Colorado criminal defense attorney Doug Richards talks about whether you would be required, by law, to be present when the IRS conducts an audit on your business.

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If you are in the middle of an IRS audit, there’s going to be a time where there’s actually a sit-down with the IRS agent. The IRS agent is going to want to ask you and your CPA or tax preparer questions in regards to documents that have been provided, things that haven’t been provided. They are going to want to ask questions about your business practices.

We do not have our clients present at those meetings. There’s no reason for our clients to be there because of the potential criminal sanctions that could be coming behind one of these IRS audits. We want our clients as far from that room as possible.

If you’re scared that you’re going to be required to appear and give testimony to a federal agent or an IRS agent about your conduct, you’re right to be scared in those instances, and thankfully the United States Constitution does not require you to provide testimony against yourself, and we would be asserting your fifth amendment rights, and we would not have you there at all.