Ensuring you have a qualified sales tax audit defense representative managing your case is one of the most important things you can do to protect your rights and interests during a sales and use tax audit. Understanding the laws, regulations, procedures, interpretations, and auditing practices of the state agency is critical to help ensure a fair and correct outcome to a sales tax audit.

Minimizing the magnitude of the audit with the auditor at the local office level should be your representative’s focus. Unfortunately, sometimes auditors do not produce correct audit results at that level. When this happens, your representative should have the proper experience to manage every stage of the state agency’s administrative appeals process while always protecting and maintaining your rights.

To accomplish this level of protection, at a minimum, you should ensure that your representative has the necessary experience and expertise to understand and execute the following actions on your behalf properly (these steps may vary between states):

• Manage all aspects of the sales tax audit, including working closely with the tax auditor and their immediate supervisors to help ensure the auditor performs the audit correctly from the beginning.
• Manage any necessary presentations to the state’s lead audit manager before finishing the audit.
• Timely file all documents necessary to protect your rights and interests.
• Manage the administrative appeals process to do everything possible to reduce the audit findings.
• Represent you at appeals conferences or hearings.
• Research, draft, file, and negotiate refund claims, as they may become necessary.
• Manage all other actions and filings necessary to protect your rights and provide you with the best possible sales tax audit results.

If you need a representative to help you with a sales tax audit or the appeal of a completed sales tax audit, we are here to help. With 30+ years of experience dealing directly with sales and use tax, we have the above qualifications and will be a strong advocate for you. And with very competitive rates and long-term proven results, you will be in great hands navigating the often complex and unfair journey through a sales and use tax audit.