East Bay Business Daily

How long can the IRS hold open my audit?

I rceceived a notice of audit on my 2003 income taxes in Oct of 2004. I have not rec'd a call from them to set up an appt. Is it my duty to tell them to audit me? How long can they hold this over my head?

Public Comments

1. Forever
2. Forever! Believe me it may take along time but they WILL contact you
3. till we are are dead and gone they will still be auditing us. Thats proubly why they havent contacted you, they are so backed up. you proubly threw them a red flag, so they opened an audit on you, to make you sweat a little.
4. till hell freezes over. don't worry,when they get done picking over every little item,from the day jesus was born,up to and including today, they 'll tell you what they want. been there. good luck.
5. The statute of limitations for an audit is 3 years. So your 2003 taxes, which were filed in April 2004 are open until April 2007. If the IRS needs more time, they must contact you about extending the statute of limitations. The consent should have been sent to you along with your letter informing you of the audit. You also should have received Publication 1035 "Extending the Tax Assessment Period" at that time. There are 2 types of extensions, one with a specific extension date, and the other with an indefinite date. Since they informed you so quickly after your return was due, they may not have felt the need to do this. Look at the letter you received, as well as any information that was sent with it. If they requested an extension, you would have been required to consent to it in order to grant them the extension. You have 3 options, refuse to grant the extension, limit or restrict the consent to particular issues, or limit the extension to a period of time.