Avoiding an Audit

Release (28)Avoiding an Audit(or making it less painful if you do get audited)Be aware: The IRS has resumed its practice of conducting random audits as a way to evaluate its auditselection criteria. Burdensome complete audits of taxpayers are rare. Random selection, however, makes these audits hard to avoid.Here are some automatic problems:■ The IRS will contact you if you omit identifying information or information requiredMissing to compute your tax. Missing social security numbers are typical (including theinformation social security numbers of dependents and ex-spouses who are receiving alimonyfrom you).■ This probably doesn’t change your odds of a real audit unless you can’t or won’tcomply with the IRS request to supply the information or there is something elseglaringly wrong with the return. If all goes well, your return will just go back into the“pile” to await possible selection in the normal audit “lottery.”■ If the return contains a math or clerical error, the IRS may assess and send a notice ofMath error additional tax due without following the normal tax defi ciency procedures.procedures■ If you are claiming certain credits that require a Taxpayer Identifi cation Number (TIN)on the tax return, make sure the information that the TIN issuer has is correct. If there isa discrepancy between the number you provide, and that provided to the IRS by theTIN issuer (such as the Social Security Administration), the IRS will assume that ...