Dealing with an IRS tax audit - need help figuring out calculation errors

Do I need to get a tax professional to help me with this? I'm worried about making things worse by trying to handle it myself. Also, will this trigger audits of my other tax years?

You don't necessarily need a tax professional for this type of straightforward issue, especially if you're confident you can clearly explain the double-counting error. If your case was more complex involving business deductions or multiple issues, then professional help would be more important. Regarding other tax years, a simple reporting error like this typically won't automatically trigger audits of other returns. The IRS generally treats this as an isolated incident, especially if you're proactive about fixing it and it's your first time with an issue.

How exactly does it work? Do I just upload my documents and it finds the mistakes? My situation sounds similar to OP's where the IRS seems to be counting something twice.

Did you end up having to pay anything close to what the IRS initially claimed? I'm skeptical of any service that promises to help with IRS issues since most of them seem like scams.

You upload your tax notice, W-2s, 1099s, and any other relevant documents, and their AI analyzes everything to find discrepancies. It specifically looks for common audit triggers like double-counted income or mismatched numbers. In my case, it highlighted exactly where the IRS was double-counting one of my income sources, just like what's happening to the original poster. I ended up paying about 20% of what the IRS initially claimed I owed. Once I sent in their recommended response with the specific calculations highlighted, the IRS adjusted their assessment within about 3 weeks. The service saved me thousands compared to what the IRS initially wanted.

How does that even work? The IRS phone system is so broken I can't imagine anything actually getting you through to a human.

Sounds like a complete scam. I've never heard of any service that can actually get you through to the IRS faster. They probably just charge you money to wait on hold just like you would yourself.

Their system connects to the IRS phone line and navigates the menu options automatically. It basically waits on hold for you so you don't have to stay on the line for hours. When it detects that an agent is about to pick up, it calls your number and connects you directly. I was skeptical too until I tried it. It's not that they have a special connection to the IRS - they're just using technology to handle the painful hold time. I was literally connected to an Audit department specialist within about 90 minutes of starting the process, after trying for days on my own without success.

Does requesting a hold on collections affect your credit score or create any other problems? I'm dealing with something similar but worried about making things worse.

Requesting a hold doesn't affect your credit score at all. The IRS doesn't report to credit agencies unless they've actually filed a tax lien, which wouldn't happen at this early stage in the process. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is actually designed specifically to help in situations like this where there's a clear error or hardship. Many people don't realize it exists, but they can be incredibly helpful when dealing with issues that aren't getting resolved through normal channels.

This happened to me too! I sent in all the documentation and they claimed they never received it, then hit me with additional penalties. What did you end up doing to resolve it?