Getting a piece of mail from the IRS is enough to cause anyone’s hands to shake. The letter could be anything from a change to the tax return due to mathematical errors, a notice that the return is up for audit, to a bill among other things.

Self-employed taxpayers appear to receive even more letters. This is simply because there are so many more issues that can arise. Payroll, estimated tax payments, corporate taxation as well as issues pertaining to your individual income tax return can all cause red flags.

If you have received a letter from the IRS, let us take a look at your letter BEFORE you panic and assume you have an error on your return. Most of the letters require a simple response and are merely requesting additional information.

One of the more common letters sent to taxpayers is a CP2000 (the letter numbers are listed in the top right hand corner of the correspondence). This letter will generally inform you that you failed to list an item of income on your tax return. It’s usually about sold stocks or interest and dividends that are reported to the IRS by third parties such as banks and stock brokerage firms. A bill will be imbedded in the letter for you to pay and if you agree the amount, all you have to do is send in payment. There will not be a blemish on your record and you will likely not be selected for audit for failing to have reported this income. However, let us check over your information before you assume that the IRS has all of the facts. It’s possible the IRS has made an error. There could be any number of other facts that may not have been reported to the IRS that could affect your return. If this is the case, we will help you provide them with copies of all documents and transaction receipts to support your argument.

When reading the header of the letter from the IRS, note the referenced tax year and tax form. Form 1040 is your individual tax return, 1120 and 1120S are corporate and 1065 is a partnership. If the tax form is 940, 941 or 944 this means the letter is about (business) payroll taxes.

Also remember that the IRS sends notices and letters by mail only—it never contacts taxpayers about their tax account or tax return by email. Any email correspondence is bogus and should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov