Are you wondering if there’s a specific magical spell to ward of audits from your federal tax returns? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the tax man can’t be deterred by any magical mojo and if there is the need he will call you up, but however, there are a few steps you can follow to keep them off of your tail. Any body can get the attention of the IRS, even the most responsible, contentious, and diligent of tax payers. Nothing will get your blood moving like getting a notice for tax return audit. So it’s one of your responsibilities to stay low below the radar.
There is a small chance that one can get audited, only a mere 0.52{130462d750e1c2598703525aecd0870f1d382bec9444705f8a828c0537223dcf}, but its best to never leave anything to chance and simply remain compliant. You never know when the tax man comes knocking. Here are some steps to make sure you stay low under the radar.
Neatness. If you work for the IRS, would you rather review a tax return in plain handwriting that looks like it was written by a kid on a newspaper, or a neatly printed one from a computer? Of course, we’d choose the one that’s neat and printed and so does the classifiers that work in the IRS. But no need for you to break out the trusty typewriter, there are a bunch of software that can be found to help you out with the job. Neatness is a great quality, the reviewer will feel that you respect their time and they will surely appreciate the effort.
Accuracy. Even though a neat tax return counts, one that is littered with errors is far more worse by a mile. Take good time in proofing your tax returns, all the numbers should line up, add, and subtract without issues whatsoever.
Always attach schedule C. If you own a small business and are filing your taxes, don’t forget to attach your complete Schedule C. This document has all the business’ profits and losses written on it and it is the most important document that all the classifiers require that they have whenever they are reviewing the returns of companies whose source of profit are W-2 wages.
The deductions also count. On the tax return should be attached proof or evidences that back up any unusually large deductions. These evidences could be copies of any receipts, insurance reports, canceled checks, and even photographs.
Punctuality is a must. There is not a single reason why anyone should choose to be late when they file for their returns. Being late can actually increase the chance of getting an audit.
Hire a professional. The tips stated above are great steps on how to avoid an audit, but hiring a professional qualified tax preparer is still important. They might be quite costly sometimes, but it’s worth noting that they provide a guarantee that you will be safe from audit and any fines and hefty fees that might pop up here and there.
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