'They just put themselves in a world of pain from the IRS': Employee deletes all of client's data per their request, then plays the waiting game

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 12, 2023 11:00 AM EST

The IRS are not the ones to mess with. Every American has to bend to the IRS's will. They're the ones who require us to do taxes every single year. Sometimes they'll randomly audit you--this happened to me during one year where I made under $35k, which I honestly found hilarious. Surely they could've found a billionaire to audit and rake in that sweet sweet cash, but they really wanted a little more extra moolah from people like me. That's life in America, though. You may not enjoy it, but what the IRS says, goes. They've made up a bunch of complex rules around taxes, which is why many companies employ folks who specialize in that, like the OP of this story. 

The OP of this malicious compliance tale shared that they knew a lot about issues with both the IRS and the FBI, since they'd worked with them in previous years, and was familiar with how strict they are about some rules. They tried to tell their client, but you know how some people are. They want to be correct, no matter the cost. 

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  • You can check out this great story down below. Then, read the saga of the time the entire office ganged up on “Susan the Snack Stealer." 

  • 01
    Sure, I'll delete all these direct bill accounts for you. SOC A customer of mine decided that they no longer needed to keep a copy of any of their direct bill accounts that hadn't had activity for a year. In the USA you can be audited for taxes going back 7 years.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 02
    I argued with them because I've had to deal with too many IRS and FBI agents in the past to just accept that the customer knows best in this instance. We had a nice legal document drawn up and releasing us from liability and requiring them to acknowledge our concerns and then we billed them $1200 to write a purge script that would delete the appropriate accounts and also because they were complete jackas es about it.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 03
    Before purging I backed up the database and told them where to find it and also had them print a paper copy of these accounts and their detail. The next year we get a call from a very angry manager wanting to know who authorized us to purge this data as they were now enduring an IRS audit and needed to provide proof of accounts they had written off. I provided the document signed by the business owner and let her know there is a backup and where to find it. It turns out that they also purged the
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    Over the price of a couple $200 hard drives to upgrade their storage they just put themselves in a word of pain from the IRS. And if you think the IRS is even capable of giving you fair treatment, I can't tell you how many times I've had conference calls with IRS agents or their superiors trying to explain double sided accounting and that each entry having a credit and debit is not some attempt to hide money. Combine this with not even having documentation to back up your claims and you can see
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    exOtrix There are some people/agencies/compa nies you can mess with. The IRS is absolutely not on that list. I have literally copied receipts because the thermal paper was getting damaged to prevent a question during an audit. All it takes is one audit and you will change your record keeping if it wasn't top notch already.
    via u/exOtrix
  • 06
    dunni26 Wait, you had to explain double sided accounting TO the IRS agents? I mean, isn't this basic knowledge for someone even just remotely related to finances?
    via u/dunni26
  • 07
    No_Pants_Monday Worked many years in the legal world, everyone calls me crazy bc I have full electronic copies as well as having hard copies for a lot of things...if there's a fire, we have electronic. If there's an electronic issue then we have hard copy back up. Prepare properly today for less work tomorrow
    via u/No_Pants_Monday
  • 08
    Darth_Nibbles When a professional tells you "I can do that, but you don't want me to," you really should listen. 22 bidoblob Reply Share Especially so if they demand legally binding papers absolving them of all responsibilities before doing it.
    via u/Darth_Nibbles
  • 09
    Bugs Ratty how many times I've had conference calls with IRS agents or their superiors trying to explain double sided accounting and that each entry having a credit and debit is not some attempt to hide money So, the IRS and its agents do not understand basic accounting? Well, doesn't that just warm my cockles.
    via u/Bugs Ratty
  • 10
    CaptainK234 If you tell someone to do something, and they won't do it until you sign a document that releases them from legal liability, that seems like a clear warning to stop and reconsider the whole idea.
    via u/CaptainK234
  • 11
    [deleted] Sometimes the customer is just so convinced they're right that there's nothing you can do to tell them otherwise. They'd been a customer for years and we made sure they understood how bad an idea it was. Sometimes it's like a corporate version of "Hold my beer." Thankfully we rarely have customers purge data anymore unless a change of ownership takes place and the old owner keeps outstanding accounts
    via u/[deleted]
  • 12
    in collection and in that case the old owner gets a copy of all account data up to that point and the new owner starts fresh without those accounts.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 13
    Adric_01 Of the many federal agencies you do NOT want breathing down your neck, the IRS is pretty high on that list 8 Reply Share [deleted] Yeah they don't stop and they can ruin you.
    via u/Adric_01
  • 14
    Bakashinobi I can't tell you how many times I've had conference calls with IRS agents or their superiors trying to explain double sided accounting and that each entry having a credit and debit is not some attempt to hide money. As an accountant, this hurts my soul. We've been using dual-entry account for, what, hundreds of years at this point? It's the basis of every introduction to accounting class.
    via u/Bakashinobi
  • 15
    HaroerHaktak the IRS is just sick of and trying peoples to hide money.
    via u/HaroerHaktak

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