam Law Can Help
At Wiggam Law, we provide comprehensive representation at every stage of the audit process. During a pre-audit consultation, we’ll review your records and identify potential red flags before the auditor does. We’ll handle all communication with the DOR on your behalf, ensuring that you provide timely, complete, and appropriate responses.
If your audit results in a proposed assessment, interest, and penalties, we work to limit the financial fallout. You may qualify for penalty relief or a settlement agreement that keeps your business in operation.
If the DOR’s assessment is inaccurate, we will help formally challenge it through the Georgia Tax Tribunal. The appeals process may grant you relief that the DOR is unwilling to provide.
After your audit is complete, we’ll help implement systems that minimize your future risk, protect you from unintentional sales tax errors, and keep you in good standing with the Department of Revenue.
Why Choose Wiggam Law?
At Wiggam Law, we bring extensive experience in IRS tax concerns and Georgia state tax concerns to every case we handle. Our team of tax attorneys, Enrolled Agents, and paralegals has handled every type of tax problem you can imagine—including complex sales tax audits. We’ve represented many business owners before the Georgia DOR, so we know what auditors expect and what they’re looking for.
Our results speak to our knowledge of Georgia state tax law and our ability to work with the Department of Revenue. In one case, a client came to us after the DOR assessed a $66,000 sales and use tax liability against them. We only had days to settle the case and protect our clients from expensive and drawn-out litigation. Through our experience, we were able to completely remove that liability.
Our team is known for clear communication, honesty, client-first advocacy, and an approach to tax problems that protects your business’s operations and reputation. Our team is ready to advocate for you and make the audit process as stress-free as it can be.
A Georgia sales and use tax audit can threaten what you’ve built in your business, but it doesn’t have to. With the right legal team by your side, you can navigate the audit process with confidence and ease. During your confidential consultation, we’ll learn more about your business and current concerns before coming up with a plan for how to approach your audit. Call us at 404-609-1300 or reach out online to set up your consultation now.