The Audit Defense Pledge — in writing
You cannot lose money on the study itself.
That is The Audit Defense Pledge. Lose an audit on our study, with our numbers reported correctly, and we refund the study fee. Most firms say audit defense is included and stop there. We write it down. Buy a study from us and you are covered. Below is the exact list of what we do, the Pledge in full, our rapid-response promise, and what is not covered. It comes with every tier, with no upcharge.
The Audit Defense Pledge
You cannot lose money on the study itself.
That is The Audit Defense Pledge, in plain words. If the IRS examines a study we produced, and you lose that audit, and you reported our study correctly on your return, we refund what you paid for the study. It is that simple.
- It has to be our study. The study being examined was produced by us.
- You reported it correctly. Our numbers went on your return the way we delivered them.
- You lose the audit on that study. The IRS disallows the position our study supported.
Meet those three, and you get the study fee back. We can never guarantee an audit result, so we do not promise one. We promise to do the work, and we put real money behind it.
Rapid response
We start within 1 to 5 business days.
When you get an IRS notice, the clock can feel scary. It should not. The moment you send it to us, we acknowledge it and start the defense within one to five business days. That window is when we begin, not when the whole audit ends. The point is simple: get a study from us, and you are never alone when the IRS calls.
What you get
Included with every study, and what is separate.
Included, at no extra cost
Document and notice response
When the IRS sends its first request for documents, we draft the written reply and hand it to your tax preparer to submit.
Written methodology defense
When the IRS asks how we built your study, we answer every question in writing. We stand behind the engineered methodology we used.
Our work-paper production
We pull and package the work papers behind your study so the IRS can see how we got the numbers. How much detail this takes depends on the study, so the time can vary.
Form 3115 support
If the audit changes your study and you need to file a corrective Form 3115, we help draft the catch-up math.
Separate, quoted for you first
IRS Appeals conference
If your case moves up to the IRS Appeals office, that is a bigger job. We handle it as a new engagement and quote it for you first.
Tax Court
If the case goes to Tax Court, that is a separate engagement with its own quote.
State income tax exams
A state exam on the same study is quoted per state.
Penalty abatement requests
Asking the IRS to remove a penalty is fact-specific work we handle on its own.
The fine line
What the guarantee does not cover.
We want this to be clear, not buried. The guarantee covers our work. It does not cover changes made after we hand off, or issues we never touched.
You reported our numbers wrong
If our study was correct but the figures were entered wrong on the return, that is outside what we cover.
You used our study but changed the figures
If you or your preparer changed our numbers and that changed version is examined, we cover our version, not the rewrite.
Positions we did not prepare
If the audit looks at parts of your return we never touched, those are not part of this.
Other issues on the return
If the exam moves into items that have nothing to do with the cost segregation study, those are out of scope.
Late or missing information
If we are not told about the audit in time to help, or key records are not shared, we cannot stand behind the result.
If your study is examined
How the defense unfolds.
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Day 0 · You get a notice
You forward the IRS notice to your tax preparer and copy us. This is usually the first request for documents.
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Day 1 to 5 · Rapid response
We acknowledge fast and start the work within one to five business days. This is the start of the defense, not the finish. Audits take time, but you are never waiting on us to begin.
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Field exam · We defend
Every question about our method gets a written answer. A second tax professional reviews the response before it goes out. We carry the study through the exam.
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If it escalates · We quote it
If the case moves up to IRS Appeals, we tell you and quote that work as a new engagement so you can decide.
The pledge, in plain words
What The Audit Defense Pledge means.
Here is our pledge in plain words. This is a summary, not the legal fine print. The signed engagement agreement is the full and controlling document. If the two ever differ, the engagement agreement wins.
- What is refunded. If you qualify, we refund the fee you paid us for the cost segregation study. The refund is limited to that study fee. It does not include taxes, interest, penalties, or other costs.
- Who qualifies. The study being examined was produced by us, you reported our results correctly on the filed return, and the IRS disallowed the position the study supported in a final audit result.
- Tell us in time. You must notify us of the IRS notice promptly and share the records we need. If we are not told in time to help, the guarantee does not apply.
- Correct reporting required. If our numbers were changed, entered wrong, or used differently than we delivered them, the guarantee does not apply to that changed version.
- Our work only. The guarantee covers the cost segregation study we produced. It does not cover other positions on your return or issues we did not prepare.
- Final result. "Lose the audit" means a final disallowance of the study position. An ongoing or unresolved exam does not trigger the refund.
- Separate engagements. An IRS Appeals conference, Tax Court, state exams, and penalty work are not part of the included defense. We quote those for you first.
Buy a study with defense built in.
Every tier ships with audit defense and The Audit Defense Pledge, in writing. Start with a free savings estimate.