Originally published in Entrepreneur

By Bruce Willey

Imagine getting a letter in the mail stating you owe someone $98,000. Now imagine that someone is the Internal Revenue Service.

Just the mere utterance of the letters “IRS” will give business owners and sole proprietors the chills. As you send in your yearly tax return, you can’t help but wonder: Will this be the year? No amount of hoarding receipts or carefully crafted tax returns can quite prepare you.

In my case, I had a client get a real letter requesting that very real amount of money mentioned above. The total they ended up paying? Zero.

If you’re getting audited, or you think you might get audited soon, don’t freak out. Take a deep breath and consider these reasons it won’t be nearly as bad as you’re imagining…

Read the full article at Entrepreneur

Bruce Willey has been working with small- to medium-sized businesses across the country for more than a decade, helping them navigate business and tax law in a variety of situations. His services include assisting with business start-ups, operations, growth, asset protection, exiting planning and estate planning.