Investigation of taxes- Accountant bears any responsibility?

[psygal]

What is the name of your state?NY
I filed my 2002 and 2003 tax returns through an accountant in NYC. He asked me questions about my expenses and filled out my taxes. I explained to him that I didn't keep all the receipts from my purchases as I didn't intend to have them in my taxes. He explained that I didn't need to provide receipts for certain amounts of uniform, transportation, etc., expenses. I understand that ignorance of the law is not a defense. However, I now find myself under investigation and the IRS is requesting proof of every single purchase. Of course, the accountant does not answer my calls. Furthermore, I find myself having to pay over $3000 at the same time I am due to begin graduate school and depend solely on financial aid.
Is there any kind of help I can seek or legal action I may take against the accountant for at least the fees of his services-which were a few hundred dollars? Thanks for any help!

[tdavidl]

Originally Posted by psygal

What is the name of your state?NY
I filed my 2002 and 2003 tax returns through an accountant in NYC. He asked me questions about my expenses and filled out my taxes. I explained to him that I didn't keep all the receipts from my purchases as I didn't intend to have them in my taxes. !

so why even tell them about the expenses unless you really intended to have them on your return ?

Originally Posted by psygal

He explained that I didn't need to provide receipts for certain amounts of uniform, transportation, etc., expenses.!

in some cases, if the expenses is less then a certain dollar amount ($75comes to mind) while you don't need actual receipts, some other form of written substantiation is usually necessary, like in a scheduler, or diary, or daily expense records log.

Originally Posted by psygal

However, I now find myself under investigation and the IRS is requesting proof of every single purchase.!

maybe you should pay a professional to oversee the audit, or at least consult with one on the audit.

Originally Posted by psygal

Is there any kind of help I can seek or legal action I may take against the accountant for at least the fees of his services-which were a few hundred dollars.!

unless you can prove that they completed the return with numbers that you DID NOT provide them OR you can prove incorrect advice you'd be throwing your money away in my opinion.

why not use that money to consult with another CPA on the audit.....unless of course you knew the numbers you were giving the preparer weren't supportable in the 1st place & are now looking to point the finger.....

sorry, that's what it sounds like to me......

[psygal]

Thank you for your words of wisdom. I cannot blame you for being skeptical about my post given that you don't know me. Youth and ignorance are no excuse, but it was the first time I filed taxes as I was fresh out of college. The accountant asked me to tell him approximate figures. He didn't specify anything beyond that. I told him what I spent, but not everyone keeps every single receipt of every daily purchase- though I will now.

Anyhow, he took a couple of hundred dollars for his service, so perhaps he had a vested interest in pursuing a higher return for me. I am not seeking to place a blame on the accountant, but just wanted to know if there was any kind of action that could be taken to prevent him from doing that to others. I now have someone else preparing my taxes and have no problems with that person.

P.S. Perhaps your message would've seemed more constructive if you had refrained from so many smilies. Thanks!

[freespeech]

You do not want to hear it but the other poster is right on the money.

Ultimately YOU signed the tax return and ultimately YOU are responsible for the information it contains.

What kind of expenses and what kind of transportation? Educational?

[tdavidl]

i apologize for all the smilies, i do find them helpful so the reader doesn't have to read between the lines.

to be sincere, IF your current preparer is capable of handling the audit you should let them. you say that the prior preparer won't return calls, maybe your current preparer could recommend an attorney to draft a letter to the prior preparer to shake them up a little, i do find it in bad taste that they won't return an innocent call (if that's what you did, meaning you didn't leave a nasty message about their work).

as i mentioned earlier, sometimes IRS agents will accept estimates as long as they are reasonable, i've handled a few audits w/estimates & have had no problems.

sounds like you chose the right road (to a diff preparer) maybe it's best to forget about the past and concentrate on obtaining the best results from your audit.