Stand Up to the IRS: Free Guide to Tax Audits (and More!)

After yesterday’s post about taxes, author Fred Daily wrote to point out a free tax resource that he’s posted online. Daily is a tax attorney, and a long-time subscriber to this site. He’s also the author of Stand Up to the IRS and Tax Savvy for Small Business.

In an interesting move, Daily has placed the entire content of Stand Up to the IRS online for free. This isn’t a general-interest tax publication — it’s not going to help you find tax deductions or tell you when you should file — but it’s an amazing resource if you find yourself in a disagreement with the Internal Revenue Service.

Chapters include:

• Inside the IRS: What you need to know about IRS operations
• Winning your audit
• When you owe the IRS: Keeping the tax collector at bay
• The taxpayer advocate: A friend at the IRS
• Small business/self-employed: When IRS trouble comes

Here’s the entire table of contents. The book concludes with the 25 most frequently asked questions, including this gem that I hear repeatedly every year about this time:

How legitimate are the claims by "tax experts" that you don't have to pay income taxes?
Not at all. These con artists are very convincing, but if they were legit, I'd be first in line to stop paying taxes. Constitutional arguments against the tax laws are routinely dismissed by courts, and their proponents are fined or jailed. More sophisticated scams involve multiple family trusts, limited partnerships, and credit cards issued by offshore banks. While these schemes can confuse and slow down the IRS, they are bogus, period. Would a federal judge — whom you will appear before if you are prosecuted for tax evasion and whose salary comes from the federal government — ever uphold one of these schemes? Get serious.

Please note that this isn’t a “screw the IRS” book; it’s a guide to understanding your rights and responsibilities regarding conflicts over taxes. Daily certainly believes you should fight for what’s yours, but he does not encourage fraud. (Nor should anyone.)

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Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Bankrate’s 2009 Tax Guide
• Free Book Chapter: ‘Money Day’
• Mr. Lawyer and Mr. Accountant Chat About Taxes
• The Consumer Reports Mother’s Day Gift Guide
• Last Minute Tax Tips

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