Articles Posted in IRS Tax Audit

It doesn’t necessarily mean you have done anything wrong, but it still is something every taxpayer should be prepared for: notification of an IRS tax audit. Of course the best approach to preparing for a tax audit would be to ensure that your tax filings don’t warrant any undue attention, but that shouldn’t prevent you from taking every deduction to which you are legally entitled. An audit may simply be based on random selection, but that is very rare. The most prudent assumption is that the IRS believes that there may be errors with your return that need to be addressed. If you’ve been selected for a tax audit, here are some of the important steps to take:

1. Gather All Your Records – Be sure to have all of the pertinent documentation together in one place that will substantiate any deductions or exemptions you claimed on your returns. Generally, the IRS is happy to receive digital copies of records. If you don’t have all your records duplicates can usually be obtained from financial institutions and vendors, but that takes time. Therefore you should get started as soon as you are notified of the tax audit. If you are in business you should review your bank statements, and compare them to your tax returns to make sure you reported all of your income. You should have tax returns for at least the past three years.
2. Research – Make use of IRS publications that explain the procedure for audits, your rights as a taxpayer, the appeals process and more. Keep in mind though that IRS publications do not always represent all the nuances of the law, and the IRS is not required to follow its own publications.